I love beading with the children. The finished article is never as I imagined at the beginning.
I took them to the bead shop, with a set budget. They had control of their own budget and I tried to guide them as little as possible, but helped them with the maths when they needed it. My five year old needed more help in this department, but soon grasped the idea that she could either have two of one sort of bead or four of another with her remaining budget.
When we got home, they set to work. The silence as they worked was only punctuated, every so often, with “What do you think”.
I was fascinated in two ways by the resulting necklaces. The first was that my 5 year old created a necklace about 30″, made up of lots and lots of tiny seed beads and slightly larger beads. She chose to repeat a pattern all the way through. It was complex and perfectly executed. Her attention to detail and the time it took was remarkable.
The second surprise was the colours that they chose. They had both selected colour combinations which I would not have picked. The results were lovely, but it made me think. Around the house and the garden, I am the primary person to select the colour combinations. Despite being exposed to and immersed in my colour tastes, they are developing their own distinct style. I am so pleased. I sometimes wonder which of us learns most from these creative activities.
They have gone to bed with their necklaces, otherwise I would have included a photo. Instead here is a photo of my offering. Needless to say, it does not resemble either to theirs.
While we were out, I bought some more cotton. I’ve knitted up the light blue yarn this evening, as a basket weave patterned washcloth based on this one, although I made it slightly bigger. I think this may be my favourite. The photo does not do the colour justice.
