Reasons Cookie Cutter Crafts May Not Be The Best?

[daycare]

This is how I feel too. We did a bird week here and we painted using feathers instead of brushes, we made bird feeders, we had bird seed in the sensory table, we made "dirt and worms" for snack. All of these were hands on experiences that put the emphasis on process, not product. I do a daily blog so my parents can see pictures of their kids doing the activities and I always label the art they take home. I think this helps.

We do make more cookie cutter crafts around holidays and when we are making Christmas/Mother's Day/Father's Day gifts. I thin these are the times parents want to see a little more of a finished product. There are some days when I don't think the kids gain a darn thing from those projects though, but for whatever reason the parents love it.

I agree on the parents part... i actually had a parent tell me. I want to see more worksheets from my 2 year old as this is what I feel I am paying your for....

uuugghhh huh what???

So yes I did give the child he silly worksheets and he scribbled on every single one of them.... mom says nothing...

I think alot of this is also about the parent, as parents really have no idea of ages and stages or age appropiate art activities for their child.

[kendallina]

I agree on the parents part... i actually had a parent tell me. I want to see more worksheets from my 2 year old as this is what I feel I am paying your for....

uuugghhh huh what???

So yes I did give the child he silly worksheets and he scribbled on every single one of them.... mom says nothing...

I think alot of this is also about the parent, as parents really have no idea of ages and stages or age appropiate art activities for their child.

I think when this happens, then it's our job to educate the parents on what is appropriate for 2-year olds. Worksheets (and cookie cutter crafts) are not appropriate for 2-year olds. I wouldn't do something that I felt was inappropriate with children. But then, parents are paying me to be their preschool teacher, so they expect and appreciate that guidance from me. If a parent was unhappy that their child was not doing worksheets or cookie cutter art in my program I would do my best to explain to them why those aren't appropriate for young children and the benefits of how I do things and all the things that they are learning. If the parent was still not happy, then my program is not for them.

With cookie cutter crafts, ok...so maybe they are learning how to follow directions. But, we do that all day long! I tell them when to get their coat on, I tell them how to wash their hands, I tell them that they have to eat all their lunch before they get seconds...young children do not need directions when it comes to art time as well.

They need to be able to freely explore materials. To see what happens when they mix playdough colors together and feel paint in their fingers and notice how they can make their letters in shaving cream.

I, myself enjoy crafts very much. I like having a finished product and I very much look forward to doing these kinds of things with my daughter when she's older. But, I would never ask a 2-3-4 or even 5 or 6 year old to make something that looks like a model. I wouldn't want her growing up thinking that that was how we do art. The main way that we should be doing art with children is allowing them to explore.

[kendallina]

To OP:

One thing I used to do with parents during parent orientation (when I worked at a center) was to have them imagine that they were preschoolers learning about apples.

With half of the parents I would hand them a drawn apple on red construction paper and scissors. I would ask them to cut out their apple and glue it on paper.

The other half of parents got a tray of apples. Some red apples, some green or yellow apples. Some were cut up. The parents got little plastic knives to cut up pieces of apples. They got magnifying glasses to look at the seeds. They were given dirt to plant their seeds. They were allowed to taste, touch, smell the apples.i

I would then ask the parents what they thought of their activities and what did they learn. Obviously, the parents that got to touch and taste the apples said they learned way more about apples and this moved into a great discussion of hands on active learning.

My parents have always known to not expect cookie cutter projects coming home. Instead, when we do activities like this I take tons of pics, post them on my website and document what they children were saying about it. I think the parents appreciated being informed about how young children learn best.

That said, you obviously aren't going to call all of your parents in for this activity, but you can write it up as part of your handout. A lightbulb will go off, they'll get it and probably appreciate it.

[melskids]

very well said Kendallina!!!!

i have heard the reference to apples before, at a training, and it really does open your eyes to the difference between art, and crafts. the group with the picture sat quietly through the whole thing. the group with the real apples were talking and engaged, and the trainer had to actually take the apples away, so we could get back on track. it was so funny!

[Jewels]

So you guys think that if a kid does a cookie cutter craft, that must be all they do? like you cant cut up the apple taste look at it, examine it, and then do a craft afterwards? Like today we did eggs, and I brought out eggs during circle time, we passed them around felt how hard they were, how eggs have baby birds in them, everyone got to crack one open into a bowl, we played an egg sorting game, and then they all got a "cookie cutter" Egg shape, and watercolor painted it. It has never been, do a craft and thats it, Play doh, doesn't even come into our art time, Playdoh comes into game time, to totally seperate times during my day, when you do some sort of art every single day, having a couple days be "cookie cutter" and a couple be "free art" Is awesome for the kids, good variety..........and even like today when we painted the eggs, the kids then all got plain paper to paint anything, as long as the paint is already out, go crazy. We have dance time, circle time, Art time, story time and game time, during most days through the school year.

