This blog is called “CraftyDutchGirl” for a reason. It’s not only how to be creative with your money, materials, but also how to be crafty with your children. And how important it is to do this with your (grand-)children and have fun! So, why is doing crafts so important for a child?

It was time to go to the library. Maybe it was my inner hibernation mood at the end of the winter season, but I got a lot of books for M. with stories about BEARS!!! Soon she had a favorite: “Horrible Bear” written by Ame Dyckman and Illustrated by Zachariah OHora. And of course a sweet bear craft popped up in my brain as well. Please, scroll down to find instructions to that craft.

M. loved making the bear craft, but she got distracted when she saw her siblings on the iPad or computer. This seems to be THE challenge for so many parents these days. I was trying to convince my kids (and still do) to go outside more, play with other things, build something or make a craft.

Do we still need to learn Cursive Handwriting at our school?

First I’d like to talk about one of the reasons, besides the fun and cuteness part, for this sweet bear craft. Schools all over the United States and maybe all over the world as well, are cutting out hand writing programs at elementary schools. The main reason is, that raising children in the 21st century doesn’t require cursive writing anymore, because of the high-tech we have available today.

But is that true? Here you can read a study that was done with students who use cursive hand writing, print writing or a keyboard in their lives.

Without reading this article, I had my own opinion: As an occupational therapist I focused a lot on fine motor skills and hand writing when I worked in Germany about 15 years ago. Handwriting is not only quicker than writing in print, but it stimulates both brain halves and the connection between them (Corpus Callosum).  It is better for your memory and leads to stronger academic performance. But even 15 years ago, kids were using a lot of electronics and watching video’s. I’ve noticed that parents were busy with their own jobs and lives, having less time with their kids to play board games, going outside or doing simple crafts. I’ve recommended this to a lot of parents at that time. Why?

• giving attention, one on one, to your child
• it boosts the imagination of your child
• stimulates the sensory in and outputs
• it extends you child’s concentration level and focus
• working with both your hands stimulates both brain halves
• strengthens eye-hand coordination
• strengthens fine motor skills

Look at this Handwriting EGGcercise for some inspiration.

The result of using electronic devices daily for young children.

A lot of parents were asking why children were acting up when they didn’t get immediately what they wanted.

It is a combination of several things. One of them is the instant gratification they get from clicking one button on their device and something will happen. Mommy, daddy, a teacher, a friend have no buttons and they won’t react the way the child wants it to react. So, they end up screaming and crying, because they don’t get what they want immediately.

Children will give up more easily as well. If they do a craft, sometimes it takes some time to string beads or for glue to dry. With computer games, they don’t need to wait for something to happen. It happens by a click of a button. Again instant gratification.

Children are trying in all kinds of creative ways to get attention from their parents. Sometimes in a negative way. But, hey, it IS attention. Even though, it might be an annoyed or angry reaction from mom or dad.

Parents often give the child the things they want, so they’d be quiet and the parent can move on with the things they were doing.

Personally, I’m in the middle of finding a way to balance my time blogging and working in town, with giving family time or one-on-one time to each of my 3 children and husband.

If you have a question or do you have comments on this topic, please let me know. I’m all ears!

Screen time in balance

Yesterday for example, I told my kids in the car on our way home from school, that they couldn’t have any electronics for the rest of the afternoon and evening. A lot of times I’ll let them watch something during the time I’m making dinner. I just wanted to find out what they would do without it. (I have to admit, that screen time is a big thing- and problem- in our house). I’m trying lots of solutions to balance the screen time. And as a lot of parents among us will know: IT IS NOT EASY! Because it is everywhere!

Of course, the kids argued and whined, but in the end they settled and this is the result:

My son started talking a lot during the time I was in the kitchen and he even managed to draw a great anime boy.

Our eldest went to their room and made a structure for an engineering project for Destination Imagination.

And my youngest went all out:

Even dad and J. helped a little when they were ready with their work. At that moment I felt really happy… and the kids were proud of it too! But…how to balance this and keep it going? Because this was just one time. Especially when they’re getting older and all their friends are online?

I’m still struggling. Our youngest is easily taken care of. She will help me cooking dinner, make a craft, a puzzle, play a board game, play in her room with music playing in the background. But my 2 oldest need their computer these days for making homework and sending it to their teachers, or make and edit little dance videos or chat with friends and play a video game at the same time.

• We have a time in the evening where they bring their phones and laptops to charge, so they won’t be in their rooms.
• I laminated a chore chart where we all put our names for the week behind the chore we need to do and check them off when we’ve done them.
• In the weekend (now the weather is getting nicer), we’re going outside more. But the 2 older ones think it’s lame, no fun and want to stay in their rooms. For the younger one it is great, because she just learned how to bike and in the summer she can be in the pool again (almost daily).

Update as of Fall 2020

We had 6 months of being stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. And it is not over yet. Our school did an amazing job, getting the kids and teachers ready to continue lessons online.

Even though we, as parents, were home, we needed to find a balanced offline time and online time.

During the summer we made the back yard interactive with a swimming pool, a swing, a hammock and play areas, but that didn’t seem to be enough.

Last week (September 2020) we watched the documentary: “Social Dilemma”. We knew deep in our minds and hearts, that this was going on, but it was still shocking to see how much influence social media has in our own mind, the kids minds and the impact on the whole wide world.

It was time for a talk and discussion with our kids about the use of electronics and use it in a good way.

The best way is to start with ourselves!

What works for you? Please let me know below in the comments?

And now : On to our Bear Craft!

Back to our Bear Craft

This craft stimulates concentration, focus, hand-eye coordination, sensory input and hand-hand coordination.

Materials:

• paper grocery bags
• pen/pencil
• glue (optional)
• scissors
• hole punch
• markers
• wool/yarn
• plastic safety needles for kids
• scotch tape

What to do?

Cut the grocery bag open an cut off the sides, so you’ll end up with 2 rectangles (the front and the back of the bag)

Draw a big bear on one of the rectangles. You can choose to glue both rectangles together for extra stability or you can draw something else on the other rectangle for later, because I bet they want to make more after the bear!!!

See if your child can cut the bear out by him or herself, otherwise help him or her.

Let your child draw a face or help if needed.

Make holes around the bear with a hole punch, about 1 inch apart.

Thread some yarn through the needle. Help if needed. Tape the part that goes through the eye of the needle to ensure that the yarn doesn’t come out while sewing the bear.

Make a knot at the beginning. It doesn’t matter where, really…

Teach your child to go through the hole and pull the yarn gently all the way through the hole, otherwise you’ll end up with loops.

And your Sweet Bear is done!! After coloring the bear of course…

Did you like the story, the craft and the article, please don’t forget to Pin It!!!

Danielle

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my Crafty Dutch Girl blog! Grab a cup of “koffie” and browse through fun blog posts about our Dutch family expat life in the USA, Dutch history, Dutch recipes, Dutch things to do in the USA and all kinds of crafts and activities. Don’t forget to connect with me for new ideas! “Groetjes en tot ziens”.