My dad was repairing or building something over the Christmas holiday and had accumulated a small pile of cut boards about 18″ long, that would be discarded. I was 9, and ‘helping’ him. One of the boards had two holes drilled into the edge, I picked it up, and had an idea. My older brother’s birthday was coming up and I was going to make him a present. I persuaded my dad to drill several more holes, in a line, into the first piece of wood. Then I took two more pieces and retreated to my room and art supplies (crayons). On the first piece I spelled out ‘Pencil Holder’. The word ‘pencil’ was written in bubble letters (popular at the time), and the word ‘holder’, well I ran out of room and had to make do. On the second piece of wood I wrote my brother’s first name and then, because I ran out of space again, his middle and last initial. It made sense to me. Finally, on the third piece of wood was written ‘Happy Birthday’. I was proud of my work and could imagine the pieces lined up on his desk with pencils filling the holes. I was sure this was just what he wanted.

I was nervous and excited as he opened his gifts. He graciously smiled and read the words I had written, then posed for a picture. It turns out the basketball (or was it a football?) was the hit that year.

When children make things it allows them to practice creativity and problem solving. And when they give away their hard work, it is an attempt to connect and share themselves with others. There are many prepackaged crafts or crafts that have an end result that look cute but don’t necessarily offer the opportunity to be creative. I’m not saying don’t use them, but if your child starts to get creative and glues the wiggle eyes where the ears typically go, just go with it and let them explore. Your child interacts with people daily, they know where the eyes belong.

Recycling and reusing used household items gives a child (and adult) much more freedom to explore their creativity. Very young children, under two years old, have varying attention spans and need to engage their bodies in play. So, don’t be surprised if after you set up an activity (water play for example), your child moves on or becomes fussy after a minute or two- or wants to come back to it throughout the day. Many children between the ages of two and four have very little capacity to sit and attend to a craft without constant input from an adult. Often, these activities will end quickly or evolve into something else. For example: Painting a picture for grandma may turn into, “What does paint feel like on my arm?”. Flexibility and understanding on the part of the parent or adult caregiver is very important for the sanity for everyone involved.

Do you remember making things as a child?

P.S. Happy birthday, Jeff.