The Solar System
My youngest child has been monopolizing my parenting brain here lately. It's been brewing for weeks. We had a minor episode a few weeks ago, and then on Monday it really blew up.
Alexa is my little artist. Although- she doesn't consider what she does art. She considers it crafting. I think she only says crafting because I "craft." Recently, she started a project and now that I see it in its completion, it is pretty awesome. However, the process to getting there . . .
She was crafting in our bonus room. She would go up there, turn on the tv, and craft away. For awhile she was making creations with popsicle sticks and hot glue. She was using the hot glue gun on the floor- getting it on the carpet. I made a new rule, "Hot Glue Gun is only to be used on the table." She has a table for crafting. Then she moved on to using acrylic paints. After I discovered her painting on the carpet, I had to make another rule: "Only painting on the table." Around this time, our minor episode developed, and she lost crafting due to my discovery that she had left the hot glue gun on for 24 hours, paint brushes full of paint, an egg carton with wet paint (that was not dried) on the floor, and who knows what else was everywhere. She had been warned that if I discovered a giant mess- she would lose the privilege. Two days later, she lost the privilege for 5 days. She was bored out of her mind and had no idea what to do with herself.
When she got the privilege to craft, back, she started on another project. She stumbled on some styrofoam balls. I have no idea why I had them, but I did. She decided to create a solar system. She had been painting for days upon days. She would come home from school, put her stuff down, eat a snack, chat a bit, and then . . . . drift upstairs. Ultimately the big blow up happened for many reasons: first she had a HUGE mess upstairs. I can't even describe the mess thoroughly, but there was paint on the carpet, she had spilled a cup of water she used to clean her paint brushes down the wall and it stained the floor molding and carpet. Those were the two biggest problems, but there was so much more. Also- she hadn't been preparing her lunch the night before school, she hadn't worked on homework. She was obsessed and unfocused. I fully accept-and encourage- Alexa's need to be creative and make art. I cannot accept the level of messiness she has, nor her inability to complete her responsibilities. She doesn't have many- but the one's she has, I expect her to do without me nagging or reminding her.
So- we had a long conversation about how her habits were not healthy habits. Cleaning up after herself, and being organized are important to maintaining focus, and keeping harmony with friends and family. I told her that she couldn't craft the rest of the week, because I needed time to come up with a better system that I could monitor better.
I set her up a spot in the living room. It's right in the middle of everything. I do not love her having her art "studio" in the middle of the living room, because it's a bit messy and doesn't really go with my decor, but I will suck it up. It's a home. We all live here. This home is lived in.
I reached out to artist friends and family and asked them if they had any advice for me- to help Alexa with the messiness, and they had great ideas that I really appreciated. #1: I am going to stop buying her so many art supplies. She will need to earn some money (I am getting ready to start a chore chart for her), or ask for art supplies for her birthday/Christmas/holidays. If she doesn't get paint or brushes so easily, maybe she'll appreciate them and take better care of them. #2: my aunt suggested "renting" Alexa an art studio and I am working on creating her contract that she'll have to agree to, or otherwise the "studio" gets shut down.
Tonight, she finished the solar system project she had been working on, and I am just so doggone impressed with it.
I have to be honest, when I saw the final product, I was pretty impressed with how well this turned out. It might seem simplistic, but she's 9. She saw a random styrofoam ball and took many steps to get to the ultimate goal. She had the ultimate goal in mind- and got there. How many adults still struggle to get to the goal? I guess I'll keep encouraging her, and nagging her to clean up after herself. :-)
Alexa is my little artist. Although- she doesn't consider what she does art. She considers it crafting. I think she only says crafting because I "craft." Recently, she started a project and now that I see it in its completion, it is pretty awesome. However, the process to getting there . . .
She was crafting in our bonus room. She would go up there, turn on the tv, and craft away. For awhile she was making creations with popsicle sticks and hot glue. She was using the hot glue gun on the floor- getting it on the carpet. I made a new rule, "Hot Glue Gun is only to be used on the table." She has a table for crafting. Then she moved on to using acrylic paints. After I discovered her painting on the carpet, I had to make another rule: "Only painting on the table." Around this time, our minor episode developed, and she lost crafting due to my discovery that she had left the hot glue gun on for 24 hours, paint brushes full of paint, an egg carton with wet paint (that was not dried) on the floor, and who knows what else was everywhere. She had been warned that if I discovered a giant mess- she would lose the privilege. Two days later, she lost the privilege for 5 days. She was bored out of her mind and had no idea what to do with herself.
When she got the privilege to craft, back, she started on another project. She stumbled on some styrofoam balls. I have no idea why I had them, but I did. She decided to create a solar system. She had been painting for days upon days. She would come home from school, put her stuff down, eat a snack, chat a bit, and then . . . . drift upstairs. Ultimately the big blow up happened for many reasons: first she had a HUGE mess upstairs. I can't even describe the mess thoroughly, but there was paint on the carpet, she had spilled a cup of water she used to clean her paint brushes down the wall and it stained the floor molding and carpet. Those were the two biggest problems, but there was so much more. Also- she hadn't been preparing her lunch the night before school, she hadn't worked on homework. She was obsessed and unfocused. I fully accept-and encourage- Alexa's need to be creative and make art. I cannot accept the level of messiness she has, nor her inability to complete her responsibilities. She doesn't have many- but the one's she has, I expect her to do without me nagging or reminding her.
So- we had a long conversation about how her habits were not healthy habits. Cleaning up after herself, and being organized are important to maintaining focus, and keeping harmony with friends and family. I told her that she couldn't craft the rest of the week, because I needed time to come up with a better system that I could monitor better.
I set her up a spot in the living room. It's right in the middle of everything. I do not love her having her art "studio" in the middle of the living room, because it's a bit messy and doesn't really go with my decor, but I will suck it up. It's a home. We all live here. This home is lived in.
I reached out to artist friends and family and asked them if they had any advice for me- to help Alexa with the messiness, and they had great ideas that I really appreciated. #1: I am going to stop buying her so many art supplies. She will need to earn some money (I am getting ready to start a chore chart for her), or ask for art supplies for her birthday/Christmas/holidays. If she doesn't get paint or brushes so easily, maybe she'll appreciate them and take better care of them. #2: my aunt suggested "renting" Alexa an art studio and I am working on creating her contract that she'll have to agree to, or otherwise the "studio" gets shut down.
Tonight, she finished the solar system project she had been working on, and I am just so doggone impressed with it.
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| Doug and I helped with attaching the planets to the wooden dowel rods. |
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| This is Saturn. She somehow found super slim wire, and made it into rings |
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| She painted the planets colors she liked, but kept Jupiter's storm |
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