Make Stuff Together

April 5, 2010

True to our tagline, we really do like to make stuff with our kids. We like to make stuff without our kids too which can actually make the making of stuff with our kids a little more complicated. Sometimes our own vision gets in the way and we have to remember that it’s not just about us and our vision. (no, really, it’s not)

A couple of weekends ago I shared the stage with Gever Tulley of the Tinkering School (enough already Bernadette!) and my partner in Slow Family Living, Carrie Contey. The theme of the night was innovation in education and it was a great synchronistic trio of talks. My own talk was on creating with kids, or, making stuff together. And the idea that it’s about the process and the connection built and not necessarily the end result.

Through our classes and through our crafty sessions with our kids,  Kathie and I have  learned a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t when creating with kids – when to push forward and when to back off and let well enough alone. In our current pause from studio classes, we’ve learned a bit more as well, and are grateful for the collaborative effort that lets the ideas get ping-ponged back and forth as opposed to just lying dormant in our brains.

Do you like to make stuff with your kids? Someone else’s kids perhaps?  After you read the points below, I’d love to hear what you’ve learned in your own process. Because as we write our book, Make Stuff Together, we’d really like to know what everyone out there is seeking and experiencing in the making stuff together with kids. Here’s what we know so far and right now…

• Remember that the process is the goal. Not the finished product but the process of creating. If you have a vision of how something should look, make your own.
• Creativity is not mimicry – inspiration not imitation. You can show an example if you like but allow their own expression to shine through.
• Set boundaries that work for you. If you are comfortable with chaos, go for it. If you’re not though, it’s not a necessity of the creative process. If you’re tense, it’s not going to exactly encourage their most creative selves.
• Use materials that work for you in the setting you’re in.  Watercolors vs. tempera or crayons vs. markers. If you let yourself go a bit with certain materials as opposed to others, go with that. They can explore the others some other time in some other place.
• Allow enough time for the project at hand. A rushed craft session is a recipe for familial disharmony if ever there was one.
• Work where it works for you. Does outside let you let go a little more? Go there. Kitchen table? Floor? What do you like?
• Look for signs that the end is near. Catch it before it breaks down. Remember that frenzy does not equal creativity. Be willing to put it away and call it a day.

And what I learned from Gever’s talk, is to remember that we are collaborators, not leaders. It is sometimes hard to do, to let go, but it is definitely an idea worth working towards. Because our kids have some pretty cool ideas of their own if we give them a chance to express them.

Posted in Book, studio life