Friday, October 8, 2010

Handicrafts - SEWING for Boys?

Here's a sample of what we do in our home school time for handicrafts, ala Charlotte Mason.

Sewing.
Sewing for boys?
Yes!

Simple lacing is wonderful for young children.
Zazu started lacing at age 3 with difficulty. Now at almost 5 he enjoys the process and is able to go through every hole on his own.



While Zazu was practicing his version of sewing with a homemade garbage truck lacing card, Eagle was exploring the craft of sewing with needle and thread on a scrap piece of jean.
Eagle is 10 years old and has aspirations of making his sister a doll, I told him he needed to start somewhere.

  1. The first stitches were to just to see how it worked.
  2. I made a sample line for him to follow.
  3. Finally, he wanted drew a square and followed that with great accuracy.


That was it for sewing that day.

So back to the question of
Sewing, for boys?

I believe in a well rounded education and that includes boys exploring a little of what we call women's work.
  • I want my boys to learn and appreciate what it takes to make what we use and wear on a daily basis.
  • I want my boys to learn the value of things and if they're on their own one day and need to sew a button, they can. Most people nowadays would surely just throw out or give the shirt to the thrift store.
  • I want my boys to learn to use their hands for not just playing trucks and Lego. Sewing by hand is definitely something to strengthen those fine motor skills, don't you think? 
  • Lastly, as a bonus, I just love the silence and the atmosphere that this type of craft/activity creates in our house. I love handmade things
Thank you Charlotte Mason for encouraging me.


1 comment:

  1. I think that is a great idea. I am going to get the lacing out for my kids.

    ReplyDelete

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