Getting Crafty

The other day I told you about watching Finding Nemo with Alpha.  In the end I resolved to stick with shows like Peppa Pig and Play School.  Play School is Alpha’s current obsession, and I can’t say I’m upset.  I love Play School for so many reasons – one of them being that I watched it as a little girl.  It’s a locally-produced show using Australian talent (mostly drawn from Home and Away, it seems).  It’s all focused on early childhood learning – everything is done deliberately.  There’s plenty of singing and dancing, and it’s a great way to discover new books to read.

All of those things are great.  The main thing I love about Play School is that it isn’t perfect.  Sometimes the singing is a little out of time.  Sometimes the costumes they make for themselves out of newspaper fall apart.  It is very obvious to an adult that it is done in close to one take.  I love that.  I’d much rather they focus their time on what they present, rather than how.  Sometimes things get a little weird (like the episode they sang Tom Jones’ “What’s New, Pussycat?”), but I haven’t seen a single episode that I object to.  I’m very much looking forward to the Play School concert that I have tickets to in October.

Another element that is far from perfect is the craft activities they do.  Some days they look like one big Pinterest Fail.  They don’t paint things completely – or they go way outside the lines.  The colours don’t match.  Patterns are out of whack.  Edges are far from straight and some things fall apart almost immediately.

I love it.

Why?  It’s achievable.  I can do that.  Pretty much anyone can do that.

I’m from a ridiculously creative family (seriously, half my family have works in galleries). Me? Not as talented. I’m not totally hapless, but I’m pretty average when it comes to the creative side of things. I watch home improvement shows and read craft magazines and know what I make will never wind up looking the same. So it’s an enormous relief to see the professionals making stuff that I’ve got half a shot of replicating.

I’ve come to realise that craft doesn’t have to be perfect or even complicated to enthral a toddler.

Seriously.

I recently stuck some pom-poms on a cardboard roll. Alpha instantly announced it was his rocket and has been carrying it around proudly for a month.

The Rocket – clearly my son has an impressive imagination.

After realising this, I’m trying to challenge myself to do more craft at home with the boys. To keep myself accountable, I’m going to try and post about one no-talent-required craft project a week. I can almost guarantee they won’t be perfect. The aim is to keep them uncomplicated and achievable – just like Play School. I hope you enjoy them as much as I intend to.

Here’s today’s craft activity to kick us off.