After they finished painting, they wanted to add stickers to their caterpillars. Sabrina put at least 10 layers of stickers on the back of her caterpillar:
At first I was frustrated because I had envisioned the girls neatly painting the caterpillars, not mixing the colors together like Sabrina did and not only half-painting each body part like Catherine did. And this was a painting project. Not a sticker project. My perfectionist tendencies, as well as my desire to make and follow a plan, do not always mesh with toddlers. Let's face it, they NEVER mesh with toddlers.
I have to remind myself of the purpose of the activity. It was not to make perfect egg carton caterpillars. It was to practice painting, gluing, and playing with pipe cleaners. It was to introduce them to the concept of a caterpillar: a crawly item with a long skinny body, eyes and antennae. It was to get them to sit still and focus on an "assignment" for awhile. It was to occupy their time for 30 minutes while I clean the kitchen and prepare dinner (as opposed to letting them roam around the house and get into something they shouldn't).
Keeping my goals in mind, this was a huge success. The girls had a lot of fun and loved their caterpillars. As soon as Robby got home, they showed him what they made and demonstrated (sort of) how caterpillars crawl on the floor. We have two beautiful "centerpieces" on our kitchen table. Catherine told me today that she wanted to make another caterpillar (we will at some point).
So, I need to remember to put my plan and perfectionism aside and let them do crafts as the see fit. After all, some of society's best artists ignored conventional teachings, didn't they?
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