So typically I'm not a huge Valentine's Day person. I enjoy a little romance here and there, but what I really love are the simple things. I love the simplicity of just holding Matt's hand, sitting on the couch with my girls next to me and just enjoying each other's company.
When I was a kid, Valentine's Day was just another day at school but we got to have a little party at the end of the day. I made a bunch of little valentine's with those paper doilies, cotton balls and some red construction paper. If I really liked the person I'd get crazy and glue those conversation hearts on it. I'd handwrite a little message on it and "viola!" Done. Good riddance.
Now it's our children that are having these little school parties and guess what? Things have changed. You can buy pre-made valentine's and all your kid has to do is sign their name (if that). Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great idea for those don't have the time or patience to clean up after their children's 18 mini masterpieces. Admittedly, this year I am no exception.
There is a fine line between letting your child be creative and being creative for your child. For instance, when your child comes home with a paper cut out of him or herself and is asked by the teacher for them to decorate it by themselves; inevitably you'll want to help your child out a bit. So there is helping out your child by guiding them with the glue for them to glue on yarn for their hair and maybe helping them draw some clothes. You look at the hot mess and say, "Good job! You did it all by yourself!"
A few weeks down the road for a class party or something you see the cute paper dolls of the children decorating the classroom and you spot it. There is ALWAYS ONE that looks a little bit too perfect. The eyes are drawn on evenly, the clothes are cut and glued on with fabric... Obviously the parent had a little too much fun with "junior's" class portrait. It's pretty hilarious, really. But also a bit sad! How will a child ever know how to hone their creativity when mom or pop are always "fixing this" or "straightening that?"
I have been working on this! Letting go of the reins and letting the kids be creative for themselves just as I was when I was a little girl decorating my own valentine's for my classmates. Here is the tricky part... I want my kids to have fun and be creative with their valentine's, but darn, there are so many cute ideas for children's valentine cards! The kicker is that if I don't do it now, I probably never will because soon enough my kids will probably die of embarrassment if I keep up with the cute stuff. And that makes me sad.
Here is what I decided I'd do. I sat down with my girls and we looked at a couple of fun things to do for valentine's and here is what we ended up with:
Lily was actually pretty easy. She knew she wanted Pokemon on her valentine's and I let her choose one Pokemon for each of her classmates. She basically just told me what she wanted each valentine to look like and what font to use for the lettering. I like the way they turned out and I'm happy that she got to direct the creative process in making them.
We got the candy bag idea from Martha Stewart, and we tweaked it to her liking.
Sophie was a little tricky. There is a certain cuteness factor with her. She's still little and very easygoing so it was hard for me to let the reins go completely with her. So I found a website of some vintage valentine's and let her pick out a bunch. She also really liked the candy bag idea so we did that for her as well!
I have to say that it was actually very relaxing to just let the girls do their thing. I showed them what to do and they just followed along. I had to adjust Sophie's a little, but I'm just happy that she constructed them and had a fun time doing it.
I've been so used to helping and controlling the creative stuff my kids get to do at home. I know that I'm just a kid at heart, but I need to be the adult and let my kids enjoy their creative time. I'm happy that I'm learning to let go of the control little by little. After all, loving your children is letting them be children. They really do grow up too fast!
Happy Valentine's Day!
"Love is patient, love is kind, is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take in account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in righteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails."
Paul the Apostle, 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
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