After hearing our MakerDay crafters often comment that they wished their children could attend the program with them, we decided to design a program that would allow adults and kids to craft together.
We planned our first Craft with Me program in the summer of 2023. The program description reads, “bring your grandparent, child (elementary age and up), best friend, cousin, or neighbor,” and I think we have had most, if not all, of those groupings represented. So far in our four Craft with Me programs, we’ve seen grandmothers with grandkids, moms with teens, young adult sisters with younger siblings, and dads with kids. Occasionally, we’ve had to redirect parents who show up thinking they will drop their kids off and work in the library or in a chair pulled over to the side of the meeting room. We kindly explain to these parents that this is intended to be a time for them to craft and create alongside their kids, and while they sometimes are a bit surprised by this, the response has always been very positive.
The craft projects we choose are intended to be simple enough for a kindergartener to make but have the ability to be done with more detail or skill to keep the interest of our teens and adults. We aim to have the projects allow for creativity so the entire family doesn’t leave with multiple projects that all look the same and that each crafter can use their creativity to make something unique.
Each time we hold a Craft with Me program, we are gratified to hear many positive comments. One mother came with her teenage children and told us that she doesn’t normally attend adult craft programs because she prefers to be able to do activities with her kids. She was so excited for them to all have the opportunity to work on crafts together, and we could really see how much she and her kids enjoyed that time together. Many moms have shared that they enjoy coming with their mom-friends and all their kids to craft together. We have also had a number of dads participate, and it’s always interesting to hear their feelings after the program. I remember one dad who came to our bookmark program who got very into his work and created an interesting, intricate design. He said that he never does any arts or crafts projects at home, and we all agreed that he should do more! A mom at our recent Notan heart program came into the program with her laptop, which we encouraged her to set aside. At the end of the program, she said that she noticed how much calmer and more relaxed she felt after working on her watercolor background. It’s so wonderful to see entire families of mom, dad, and kids come in, or multi-generational groups like the mom, child, and grandmother (who was visiting from China!) who came to one of our programs.
Although we have not had groups of adults come without kids, we do continue to promote this program at our regular adult craft events, and we hope to always make any crafters feel welcome.
What a cool program! I wonder if some of our seniors who drive would want to join in!
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