I posted not long ago that my boys weren't "crafty" but I'm finding it really isn't true. It's just that they need to be invited in. I am learning the fine and subtle art of inviting. Our very old edition of The American Heritage Dictionary gives this as one of the three definitions of the word "invitation": An allurement, enticement, or attraction. And that's exactly what the boys often need to pique their interest in something.
We did a fun Valentine craft this morning called Crayon Hearts (thanks to my friend, Lyssa, and her love of Martha Stewart for his idea). Now, if I had said, "Come on, let's make Valentines," they would have looked at me like I had two heads and had just suggested that they eat slugs, given me a suspicious "no thank you" and run furiously in the other direction. Instead, I said nothing. I got the supplies out, put them all on the dining room table and set to work.
"What are you doing?" Oliver asked.
"I'm going to put shavings of the crayons on this paper and then melt it with the iron, " I told him. Suspicious look.
"I don't want to do that."
"Okay."
A few minutes went by and Levi got interested. "Hey, I want to do that!" We were off and running. We all had a great time and have some beautiful Valentine hearts for our friends and family from our project.
The thing is that an invitation has to be just that, a "would you like to come?" with no penalty for RSVPing "no." As with most of us, being forced to do something doesn't sit well and inspires resistence. I find this to be especially true with kids. If your invitation is really a trick to get them to do something, they'll be quick to smell a rat and will resist. But if your invitation is a true opening of the heart, a temptation to their interest, a welcome without a trick behind it, they'll probably come in. They may still say no. They truly may not be interested. That is the time to let them go. Maybe they have an invitation for you.
To find this project, go to http://www.marthastewart.com/ and search for Crayon Hearts.
We did a fun Valentine craft this morning called Crayon Hearts (thanks to my friend, Lyssa, and her love of Martha Stewart for his idea). Now, if I had said, "Come on, let's make Valentines," they would have looked at me like I had two heads and had just suggested that they eat slugs, given me a suspicious "no thank you" and run furiously in the other direction. Instead, I said nothing. I got the supplies out, put them all on the dining room table and set to work.
"What are you doing?" Oliver asked.
"I'm going to put shavings of the crayons on this paper and then melt it with the iron, " I told him. Suspicious look.
"I don't want to do that."
"Okay."
A few minutes went by and Levi got interested. "Hey, I want to do that!" We were off and running. We all had a great time and have some beautiful Valentine hearts for our friends and family from our project.
The thing is that an invitation has to be just that, a "would you like to come?" with no penalty for RSVPing "no." As with most of us, being forced to do something doesn't sit well and inspires resistence. I find this to be especially true with kids. If your invitation is really a trick to get them to do something, they'll be quick to smell a rat and will resist. But if your invitation is a true opening of the heart, a temptation to their interest, a welcome without a trick behind it, they'll probably come in. They may still say no. They truly may not be interested. That is the time to let them go. Maybe they have an invitation for you.
To find this project, go to http://www.marthastewart.com/ and search for Crayon Hearts.
