I am the LEAST creative homeschooling mom in the world!

[Quindin]

Seriously!

I cannot, for the life of me, think of anything to do with the kids beyond reading books together and doing some sort of structured work.
Luckily, they don't complain and have been learning a lot, but the creative and artistic side of their education is seriously lacking...

We have every book you can imagine, but no fun projects are decorating our walls or shelves. NOTHING beyond their drawings which they do spontaneously.

Two years ago I bought the yummiest Waldorf crayons, pencils, gigantic paper, wool, wax... the only thing we have used up is the paper.

I studied in a Catholic school my whole life, and school consisted of sitting on our chairs, being quiet and copying what the teacher was writing. We never did projects besides the occasional poster for a presentation here and there. So I have not learned how to be creative.

I bough a book about Lapbooking so we can have something concrete to show for our History studies (and because the kids thought they looked so fun) I am lost though and have no idea how to begin and what to do next.
It is like the creative part of my brain never developed or has atrophied with time

I have always drooled at all the fluffy style homeschooling I see here on MDC, but I keep falling back to the old reliable, but boring, textbook + literature homescooling.

I find it is particularly sad for my youngest kids because I can't come up with anything fun to do with them, like the oldest used to do in when they went to kindergarten/preschool

Did anybody here feel the same way, but are now different?
How did you do it?

[kewb]

I am with you in the uncreative. I love the idea of building pyramids out of cake and all but cant seem to get it together to do it.

Hopefully some of the wise mamas here will have great advice for you.

[mary3mama]

You are not alone, Mama! I struggle, daily, with how to fill our days with more creativity, and, as long as I'm being totally honest, frivolity. It's simply hard for me.

I have no great advice. My plan of 'attack' is to get to the heart of my own creativity...so I try to sit down and free-draw or paint and the attachlings can (and usually do) come join me. And I just taught myself to knit and they already want to do that with me too.

My childhood was one of abuse and neglect. Thankfully my childrens' experience is one of love and connection. But I still battle with my inner demons as I try to be authentic and creative.

[LilyGrace]

Baby steps, mama.

We put aside one day a week for fun stuff. It's grown, but making sure we have one day helps.
I am not very creative. I go online and google "math activities" "cell structure activities", etc. to prepare for that one day. So we're at long division? Okay, what activity can we do this friday to apply it?

Right now we're in the middle of a lap n' note. Yep, a premade, all I have to do is print and follow the directions lap n' note. Eventually we'll get to where I'm comfortable making them up on my own, in the meantime...well, homeschoolshare has lots of free aids. Currclick, they're great, too, sending me weekly emails with a free ebook or activity guide each time.

[mrsfrenchy]

I'm not homeschooling yet, but I think maybe you need to just dive right in. Just start *something*
It doesn't matter if the idea is brilliant, just get started--and hopefully it will flow from there.
For your youngest I think there are preschool/kindergarten curriculums that are just crafts-pre bagged and really affordable.
I don't remember what its called, but its in the curriculum review forum.

I say just google some ideas for whatever you're studying right now and then just do it. The rest will come.

[petra_william]

Originally Posted by Quindin

Seriously!

I cannot, for the life of me, think of anything to do with the kids beyond reading books together and doing some sort of structured work.
Luckily, they don't complain and have been learning a lot, but the creative and artistic side of their education is seriously lacking...

We have every book you can imagine, but no fun projects are decorating our walls or shelves. NOTHING beyond their drawings which they do spontaneously.

Two years ago I bought the yummiest Waldorf crayons, pencils, gigantic paper, wool, wax... the only thing we have used up is the paper.

I studied in a Catholic school my whole life, and school consisted of sitting on our chairs, being quiet and copying what the teacher was writing. We never did projects besides the occasional poster for a presentation here and there. So I have not learned how to be creative.

I bough a book about Lapbooking so we can have something concrete to show for our History studies (and because the kids thought they looked so fun) I am lost though and have no idea how to begin and what to do next.
It is like the creative part of my brain never developed or has atrophied with time

I have always drooled at all the fluffy style homeschooling I see here on MDC, but I keep falling back to the old reliable, but boring, textbook + literature homescooling.

