Picture It. It is Sunday afternoon, raining outside, and you have just found the CUTEST project on Pinterest for your kids to work on while you fold some laundry or catch up on the Bachelor. No judgment here! You pull out the craft bin, with all of the markers, glue sticks and pom poms a kid could ever dream of! You give them the directions on how to successfully complete their craft and they are off- hands grabbing at the glitter you tried to hide, the permanent markers, and the scissors that are probably too big for their age.

If you are anything like me, this thought will stir up feelings of frustration, disgust, and (ut oh) CONTROL.

As you make your way through the kitchen, peaking at their project, you see the disasters in front of your smiling children. This is when you step in and start showing them the “right” way. “Here, put this there.” “The sun should be yellow, not green.” “No, too much glue.”

Their faces drop and blank stares fall across the table as you start building YOUR project, the correct way. Next thing you know, twenty minutes has passed, the kids have run off to play in their rooms, and the masterpiece is complete.

Sound familiar?

There is one massive flaw in looking to ideas on the internet to inspire our kids to create. They Are Perfect.

Not one pom-pom is out of place, the circles on all the snowmen are perfectly round, and there are no extra paint drippings on the page. Who are these kids making these perfect art projects??? They certainly aren’t mine! So as my kids start to place the different materials in ALL of the wrong places, I cannot help but step in and show them the RIGHT way to do it.

I am secretly hoping you are relating to this right now and not just realizing how “not so super” I really am, as a mom.

This is another attempt to portray an image of the “perfect” parent with the “perfect” kids or gaining that glowing “A+” on a school project. It is about us and our egos, with giving very little thought to actually achieving being a good parent and letting our children grow in their creativity. Kids have a natural need to create. Their projects let them dive into their artistic abilities, while utilizing their growing imaginations. What was once a blank piece of paper, is transformed into outer space, unicorn lands, or zoos filled with exotic animals.

So my challenge for you this week is:

Let them explore their own creative spirit!

Pick one project or craft kit WITH your children that they will be excited about. If there are detailed instructions, go over it with them and be there if they need you. But walk away! Let their inner-Picassos run free with it and see what happens!! You might be surprised by how well their new creations turn out when you let them grow!