Crafting through the Generations

I recently was talking to my Uncle and we were discussing parenting. I wrote to him that “Parenting is a constant exploration in emotions for me. My kids crack me up daily, frustrate me endlessly and make my heart grow bigger everyday”.

Well yesterday my 6 year old son gets up and asks if he can have a glass container. Of course, it being glass I ask why and he says “I want to make something”. I am very curious at this point and want to know what he is making. He says that he would like to make it by himself and can he have some glue and go down to our craft cabin. He is a very responsible little boy and very serious when he is creating so I let him. We end up needing to go into town so we hit the craft store and the dollar store. He very sweetly asks for more supplies and we get him a very inexpensive glass container, plastic jewels and a bag of shells. When we get home he goes straight back to the craft cabin and asks to be left alone again. I can’t wait to see what has happened and what he has made. About ½ an hour later he announces that we can all go in and see what he has done. He can’t bring them to us because the glue isn’t dry yet. We go in and see and he has created to glass scenes with shells and colored sand on the inside and jewels glued to the outside. One of them has a fish he cut out from a toy wrapper that he glued to the outside of one of the glasses. He has also created a sunset picture out of colored sand. My heart just got bigger. I just love it when he lets his creativity flow and that every little thing he picks up he thinks of something to do with it.
My youngest son just turned 5 over the weekend and he lets his creativity flow threw when you hand him a piece of clay. He loves to create new people, aliens, transformers and anything he can battle with his existing toys. Play Dough used to be a favorite when they were younger but it dries out to fast and ended in the carpet. Now he has his own clay board and we share the Fimo clay with him. Sometimes he likes to cook his creations but mostly he just makes one, plays with it a while and then starts over with another one. He makes his people with all their parts and very proportionately. He is very energetic and incredible adventurous but with a piece of clay he can sit and play for hours. It is like it transforms him. I feel that he is just in his element and I think as the years go by my boys will continue to amaze me in all aspects of life.