Excerpts

Introduction "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." This sentence is Picasso's. But what is an artist? Someone who looks at the world with a curious eye, gifted with a creativity that transforms raw material into poetry? Yes, children have this talent, this perpetual wonder that makes them enthusiastic for new experiences, capable of investing themselves in a little project with as much enthusiasm and seriousness as they would if their life depended on it: making soap bubbles or paper airplanes, tying a remote-control motor to a stuffed animal on wheels, or making a skirt of flowers to put around a little doll. Playing is about inventing, testing, letting your imagination and concrete experiences rub up against one another. And, in the end, it's about growing as well. Only while growing up, we sometimes lose our open mind. We throw out bottle caps without seeing the possibility of them being wheels; we no longer pick up feathers on the sidewalk. Sometimes, even, we forget to sculpt volcanoes in our mashed potatoes! That is, we forget unless we have the chance to have children of our own, who remind us not to neglect the most important things: play, fantasy and making wonderful things for the sake of making something wonderful! This book is a helping hand for parents who haven't lost their inner child, for those who, between the "brush your teeth" and "don't forget to say thank you," will add the essential insight: "Never forget to see the extraordinary in the ordinary!" Excerpted from How to Amaze Your Daughter: Crafts, Recipes and Other Creative Experiences to Teach Her to See Gold in the Ordinary by Raphaele Vidaling All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.