Channelling my artistic side

People often say that left-hand folk are more naturally more artistic.  Pish posh.  I am left-handed and I am not an artist.  I have never been arty.  Sure, I like the idea of it and if wishing made it so I’d be the next Monet but positive thought isn’t always enough and my attempts at art have always left a lot to be desired. 

And yet life with a toddler is meant to be all about creativity.  Thousands of incredibly intelligent people have dedicated years of their lives to convince us all that a toddler covered in paint with strips of sticky paper hanging of them whilst chewing on a felt tip pen is crucial to child-centred pedagogy.   That what appears to the naked eye as an extravagant mess of inks, paints and no doubt snot are in fact the key ingredients for cultivating strong emotional, social, physical and language skills in any child.

I’m not so sure.  To me it still looks like a mess. But if helping Trouble Monkey to make a mess will save me from the judgements of healthcare visitors, other parents and the potential undermining of his overall development then so be it.  I will roll up my sleeves, seize a paint brush, turn a blind eye to my artistically lacking ability and embrace the mess…

Sticking and gluing to promote fine motor skills!

Painting to promote self-expression!

Painting to promote cognitive reasoning!

Baking to promote fluency!

Of course I jest.  I love making a mess with Alby.  I love seeing him work with different materials and textures.  I encourage it as much as I can and even when I’m busy with other things Alby will ask for his crayons so he can draw away at his little table.  So far he’s been good at sticking to the paper (mostly) and the constant demands of “Mummy car”, “racing car” or “big car” ensure that I get to play too.  You can almost tell the difference between the blobs with wheels I call pictures!