Let’s chat about what happened on yesterday’s live. Ok, many of you may not have been there to see what happened so let me start there.
My boys and I were filming one of our LIVE art lessons inside our membership group, The Crave Art Club. We were drawing robots to then watercolor. Finley, my 8-year-old, started his drawing and just a few minutes into it he made a line or shape that he was rather unhappy with. And not just a little unhappy but frustrated and almost in tears wanting to quit unhappy. Live for everyone in our membership to see! Why didn’t he just erase what he didn’t like you might ask? We were drawing with Sharpies and yes that was intentional. And then you might ask as my the questions my husband did when I showed him the video later that night. And trust me I have been in this situation a few times before with my students, so I knew this was a great teaching moment for my son, and every other parent watching. Because let's face it, I wasn’t alone in this situation, every other parent who has done art with their kids has been or will be, in this situation with their own kids at some point. And in my heart, I love how these moments turn out... in the end. I hope what I am about to share can help you with your own kids as well.
So, I was showing the “LIVE” video to my hubby where Finn had a little frustration and started the meltdown. Which, as you know, happens to all of us!! As you can see, just because we do a lot of art and love making art together, we are not immune to frustration! So I’m really glad it happened live for everyone to see🤪😉❤️
Dylan’s question immediately was, “Why didn’t you just give him another paper?” And I know that we’ve all thought the same thing.
Here’s my, “Why"! The “easy” thing to do is to give him another piece of paper. Or is it? There are two outcomes here.
#1 they get another page, start over, make what they intended to make and are satisfied.
#2 they get another page, make another oops, stay frustrated, and get another paper. Then another, then another, then another, until they either give up and walk away or make what they intended to make.
Sound familiar???
Either way, I’m not a fan of either of these two outcomes in this situation. Why? It’s simple. I view this situation as a golden opportunity to teach our kids how to work hard, be creative, open their imagination bigger than they thought they could, become problem solvers, develop personal growth and never give up when things don’t go the way they planned. And yes, all of this comes out of this simple task of not giving them a new piece of paper! This is a beautiful opportunity to empower our kids and grow them into amazing humans with an awesome work ethic and positive attitudes even when, in the moment, it feels so dreadful.
When they stick with it, get over their initial disappointment, work hard, hear ideas and suggestions from others, they end up learning how to work together, collaborate with others, encourage others, and support others as well.
And guess what, when they make it through the struggle, when they start seeing the new idea come into their mind, when they finish that piece of art, they feel more proud of their journey, they feel strong, they have more confidence and they have a new idea that never would have been born if they hadn’t made that oops. Another win for not handing them a new piece of paper!
Embrace these moments. Nurture these moments. I love these moments. And stay calm in these moments. Because you know what these moments mean and it’s for them to discover. Love on your kids even in the struggles.
I hope this helps you when it comes to these, inevitable challenges, with your own kids. It’s so much more than another piece of paper!
Hugs,
Ms. Ashley