Great CAP Kids Fair

Deanna Norris from Child Abuse Prevention sent out a request for exhibitors to set up in conjunction to the Pinckney Art in the Park.  It was the first time it was participating in the art fair and I decided it would  be a good match for reaching more parents and children in the area and agreed to be an exhibitor.
Each exhibitor needed to have a craft for kids to do.  Fun for all!  Some brought mask forms to decorate, visors that were decorated with pom poms or feathers or tracing their hands and having the child come up with something safe they can do with their hands.  I decided to have lots of items so the kids could make anything they wanted.  I went to the Scrap Box in Ann Arbor and stocked up with foam pieces with adhesive on one side (kids love to build with them and their so easy - no glue or tape) and tubes in various sizes and colors.  Next I rummaged through my craft stuff at home and came up with Popsicle sticks, yarn and ribbon.  Then I collected empty paper towel rolls, empty boxes from a variety of foods, oatmeal containers and I was all set.  Two garbage bags of boxes and 5 boxes of Scrap Box goodies and I was ready.
The fair was set up between the petting farm and the art fair - so it got a lot of traffic.  Kids made castles, spaceships, binoculars, cell phones and many free form designs.  It was fun to watch the kids build with determination.  Some children build freely with no predetermined design in mind but others were single minded.
One parent stepped back and said that just watching and helping when their child needed it, was hard.  I couldn't have agreed with her more.  As a mom and a teacher, allow a child to struggle and giving them time to explore, is not always comfortable for adults. I found it hard to watch other parents take over their child's project because they have another idea for it - it may or may not have been what their child wanted or thought they were helping but they were determining where everything was going.  It's too bad.  Children really get  a lot of pleasure having control of what they create and they learn so much from doing the creating.  From problem solving to balancing to counting to color theory.  There is so much more going on then appears on the surface.
It was nice to have an opportunity to talk with kids and their parents one-to-one and tell them a little about the website.  I hope they take the time to check it out and let me know what they would like to see next. 
Well - the weather was great - (no rain) and I went through all my boxes and 4 1/2 boxes of my Scrap Box stuff!  So I think it was a successful day!