I find it is particularly sad for my youngest kids because I can't come up with anything fun to do with them, like the oldest used to do in when they went to kindergarten/preschool

Did anybody here feel the same way, but are now different?
How did you do it?

when i read your title i thought.... I know what she means but I know that she can learn it.

I went to a college in austria in which we learnt how to be kindergarten teachers. we did a lot of placements during those five years (about 4 or 5 months alltogether) and during our time there we did a lot of creative work too. i didnt do anythign for ages after leaving school and i really need to re - learn how to be creative.
you've already got the resources there and the ideas (even if atm they are only in books and not in your head) but once you get yourself going you'll come up with ever new ideas.

is there an art class you could maybe join in? if not really try to pick up a book and pick out a project, get everything you need and just have a go, even if you might feel like you cant do it. a lot of the things we did may seem daunting but we managed to do them nevertheless when we were as young as 14 ... we made a rocking crib for dolls out of wicker and wood, we made wooden pull along toys, dolls and puppets "waldorf style" and finger puppets out of felt (which were an upside down U shape with a face and clothes out of felt glued on) we made a decorative box out of cardboard and painted it ourselves, (still got that hehe) and loads more.

once you get going you'll not be able to stop and you'll be building a tree house soon enough, i guess a lot of it may be trusting yourself and not being afraid to try something different.

im sure once you get going you'lll have loads of fun!

[umsami]

Another MDC Mama told me about Busy Bee Bags... and so far, my two kids have loved it.

There's nothing in them that I could not put together myself... but I finally realized that I would just keep procrastinating...and never do it.

http://thebusybeebag.com/

I also find inspiration from Maryanne Kohl's books. You can see some free art activities at http://www.brightring.com/


I think the key is letting go of your inner critic and realizing that art is supposed to be fun, not perfect. It's the process that matters....


Why not just set aside some time twice per week in your schedule and let your kids play with the Waldorf supplies you bought?? Just let them play. You don't need to tell them what to do.... they'll figure it out.

[briansmama]

For the record, I don't enjoy crafts either, so I can relate. That said, I love functional art (knitting, sewing, making something to be used for a purpose).

Maybe your boys (and girls) would love woodworking? In the process, they would create something they could use, measure, plan, carry out, think creatively and outside the box...etc.

Check out Toymaking with Children It's an older book, and excellent for fun things to create and use to spark imaginary play.

Also, maybe look into a nature inspired curriculum? We are waldorf homeschoolers, and were not at all planning to use a curriculum. But then I came across a friend's syllabus and loved some of the ideas. Ds loves playing with the math gnomes we created and is learning about the four processes along the way.

I never would've come up with that way of introducing math concepts on my own.

HTH! And good luck!

[yippityskippity]

If you naturally work best with structure (nothing wrong with that!) why not add a structured art curriculum? I'm planning on using Artistic Pursuits with the girls next year. Also, you could buy a book like The Kids' Multicultural Art Book: Art & Craft Experiences from Around the World and schedule one or two days a week to be craft day.

My DDs love crafts and most of the stuff they do they come up with on their own. However, they always have access to a wide variety of papers, crayons, googly eyes, paper bags, glue, scissors, pipe cleaners, scotch tape, tissue paper.... etc.

[Mimi]

I'm unschooling my kids (well, they are only tiny) , my blog has a few craft ideas & tutorials, & the "little hands big fun craft book" is one we use on a very regular basis, as it covers special events with an activity.
<3

[VanessaS]

I outsourced.

I'm not crafty, either. In fact, I HATE doing arts and crafts. My DH really enjoys it, though, so they do crafts and artsy-fartsy stuff with him on the weekend. They all have a blast and I get to go vegetate for a while.

