Hello and Help

Hi. I haven't introduced myself formally but have been lurking for a while. My boys at 22 months and we just started going to art/activity classes. My boys love the classes but it is very hard to get them involved in the projects. They would rather run around the room and play with the toys in the room. Which is totally fine with the teacher and me. I just feel bad cause I see other kids around their ages who will sit with their mommie and do the crafts. Am I doing anything wrong? My boys are very happy but it is so hard to get them stay in on place unless they are in highchairs. They are not talking much yet but saying a lot of gibberish to each other, so I am also worried about that as well.

Any words of advice would be greatly appreciated.

Emily

 

mine are younger and the only structured type classes we've done is gymboree. in the beginning they really wanted to just run around and check everything out. the teacher told me that is normal and after coming a few times, they will stick to the routine. they did pretty much. my ds would still run around on occasion, but for the most part they would stick w/ me.

i think w/ repetition...and maybe doing some crafts at home too, they will "get" it.


good luck!

 

I don't think you are doing anything wrong. Do you do crafts with them at home? If not, then you may want to take a little time everyday for some coloring or painting or some sort of craft to get them used to the idea of doing them. However, not all kids are into that kind of thing. They may just be more interested in play than art and I don't think there is anything wrong with that. To each his own. At 22 months, I had my girls in Mommy and Me and some of the crafts were just beyond their interest or patience. You can't expect any child of this age to sit still for something that they are not TOTALLy into. I have one dd who can sit and color and paint for a good 45 min. The other one, maybe 10-15 minutes at the most but she will play with little people for a good 45 min while the other one maybe 5 min. I think it just depends on their interests which are always changing. I say let them run and don't worry about what the other kids and their parents are doing. The parents usually end up making the projects anyway, so it's not really always "their" work, kwim?

 

My boys don't have the attention span for that right now. I like that advice, Melanie. I think I'll try and do a little bit with them every day -

 

I truly believe there are some kids who sit and play with toys and others who struggle to focus their attention at that age. It's a matter of temperment, not parenting. We painted birdhouses a few weeks ago. It took my boys 4 very short sessions to paint their birdhouse where lots of other kids would have done as much painting all at once. When they color, they spend more time getting out the crayons and putting them away than they actually spend coloring. They're just active and it's difficult for them to concentrate on anything that requires sitting still. Give them a task that involves lots of motion, though, and they'll go for an hour. The good news is that they are slowly building that ability to sit and play and the Little People sets are finally seeing some use.

 

thanks!! I know that I shouldn't compare myself and the boys to other people. But it's hard when you just want so much for your children. I will try to do more stuff at home with them as well.

Thanks!!!!