Freedom! 9AM and 10:30am Wonder Arts

When we give children Limits and Boundaries they receive freedom.
It sounds contrary and wrong but I would argue it's true.

Toddlers must oppose the will of others.  

Take it in...Read it one more time...

Toddlers MUST oppose the will of others.

A fantastic statement written in Tools of the Mind by Elena Bodrova and Deborah Leong.

They further explain this statement by saying:

"As toddlers begin to see themselves as separate entities, they often have to prove it to themselves by opposing the will of others."
p. 107

"Becoming aware of one's wants and needs takes time, and toddlers often get confused if adults give in to their demands too easily: they are no longer sure if something they want to do is the same or different from what their caregivers want them to do."

"When toddlers realize that many of their wishes cannot be satisfied "for real", they attempt to fulfill some of their wishes in an imaginary way."

Artists find the same is true.  Sometimes the best Art teachers limit the materials that are available to their students.  Within these limits...the student is forced outside of their usual comfort zone and a shift in thinking begins.

We want to give our children everything because we think that is what is best for them.

But most often, when we give them everything...they are left with nothing to desire.

Sometimes people think that Wonder Studio is a place with no limits and boundaries.  But that's really not the case.  

Yes, you can squeeze an entire bottle of paint out...but then you are left with nothing. (Even if it's quickly refilled...)

And when a child experiences the emptiness (and for some of them it needs to happen over and over again ;) (Hence, the refills ;) they begin to learn about when too much is just too much.

And these limits and boundaries are internalized for the child himself.  And then freedom begins.