Glue. Messes. And letting go.

 

Lincoln loves glue. #loves . Like, love loves. He likes to squeeze it. To touch it. Smoosh it. Smear it. Sometimes taste it. Squeezing the glue bottle is such a great fine motor skill builder – he is building up the strength in his hands. I cut a square of cardboard and let him make a sculpture out of little wooden odds and end bits I had around. He loved it. His favorite part was deconstructing the sculpture, however. I even set up a mat under him but was still paranoid about glue everywhere – which is silly because it will wash off. But I recognized it in the moment and, even then, looked at Layla and said “why do I care so much? It’s his project to do with what he wants… I just need to let him do it.” And I walked away for a few seconds to make tea … And breathe. Because it’s so easy NOT to do these types of projects with my kids. You know, the “messy” ones – glitter, slime, playdough, glue …. But there are SO many skills and cognitive processing involved in the make, explore, make a mess, and take of them that it’s totally worth telling my rigid, orderly self to let loose and mess-make. I have my midlife years to have an orderly, clean house. Until then, our floors will looks like science experiments blew up on them…. Our table top will show the marks of kids learning to eat with utensils and leftover glue/glitter from our art-strewn afternoons. This is the process. This is art. And art is good.

 

 

“It’s a table and a bookcase and another table with butter beer and a chair and … It’s a dollhouse!” And there is her Harry Potter book in the background as she was multitasking while creating this miniature set.