I Might Hate Crafts, Just Don’t Tell My Son’s Teacher!

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Before she pulled me aside during Back to School Night, I knew what my son’s preschool teacher was going to say. “Sebastian is such a sweet boy,” she began, “but I was wondering if you two could work on his fine motor skills at home? It would really help his preparation for Kindergarten. Nothing serious, just simple crafts every week should do the trick.”

And there it was. Again! Just like with his older sister (who finally – in first grade – has learned to hold a pencil correctly), I’m totally to blame for his tiny extremities not working according to age development. When other kids are drawing intricately detailed artwork, my kids are lining up stick figures. When other kids are cutting straight lines, my kids are fumbling around with the scissors. I guess that’s what happens when your mom has a serious aversion for crafts?!

Honestly, I thought we did a pretty good job during the summer. We read a ton of books. Sebastian learned how to spell his outrageously long name (another #momfail) and had a decent command of his ABCs. So sure, maybe he didn’t pick up a crayon for 3 months or had ever used scissors in his life, but at least he could count to 20!

Though here we were on Back to School Night, his teacher passionately invested in his development, asking me to do my part. To not fail my child.

She was asking me to do crafts.

I Might Hate Crafts, But I Adore Him

If crafting is what his teacher wants, crafting is what we’ll do. I scoured Pinterest for pre-K finger painting projects (per suggestion) and immediately started to freak out! Some were insanely cute, but most were so…. messy! I was committed though and, instead of going for cute, pulled out sticks, stamps and various little tools from around the house. Easy peasy.

In a last minute genius move, I also pulled out a canister of Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes with Micro-Scrubbers to keep on standby. Thank goodness for that because, as crafting goes, the mess was everywhere! Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes with Micro-Scrubbers not only wipe out germs and dirt, they’re textured to scour away stubborn dried up paint, too. Having them within reach helped me ease into the craft mess and embrace my boy’s utter excitement.

This boy is so cute, ya’ll!!! At first he was confused as to why I was asking him to pour paint on the table and draw with his fingers…. I mean, he finger paints at school all the time, but at home? NEVER!

Eventually, I joined in on the fun at the request of my resident artist. How can I not? Sebastian is the joy of our family – the comedian, the sheer happiness… and I find him impossible to resist.

We spent all afternoon finger painting. I found myself totally immersed in our crafting date. Occasionally I did freak and make us take a break so I could wipe something down, but for the most part, we just crafted together while listening to classic Cuban music on Pandora.

A mom and her son, being creative and working on our fine motor skills at home.

Who would have thought?

Okay okay, so I get it: crafting can actually be fun. Watching my son practice the letters of his name, choosing colors to paint me a sunset or just smearing paint to our delight was seriously a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

And, at the end of the day, if his teacher thinks a few messy crafts will help my son’s development, who am I dismiss the fun? As long as I have my wipes nearby, we might actually try this again next week.

Might!