View Full Version : This drives me around the bend...
DayHomeMama
11-06-2013, 10:51 AM
Sorry, just need to vent...
We're doing a snowman wreath craft and one of the dhc (almost 4) takes her paper, which I have just finished cutting out nicely and proceeds to rip it into shreds. grrrrrr :((((
end of craft time for her. At that age she should know better.
5 Little Monkeys
11-06-2013, 11:53 AM
I actually would just give her the rest of the pieces for the craft and a piece of paper and she can glue them onto the paper any which way she likes.
I would also let her cut her own next time and maybe that would give her a sense of pride and she won't rip it?
bright sparks
11-06-2013, 01:39 PM
At age four it would probably be more appropriate for her to be cutting her own paper for crafts anyway. I agree with 5LM that she may take more pride in what she is doing, but also it would challenge her and likely cure any boredom issues she may be having at craft time.
Personally if she did that to me she would not get the opportunity to carry on with craft, and I would not give her an alternative activity. She would have to watch the rest of the group enjoy their craft activity from the confines of her chair.
mickyc
11-06-2013, 02:01 PM
Agree with bright sparks here! She would be done with her craft and have to sit there.
I have 2 - 4 year olds (1 full-time- 1 part-time). Neither one is very good with scissors. Neither one had ever used scissors before until we started using them at daycare. I even bought them both kids scissors for their birthdays but the parent's won't let them use them at home lol. We don't do a lot of cutting although I know I should do more.
5 Little Monkeys
11-06-2013, 02:30 PM
I do more art vs craft for this very reason. They are kids and want to make their own creations. They will have plenty of time in school to do projects and crafts.
I do crafts once in awhile but I focus more on art.
bright sparks
11-06-2013, 02:38 PM
I do much more sensory and malleable play. Crafts are saved for special occasions and there is no expectation on the child as to what it should look like at the end. It is much more about the process versus the end product.
DayHomeMama
11-06-2013, 04:46 PM
The issue that I have with letting this dhc use her own scissors is that she is not careful with them (swinging them around, not paying attention to where they are, etc.) and a lot of the time ends up just shredding paper for the sake of shredding paper. She gets bored of art and craft time very easily, even when we're doing free art time. Any suggestions on lengthening her attention span, easier said than done, I know LOL
playfelt
11-06-2013, 04:51 PM
If I am reading correctly, you were cutting the wreath out in front of the kids - that requires waiting and obviously this child is not good at that from the sounds of it. If it was a craft - as much as possible should have been pre done as in the wreaths would have been cut out so once handed the wreath and the other figures most would start playing with the figures.
Think about what the child was doing before you started craft time as in was she engaged in an activity she was enjoying - if so time to rethink importance of craft time. Also was this at the end of a circletime and if so had it gone on too long and she was bored.
What she did was wrong and she would be sitting with her pile of bits until the first one went on the floor on purpose then they would be removed. She would not have gotten the other pieces because she had nothing to glue them to.
When I am doing a craft I have to cut then I give them paper and crayons to colour while waiting their turn to glue. Often I have them colour something and I gather them up and give them paper to be creative while I cut the pieces out and then one by one they glue their craft.
daycaremom9
11-06-2013, 04:53 PM
I have a new almost 4 yo dcg that is the same. I spend so much time trying to keep her busy during nap time. Quiet time is getting so exhausting!
DayHomeMama
11-06-2013, 05:17 PM
If I am reading correctly, you were cutting the wreath out in front of the kids - that requires waiting and obviously this child is not good at that from the sounds of it. If it was a craft - as much as possible should have been pre done as in the wreaths would have been cut out so once handed the wreath and the other figures most would start playing with the figures.
Think about what the child was doing before you started craft time as in was she engaged in an activity she was enjoying - if so time to rethink importance of craft time. Also was this at the end of a circletime and if so had it gone on too long and she was bored.
What she did was wrong and she would be sitting with her pile of bits until the first one went on the floor on purpose then they would be removed. She would not have gotten the other pieces because she had nothing to glue them to.
When I am doing a craft I have to cut then I give them paper and crayons to colour while waiting their turn to glue. Often I have them colour something and I gather them up and give them paper to be creative while I cut the pieces out and then one by one they glue their craft.
In this instance we had coloured the wreaths the day before, then I cut them out after hours and gave them back to the kids today, they wanted to colour them some more and then we were going to glue them onto coloured construction paper. She started ripping it 1 minute into colouring them (she also had paper to colour as well).
If I have a craft or art that is involved, I usually call them to the table one at a time, the rest are allowed free play in the playroom (which I can see). That seems to work really well :)
AmandaKDT
11-06-2013, 07:25 PM
I have a new almost 4 yo dcg that is the same. I spend so much time trying to keep her busy during nap time. Quiet time is getting so exhausting!
I only allow TV during quiet time for those that don't nap, otherwise it is not really quiet time for me. My 4 year old daughter has to look at books or play quietly in her room for about 20 minutes, then she can watch cartoons the rest of the quiet time. I would get absolutely no down time otherwise.
JennJubie
11-07-2013, 10:04 AM
In this instance we had coloured the wreaths the day before, then I cut them out after hours and gave them back to the kids today, they wanted to colour them some more and then we were going to glue them onto coloured construction paper. She started ripping it 1 minute into colouring them (she also had paper to colour as well).
If that is the case, then yes, craft is over for her.