[melskids]

So you guys think that if a kid does a cookie cutter craft, that must be all they do? like you cant cut up the apple taste look at it, examine it, and then do a craft afterwards? Like today we did eggs, and I brought out eggs during circle time, we passed them around felt how hard they were, how eggs have baby birds in them, everyone got to crack one open into a bowl, we played an egg sorting game, and then they all got a "cookie cutter" Egg shape, and watercolor painted it. It has never been, do a craft and thats it, Play doh, doesn't even come into our art time, Playdoh comes into game time, to totally seperate times during my day, when you do some sort of art every single day, having a couple days be "cookie cutter" and a couple be "free art" Is awesome for the kids, good variety..........and even like today when we painted the eggs, the kids then all got plain paper to paint anything, as long as the paint is already out, go crazy. We have dance time, circle time, Art time, story time and game time, during most days through the school year.

No, i personally dont think that, of course not. I think the discussion was about using open ended art, what it means, and how it is different from pre-packaged crafts.

We all have different ways of doing things, and offer different programs.

For me personally, i feel that open ended art is more appropriate for young children, and choose to practice that in my program.

[Blackcat31]

No, i personally dont think that, of course not. I think the discussion was about using open ended art, what it means, and how it is different from pre-packaged crafts.

We all have different ways of doing things, and offer different programs.

For me personally, i feel that open ended art is more appropriate for young children, and choose to practice that in my program.

I do not allow any pre-printed papers of any kind. Blank paper and any kind of medium or supply you can think of, no color pages, no cut outs, no coloring books. Plain paper only.

[Preschool/daycare teacher]

I agree about open ended art, but I also agree with the posters who said why not do both and switch it up a little. I have a pre-packaged curriculum and love having something to base my lessons on, without spending hours trying to think up and find stuff for them to do. I'm not the most creative person and am always afraid I'm going to miss something important they need, so I found a curriculum that follows NAEYC guidelines (National Association for the Education of Young Children). They include art ideas (open ended, by the way, that could go along with the theme) but they also include "cookie cutter" crafts. So my preschoolers get to do creative "open ended" art AND cookie cutter crafts. I was one who always enjoyed crafts more than art activities, so I think it's good to offer both to the children. All of my preschoolers LOVE doing the crafts. One is a little young to understand, I think, but the others love it and the first thing they ask when we start preschool is "Do we get to make anything today?" When I tell them we'll be doing x craft, they all get so excited and spend awhile doing their craft. Then they go around showing the others and the owner what they made and playing with it. Then when their parents come, they grab their craft out of their cubby and tell them all about it. I haven't seen the same amount of enthusiasm over their art projects yet, and they're soon onto something else, not even bothering to put their art in their cubby so the younger ones don't mess it up. I still say it's important to offer both, rather than one or the other, but with my particular group they seem to enjoy the crafts more. That doesn't mean I'm going to quit offering art for them, or even lessen the number of art things they do in a week's time, but I wouldn't end my curriculum because of the crafts. That's just how I feel about it for my particular group of preschoolers. Next year may be a whole other story with a different group, but since most pre-packaged curriculums come with so many ideas for hand's on learning, I plan to stick to it, even if we don't do all of the crafts (if there's a lack of interest). I would just add more art for that group if that's what they they enjoyed more.

[kendallina]

So you guys think that if a kid does a cookie cutter craft, that must be all they do? like you cant cut up the apple taste look at it, examine it, and then do a craft afterwards? Like today we did eggs, and I brought out eggs during circle time, we passed them around felt how hard they were, how eggs have baby birds in them, everyone got to crack one open into a bowl, we played an egg sorting game, and then they all got a "cookie cutter" Egg shape, and watercolor painted it. It has never been, do a craft and thats it, Play doh, doesn't even come into our art time, Playdoh comes into game time, to totally seperate times during my day, when you do some sort of art every single day, having a couple days be "cookie cutter" and a couple be "free art" Is awesome for the kids, good variety..........and even like today when we painted the eggs, the kids then all got plain paper to paint anything, as long as the paint is already out, go crazy. We have dance time, circle time, Art time, story time and game time, during most days through the school year.

Of course I don't think that's all they do. I don't see the point in cookie cutter crafts and don't see what children get from them, so they are not for me and my program.