But what about culinary arts? I cook and bake with my children. They're young but they're learning how to read a baking thermometer to tell if it's done, mix dough, toss a salad, set the table, plan a menu, choose ingredients for a pizza, etc. Not all creative stuff involves cut-and-paste. And we have a garden and my children help me select the plants and design the layout. We discussed color-wheels and pleasing symmetry. And starting in spring it will involve digging in the dirt. You can't beat that! And we're going to take photos of the different parts of our garden at different seasons so we can see how to improve it next year.
BTW, with the culinary stuff I sometimes let them make a choice even if I know it will turn out badly. It's a teaching experience.

My oldest also attends storytime at the library where they do a craft every week.

[Lillian J]

There are enough creative ideas around that you could probably keep a list of things you see and just refer to it from time to time - it doesn't take much to create fun experiences and memories.

Home Education Magazine often has interesting articles about things people do; and you can find lots of ideas in Linda Dobson's The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas: 500+ Fun and Creative Learning Activities for Kids Ages 3-12, is a categorized collection of tried-and-true educational activities for all subjects, submitted by many homeschooling families.

You can find lots of fun stuff in my science and math pages of links - actually, just go to the main menu of the Gateway page, and you'll find links to pages on all different subjects, including lots of arts and crafts, family games, and other fun activities.

And if you browse around in the juvenile non-fiction section of the library during regular family visits, while you're children just explore the children's section on their own, you'll be amazed what you find.

But the key would be keeping a list - maybe even a small notebook with categories divided so you can have a handy little reference. I have a feeling that just getting kick started and busy would end up snowballing so that you find yourself also automatically thinking of things. And another idea might be jotting things down on cards and picking one a day to focus on.... - Lillian

[Mama~Love]

Don't feel bad, I have ziltch for creativity. I see all these cool blogs with such wonderful activities, and I feel sad. I do try to make it fun, but it is really hard.

[limette]

here's my fav blogs with project ideas;

http://lapazfarm.homeschooljournal.net/

http://artfulparent.wordpress.com/

http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/

[marilynmama]

I am totally not creative either...lol!

My kids could care less, they come up with their own creative things (they color and paint and do things like that; my oldest is interested in taking pics, etc). I've signed them up for art classes here and there and they really enjoy that.

Have you looked into creative classes? What kinda of things are you children interested in doing? Even as a kid I never liked arts and crafts things, I would have rather read a book or played outside.

[medaroge]

I think its fine to do more structured things, I'm sure your (what you call) uncreativity is way more creative than the local ps (not bashing here, just making a statment)

[tanyam926]

We just started hs and I am so uncreative which is no fun bc my ds1 is amazingly creative.

I am scrambling for ideas, thanks for all the tips!

[gromero]

Same here.

We just recently started homeschooling, but I have stumbled across this website and it has helped out a little...
http://printables.familyeducation.co...d-celebrations


I am going to try and use Sundays as my planning day...figure out what crafts look like fun and just make a list of the ones I want to try, but not on a set day or anything.

Today the kids tinkered with some electricty kit, made our own pretzels, spent about 2 hours with paint, glue, glitter, etc. making cards for some family, my boys used an old shoe box, straws and some other stuff they dug up to make a rocket with. It was just one of those days today.

[elizawill]

i'm not creative, but i have google for that! lol. seriously, you don't need to be creative...just resourceful. i have found everything and more on the internet. we have lots of fun things to do here that are a blast, and i didn't think of any of it!! i love the web.

[robin4kids]

I am right there with you, but I think the problem is not so much being creative, but more so not being able to decide on an activity. You said you liked structure. I do too. It is so much easier to say, we read this and answer these questions. Check we did reading. I would love to do a lapbook, instead of reading, writing and science, but it is hard to accept that one project can replace so many subjects. It is also hard to find and organize all the activities for a project. Yes you can buy, pre-made lapbooks. I have bought them, but either my kids hate them, or I hate them.

It is nice to hear that someone else is struggling with making hsing more creative. I think us structured dependent people need some kind of structured book, explaining step, by step how to do an unstructured project, like a lapbook. (I mean really, something that explains step, by step, how to introduce a lapbook and how to do it.)

I really think I used to be creative. Where did it go? Sometimes it is worse for me to look at other people's hs blogs. I end up feeling like I am the worst hs mom in the world.