“Mommy, I want to paint,” my daughter grinned wide.
My shoulders tensed as I try to match her smile. “Ummm….” I said trying to buy time.
My mind whirled. Paint! Seriously?! I mean my floors, my kitchen table, the mess. I have to actually jump over boxes in the craft room to get to the paint…
“Please mommy!” her eyes widened.
“Ok,” I sighed.
Honestly I want to be the mom who jumps in with both feet when my children clamor for arts and crafts. I mean it is fun, it is a creative way to use your brain, and it doesn’t involve a screen of any kind (except when you need a YouTube video to help you with directions).
But the other part of my brain says, “You can’t even keep the house clean you aren’t working on art projects. Why would you let the house be even more cluttered with paint, newspaper, etc.?” And the guilt and stress weighs down my heart as I set out the paints and let her “have fun” while I do something else.
But then I ran across an article that got me thinking. It states that just looking at art can reduce stress, but the best stress reduction from art comes when one is creating. Interesting. Art is often the first thing to go at schools strapped for cash and even for homeschool moms who just don’t know how to make art fit.
Moms of preschoolers – if you are like me – avoid art because of the mess, potential for melt down, and our own perfectionism. Still art is good for us. And when we are willing to get messy with our kids, let our house get a bit messy we can create too. Then we can actually reduce our stress if we will just let go a bit.
So how about we break out some paints, clay, or just some crayons this weekend and create something beautiful. Memories and some art our children will cherish.
Who is with me?
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