About this title: Engaging your child in creative play isn't just fun: it gives him or her the tools to succeed in life. In everything they do, from drawing and playing, to seeing and understanding the world, solving problems, and developing deeper relationships, children use their creativity. It's how they learn to understand the world around them. It's no wonder, then, that parents want to share in the joy of creativity with their children - both as a way to encourage their children's creative lives and to express their own creativity as well. For those whose creative life was revitalized or sparked for the ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Trumpeter
Date Published: 2008-04-01
ISBN-13:9781590304716ISBN:1590304713
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781590304716. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: SHAMBHALA PUB
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781590304716ISBN:1590304713
Description: New. Between work and school, music lessons, and sports practice, there is less and less time to connect as a family. Those few moments together are often spent making meals, doing homework, or watching TV. In this inspiring book, Amanda Soule, a young mo... read more
"I got this book from the library because I've recently discovered the author's blog (Soule Mama) which is generally focused on crafts, sewing, motherhood, family, etc. I'm actually not a very "crafty" type person, but I still enjoy the blog and thought I would check out her book.
That said, the book was OK but nothing really amazing. I really like the premise of encouraging your children's imagination and creativity in various ways, as well as finding small things to really bring your family closer together. It's something that I want to focus more on, instead of just being overwhelmed by TV and technology as is so easy for me to do.
However, it does get a little "preachy" at times. By this I mean that Ms. Soule is such a folksy, "back-to-nature", sew-all-your-own-clothes kind of mother and she can't help but make you feel like this is how we ALL should be. Even though she tries hard not to make it sound like that. I still feel kinda bad after I read this book because I still am a little bit of a city girl at heart and yes, I enjoy my overpriced lattes and I let my kids watch TV sometimes (OK, I may be getting a little too defensive now...).
I hope I'm not giving the impression that I didn't like the book at all, because there was lots of stuff I really liked. It is actually inspiring to see that she can do these kinds of creative art projects and things with her 3 kids (she now has 4, another was born since this book came out)--and for each idea she tries to incorporate ideas for how both young and older kids could participate. I'd like to try out some of the general ideas with my two little girls at home. (although I think I'll skip "cooking your own homemade glue").
Overall, the book is pretty good but I still like her blog better for some reason. The blog has even gotten me to try and teach myself how to knit! So maybe I can figure out how to be "crafty" after all."
"Reading this book, I was so incredibly inspired by Soule and her parenting philosophy. Soule's basic idea is that as parents we need to foster imagination and creativity in our children's lives. We need to do it because the ability to be creative is innate in every child, and it is through the use of this creativity, or their imaginations, that they learn to express themselves, to communicate with the world and with each other, and to become both confident and nurturing.
When Soule speaks of our creative side she is addressing so much more than the act of making things with cloth, paint, or glue. She says, "a large part of nurturing a spirit of creativity comes from being mindful, slowing down, observing, and looking around you at the beauty and inspiration all around. We are blessed as parents to have the best teachers for this - our children. Stop and watch your children often. Really stop and watch, and you'll see them using such creativity in everything they do - a toddler picking dandelions, a young child making something out of blocks - they inherently work and play with creativity, intent, and imagination."
What a wonderful way to look at our children, and at the world around us! Don't we all wish we could take Soule's advice and slow down a little? What makes that hard to do is time. Something there is never enough of. But Soule addresses that. "Much of our cultural energy is spent filling our minds, hearts, and time with things outside our families," she says. "While all the external events and energy are wonderful, it is often forgotten that the home and family can be a tremendous source of balance, happiness, inspiration, and creativity."
In order to avoid the trap of time, Soule suggests that we plan our creative projects into our schedules. She mentions gathering her children together each morning to discuss the day's creative projects and block out the time for them. She says, "In the same way that we plan the appointments and self-care we need in our lives, we also need to plan for the creative projects that are important to us." As with anything else in our lives, if it is a priority we will make the time for it.
One way to help us prioritize is to realize the importance of setting examples of creative living for our children. Soule believes that "Imaginative living needn't and shouldn't be limited to childhood, and it is our job to tell our children through our actions that their imaginations are something they can use, rely on, and find comfort in throughout their lives."
