Through the subject of handwork, children perfect movement of the hands, experience the joy of creating and are stimulated intellectually by the knowledge of important crafts and their use in many parts of the world. They are awakened to the appreciation of artistic values - color, line, pattern, texture and design. They are exposed to many artistic media and are taught the use and care of materials. They become keen observers of the world around them, and with practice become able to have their hands obey their will. Through this work, they derive a sense of their own value and achieve an inner glow of satisfaction.

In recent years, we have been very interested in developing the creativity of our children. Today, it has become very clear that creativity develops from knowledge. The potential for creativity expands as a child develops his ability to observe, as he learns effective and efficient ways to use tools, as he refines his hands, as he has an opportunity to witness and experience examples of great art in all the various media, and as he gains a greater understanding of the elements of design.

We now know that it is a mistake to abandon children to their ignorance in the belief that it leaves them free to be creative. Creation by accident is not art. True creativity is a conscious endeavor, planned, implemented with purpose, and accomplished through vision and skilled effort.

 We must not be afraid to teach our children - to pass on what our finest artists and craftsmen have learned. Given a ball of clay, a child might work with it indefinitely and never learn to make a coiled pot; so, an important potential of the medium would be overlooked. In this way, without guidance, the child begins to feel hopeless and inept. This does not mean that children do not need to handle materials, to get the feel of them, but it does mean that they also need to be shown possibilities. Anything we have learned, we need to teach our children. These early years are the children's most important learning years, and so anything we do with them must be done seriously and must be taking them somewhere. Naturally they will enjoy the activities and get a lot of pleasure from them, but there is also a purpose behind everything we do. When they have learned the fundamentals, then they can go farther and add their own creative ideas. But in order for the creativity to develop, they need to be taught the use of the media.

 

There is a way to use any particular tool in order to derive maximum benefit from it. Improper handling can spoil the tools and leave the child dissatisfied with their use. Mishandling of tools also creates habits that the child will have to unlearn later. It is very easy to show a child how to use a tool in the beginning. But it takes hours and hours over weeks of time to retrain the child if he has initially used the tool improperly.