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The Art of Homemaking

The Art of Homemaking: Beautiful Things

“The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.”
-Plato
Sometimes as a mother I beat myself up.  (I’m sure none of you ever do that, right?)
I think am I doing this right, am I doing enough of that, am I giving them enough of this, and I should have done that and that and that better.
These questions and doubts float around in my brain more than I’d like.
 
But the other day Grace and I were “working” on the floor in our jammies while Ruth napped.  I was cutting out patterns and Grace was wrapping herself up in the fabrics and telling me which ones would be good for a dress and which ones were “kind of not good”.
 
It was fun.  Actually it was more that fun.  It was one of those magic moments that I wanted to freeze in time and linger in for awhile.  There we were literally wrapped up in colors and patterns and textures—together, laughing and talking, and enjoying one another.
 
I thought about that moment again yesterday as I was working on another project.  This time Grace and I were sitting under a quilt in a fort we had built.  She was painting and I was cutting out fabric circles.  I thought to myself, this is what heaven is like.  And I remembered a quote I had heard in one of my art education classes that says,
“The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.”
 
I still going to beat myself up—maybe I should have been teaching Grace to fold the laundry that was piled on the couch or, helping her to make her R’s look more like R’s instead of Y’s or, anything else that was more practical than painting in a quilt built fort. 
 
But we did play amongst lovely things and it was effective (and wonderful) even if it wasn’t practical.  And I think I need to remember that being effective is just as good (and sometimes better) than being practical. 
(Would someone please remind me of that the next time I’m beating myself up?)
 
Have a good weekend everyone.
-liZ
 
 

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Comments

  6. Chelle says

    How sweet. I envy you Liz! I was such a high strung single mother! NOT that the single thing mattered so much at the time. Well, maybe it did. I wasn’t ready in MY mind to be a mother. To this day I wish I had played more w/ my daughter. I really don’t even know WHAT I was doing while she played, alone. She was so good at self entertainment. I NEVER let her go outside & get dirty. I regret this! BUT, my daughter, at 27 is the MOST loving person, she sees everyone as her “best” friend. She speaks very highly of me & brags to her friends about her “cool” mom so I guess I must have done something right. All of her friends love me & I have seriously “emotionally’ adopted 3 of the girls. They all call me Mom & come to me first w/ their problems before they talk to their natural mothers. You enjoy these moments under the quilt, painting & cutting & rolling round in fabric. The folding & penmanship will wait. THESE moments are the ones that Grace will remember the most. She will tell HER kids about you & want to be like you. Thank you for being the kind of mom who will spend this sort of time w/ your kids. It is important. To them & to you! PLEASE do not regret this or think about folding & “R’s” right now. Just sit & chat, paint, draw, cut, SAVOR! Have a GREAT rest of the weekend!
    kweenbee_612@yahoo.com

  8. it"s me says

    It is so easy to see that you are a good mom. Awareness is everything. The picture of
    Grace is so precious…I love clothing that is quite enough to really allow the child’s beauty to show. This gown or dress truly does.

  11. RhondaBuss says

    Some of my most precious memories that I cherish have nothing to do with going to Disney World or some Other spectacular experience. They are the quiet moments I spent along side my grandmother making biscuits on her white enamel top table. They also include the Friday night dinners out at Ponderosa with my parents and my brother. Nothing exciting, nothing spectacular, but those memories are comforting, warm and important as it was the simple moments spent with those I loved that helped me become the person I am today.

  12. Sweetbug Studio says

    I know I focused on my first (perhaps too much) and the second, well you know how that goes–less time. Everything we did was creative, play, yes we did our “letters”, but I did what I thought was best for them–I was consumed as much as I could be and a stay at home mom. After 11 years of devoting solely to them, I found time for myself–my Etsy shop. I sometimes wonder if I should spend more time with them. But they are independent and busy being creative, doing homework, writing stories, working on their blog, me taking them to extracurricular activities, etc. At ages 10 and 13 my role has changed. I realize I don’t have to dote, but be there for them when they call and need comfort, to share a story, etc. I have NO DOUBT your children will have wonderful memories of their time with you! How could a child not–painting under a fort with mom–both expressing your creativity? And no doubt, what they take away from your passions will ignite and inspire them!

  13. CicelyIngleside says

    That is beautiful! I know how we mothers always feel guilty, but truthfully, playing and hanging out with her Mom is the best education for her; more than folding laundry and working on her writing! I am currently working with Early Childhood Learning specialists, and I have learned through them that children do much of their learning through play. In fact, the office I work in is running a campaign to try and encourage learning by play in early childhood! Here’s my local link – it’s a government site – but I’m sure you can also find lots of literature on this wherever you are too. http://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/earlychildhood/power.html