Shortly after reading those words I took my children to a small art museum, each armed with a pad of paper and a tin of colored pencils. We had just finished learning about the color wheel and I asked them to look for examples of the color groupings we had talked about: primary, secondary, complimentary. Although my children are young - 4, 6, and 8, they picked up their pencils and began to sketch away. Slowly we wound our way through the museum and eventually ended outside in the gardens, sketching flowers. It was at this point that I remembered what Soule said about setting an example for our children. So I pulled out my own notebook, borrowed pencils from my children, and started sketching a small flower. From the moment I pressed my pencil to the paper an inner dialogue started up in my head, "This looks terrible. You have no idea what you are doing. Make sure nobody sees this."
And then my daughter popped her head over my shoulder. "Oh, Mom. You are doing so good." It made me wonder when I had lost my confidence. I loved watching the sunlight flickering over the soft yellow petals. When had I decided that it wasn't for me to create something from the feeling of wonder that the interplay of light, color, and texture inspired? Somehow along the way I had learned that there was a right way, an only way, to be creative and I didn't know it.
My children hadn't learned that yet. They were happily and enthusiastically capturing the nodding flowers with purple, red, and yellow pencils. I wanted them to always feel like there was a way for them to connect with beautiful things, and express what they were seeing and feeling. I realized that first I would have to shed my own insecurities; that we needed to all be creative together.
Another recent epiphany I had that resonated with Soule's writing came last week when my daughter's pet goldfish died. It was our first pet, and she had taken such good care of it, feeding it every day, helping me clean out its bowl once a week. She was devastated. And there was nothing I could do to comfort her or stop the tears. Not until I suggested that we find a rock from the backyard and paint it. We could put the fish's name on the rock and set it in the flower bed to help us remember it. My daughter quickly set to work finding a rock and washing it off while I got out the paint supplies. She put on her smock and forgot her tears as she became absorbed in painting her rock. She made it orange to match her fish, and then I helped her write her fish's name on the top. She carried her finished rock with her for the rest of the day before finally placing it in its spot in the garden.
I know that it was engaging in the creative process that brought my daughter the comfort she needed. And working on that rock together, as mother and daughter, made the project even more soothing and healing for her. It was a wonderful example of everything that Soule talks about in her book. It didn't require any intricate patterns or plans, any trips to the craft store, any expense. Just imagination and time."
"I find my self making the same complaints about every instructional book I read: sentence fragments, typos, too much preaching-to-the-choir type filler material, too many annoyingly repeated words and turns-of-phrase (for example, "each and every", and the word "gift" used as a verb). And yeah, this book wasn't really different. Well, there were only a couple of sentence fragments. But I still enjoyed it, snobbishness aside. It's full of really interesting ideas, and I think I'll refer to it more and more as Isobel grows into those ideas. I especially liked the chapters on displaying a child's artwork and capturing special moments, and the section on Craftivism. Of course, not everything relates to me- I'm not particularly interested in knitting or embroidery. But rather than making me feel guilty for not wanting to do these creative things with my children, the author presents them in a way that makes them seem approachable, at least, like if I wanted to, I could handle it. She's very encouraging and enthusiastic, and really, most of the projects presented in this book are simple enough for even me. They are, after all, intended for children."
"I like Soule's perspective that a child's imagination is something to be nurtured and not simply left to nature. I whole-heartedly agree. I agree with her premise that children need to see the adults in their lives engaged in regular creative pursuits as an example that a large part of a healthy life centers on continuing to feed our creative selves. I appreciate that she sees creativity less as a paint-by-numbers project here and there and more as a way of life, or of seeing the world. What I don't agree with is that she wants me to make my own glue.
This book has a lot of great perspective on how to make the home a creative haven for children (and adults.) While much of it is dedicated to offering this philosophy of living a creative life, there are some great projects given step-by-step instructions, as well as many general descriptions of activities that can bring the whole family together in creative pursuits. I plan to pick up a used copy of this book to place on my child's playroom bookshelf, if for no other reason than to remind me to continually nurture his imagination. I'm sure some of the step-by-step projects will find their way into our future as well."
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