A Realistic Crafternoon
Am I the only one who regularly finds my house, car and garden full of “special sticks"? I even found a stick in the shower this evening! Sticks are special, the ultimate play thing, and both of my kids collect them wherever we go.
When the sticks become too much, lighting a small camp fire in the backyard on a cool afternoon brings delight, the kids will eagerly feed the flames with any stick that they find… well… nearly any stick. There are a few around that are a little too special for the fire.
Occasionally though I seek other ways to create with this collection, and when I saw yarn wrapped sticks I knew I wanted to give it a go, and I was hopeful that the little ones might like to create some too.
This was really easy to set up - a selection of sticks, a few balls of yarn, scissors and any adornments you wish, we had some bells. Next time I'll add in some feathers too, or even some strips of fabric.
Always curious about what I’m up to, my children quickly wandered over. My 6 year old grabbed a ball of yarn and began throwing it from one side of the room to the other, then quickly lost interest, wandering off to play elsewhere, and my 2 year old found a crochet hook and set to work tangling some lovely orange yarn.
Not exactly what I had hoped, but I was enjoying the rhythmic twisting, twirling and wrapping, tying off the yarn occasionally and choosing a new colour.
Soon enough my 2 year old asked for the stick.
“Me doing!” he demanded.
I passed him the stick and he set to work spinning it in his fingers, one way, then the other, watching the colours wind and unravel.
Soon after, he heard his brother doing something more exciting and moved on from his task. I enjoyed finishing it off, relaxing and simple, I added the bell and tidied up.
Rather than packing it all away, I left some small twists of yarn and the bells in a jar with a couple of sticks on a small table, curious to see what may come of them.
Then I picked up the stick, twirling, whirling, dancing and jingling and both of the children were delighted with what I had created. The 2 year old promptly claiming it as his own.
The afternoon turned to evening and as dinner was being prepared I heard the jingling of a bell. The clank of the glass jar on the table. I was tempted to go and look, render assistance, offer advice, even just observe, but I resisted my urge. Providing the time, space and opportunity for children to create without interruption is powerful.
Jingle, clank.
“Mum! I made a fishing rod!” My 6 year old was beaming, and ran outside into the fading light to catch a whopper.
