A little success...

Last night was the Advent Workshop (for children) at church. This was the event for which I was making the Chrismon templates. The plan was that the "Chrismon station" would be there for the older kids while the younger kids did simpler crafts.

The oldest of the kids (high school) didn't show, but I started out with a group of middle schoolers. I have to admit I was apprehensive because when I've assisted the minister's wife in her class with this crew, a couple of them are disruptive and kind of difficult to keep on-task.

But I guess glitter glue and pearlescent beads have a powerful allure, because even the mouthiest of the kids was quiet while constructing the Chrismons. (Incidentally: the tradition with these is to do them all in white and gold, one site detailing them is here and the patterns I used came from here. A tree full of these - my parents' church does Chrismons on their tree with small white lights - is beautiful and impressive).

As the older kids were finishing up, some of the younger kids drifted over, because they'd finished their crafts. Although the Chrismons were technically for the older kids, I asked the younger ones hanging around if they wanted me to help them make them. (This involved tracing the shape onto the craft foam - I had white foam and gold glitter foam - this is kind of a nice craft product for kids, it comes in rectangles like felt but is thicker and stiffer and sturdier than felt, and you can glue stuff to it). Then I handed them their shapes and let them decorate them.

Okay, that involved a lot of beads winding up on the floor, which I swept up (And I'm sure I didn't get them all, and I'm sure I will hear from Certain People that there was a Mess left in the fellowship hall, but whatever. I wasn't going to turn the younger kids away).

It was kind of a relief, after this week, to do something like this. The expectations of me were lower than what I thought they would be. I just had to sit there and kind of supervise, and occasionally help a younger child cut out their Chrismon or look at one that one of the kids had finished (I had forgotten how much kids depend on adult acknowledgement of what they've done). There were no arguments or backtalk or anything - just happy kids cutting out crosses and doves and putting glitter and beads on them.

One of the younger boys is borderline Asperger's and sometimes isn't so comfortable with working with people he doesn't know well, so when he walked up to the table and I saw his mom wasn't busy, I asked him if he wanted his mom to help him, and he nodded, so I got her over to make one with him.

I'm surprised how well it went. I have little experience working with kids, and so all I figured to do was to speak softly and gently and see the Chrismons they made with "their own eyes" so to speak and to say they were "pretty" even if they had more beads or glitter than I would have used. I don't know if this would be true across the board, but I found it easier to be patient with these kids than I am with some adults...

While I'm not going to smugly conclude "good with animals; good with kids" on the basis of this one situation (I really think all the craft supplies had a big effect on keeping the kids behaving well), still, I'm glad I did the workshop now; I think the kids learned and enjoyed it.