The Case for Imperfect Art

For starters, how cute is this stock photo of art supplies? Cute, and wholly unrealistic. I've never seen such a well-organized set of crayons and paper. My crayons have the wrappers half ripped off, the scissors usually have some type of sticky substance on the blades because my kiddos always want to "cut" the glue. Our erasers are that pristine. Mostly because they don't consider any part of their art a mistake.

I love that my art supplies are slightly disheveled. To me, it shows they are used and loved. The Velveteen Rabbit of arts and crafts.

Scissors, crayons, markers, colored paper, and erasers

Which leads me into today's topic. I struggle with something that I think many caregivers and educators for young children struggle with. Arts versus crafts. Both have value and help children grow. But when parents pick up their children's projects, they seem to value crafts more.

Let's be honest, crafts are most often the ones being displayed in the house. Crafts are the saved keepsakes and, honestly, crafts are usually much cuter.

Art can be cute, but it can also be super ugly. Like whenever a toddler mixes all the paint together on a paper and ends up with some gloopy weird brown color. Who wants to hang that on the fridge? It doesn't exactly scream appetizing.

Many early childhood educators like to say, "Art is for the student. Crafts are for the parents." I follow a lot of parents, homeschoolers, & project based people online and in social media. (Shocker, I know.) And they too, continue to show beautiful finished products. But lately, I've been wondering, what would happen if we made a movement for art instead?

But, what if parent bloggers were posting how to just give their kids chalk and cardboard and sit back as their children scribbled on the board some, but mostly on their own legs? Because when a child mixes all the paint together and gets that gross brown, they are conducting an experiment. When they color on their own bodies instead of making a cute house or 6 legged dog, they are letting their imaginations loose in a new way.

So here is my art project for the week, give your child these 3 items: chalk, glue, and craft sticks.