Why Children Should Be Taught To Sew

Just a recently there was an NPR broadcast on the president's daughter taking a "gap year" and the whole gap year program and how it got started. A mother stated that her kids were about to go off to college and she felt they were lacking in important life skills. Well, my thought was that teaching of life skills begins at home, but...

Once upon a time life skills were a given. You did chores at home, by the time you got to junior high school if you were a boy, you took shop class. If you were a girl you took Home Ec and learned to cook and sew (if you didn't already know how).

The article below, previously published in April of 2009 on a now defunct web site, starts off with a an account of another mother, this time with her daughter-in-law, addressing a very important life skill - sewing. There are a number of reasons why children should be taught to sew, and as I have addressed the most important of them below, I'll just add that today I'm no longer teaching and I spend a lot of time interacting with adults, young and not so young, who often leave me shaking my head in disdain. Life skills and literacy are disappearing rapidly and it's pretty sad.

Sewing is not a lost art, as some have claimed. If that were so, we'd all be naked. It's not a quaint, old-fashioned handicraft. It's an important life skill that everyone should be able to do, male or female, at least on a basic level.

Without further ado...

Why to Teach Children Sewing Techniques

I teach enrichment classes part time at a K-8 charter school. Last year the school's business manager stopped me in the hall one afternoon and said she had thought of me over the weekend. Her daughter-in-law been about to discard a throw pillow because of a ripped seam. She said she had taken the young woman by the hand and led her over to the sewing machine and taught her how to repair it, marveling at how it almost ended up in the trash.

Once upon a time sewing was considered a valuable life skill that was actually taught in schools. Thankfully that time is slowly starting to return to classrooms everywhere. My second grade students were thrilled at the opportunity to learn to sew as it meant they could potentially make all sorts of things, including their own unique clothing. A few were even dreaming of sewing up items to sell to make money!

It is an easy thing to teach children to sew and can be incorporated into math lesson plans. Before we started I gave my students a sheet of white copy paper and ruler and instructed them to draw lines that were one inch a part. I then gave them each a needle and colored thread so they could practice stitching in a straight line.

Next came the fabric some rectangular bits of upholstery fabric someone had given me that I really had no other use for. I never said what they were making and they all enjoyed trying to guess. They were shown how to pin the pieces together and then make a basic seam leaving a slight allowance. Almost all of them had to go over their seams a second time to reinforce them because their stitches were uneven and usually too long. Before long they had pinned and stitched three and one half sides of their rectangles at which time we cut up Mardi Gras beads to use as filler for the bean, that is bead, bags.

I ended class a little early so they could take their bags outside and toss them around. They learned the basics of a valuable skill that will serve them throughout the rest of their lives and experienced an increased feeling of self esteem and pride at their accomplishments.

Learning to sew by hand improves hand eye coordination and gives children a marketable skill they can potentially turn into income. It is a great hobby that allows them to create their own gifts and it gives them another avenue for self-expression as they begin to embellish and create their own clothing and accessories. Later, learning to sew with a machine takes all those other things to the next level where they can create more sophisticated projects.

Book Review: Friendship Origami

Today is paper craft day. No, I'm not making pretty things out of paper, I am diligently transferring previously published articles (sigh) from that soon to be defunct publishing web site, you know, the one that used to be a good source of passive income for free-lance writers? Alas, it was a good run while it lasted.

I've been slacking off the past couple months, but a recent RT on Twitter reminded me that I have a little over a month left to get all my articles transferred from the site to my blog. Today's session started with the migration of my (former) Helium article on where to find scherenschnitte patterns, a tedious process in that I had to edit each hyperlink and check to be sure all the examples I'd listed in the original article were still viewable on active web pages.

Once that was (finally) over (it may have taken longer because the Saints game was on...) my sojourn into Scherenschnitte was  followed by the relocation of my book review of of Ramona Jablonski's Paper Cut-Out Design Book. The next subject at hand is one of my personal favorites - origami.

This cute little book came to me one day via my aunt; I've used it in the past in my enrichment classes, both for crafting and for sessions in how to follow directions. My students loved making origami items, and when we did them as part of an exercise in following directions I never told them what they were making. If they listened carefully, they'd end up with a paper cup (one of the simplest things to make).

I've even had the kids make their own origami paper by coloring abstract designs onto plain old copy paper. Copy paper is cheap and letting the kids decorate their own (without necessarily knowing why) lets them do something they love to do - color, and it provides them with unique papers later for use in their origami projects.

And so...

Review: Friendship Origami

Filled with sixty-four colorfully illustrated pages, Jill Smolinski’s Friendship Origami promises hours of paper folding fun with over two dozen great projects from jewelry to animals to paper dolls.  Even though the book’s cover says “Girls wanna have fun,” it’s a sure bet that boys will find almost all of the included projects equally as enjoyable.

Recommended for kids aged nine through twelve, Friendship Origami begins by explaining the basic folds and forms essential to creating origami on the first two pages and then moves straight into making stuff with the “Best Buddy Bracelet.”  This accordion folded project can be completed by any child capable of making a folded paper fan.  Children between the ages of six and seven may need a little help from an adult, especially with the last few steps, but even they can make this bracelet.  (This project is a great manipulative to use in the classroom, especially as an exercise in following directions.)  Recycled magazine pages with colorful pictures on both sides produce very interesting bracelets as does gift wrap.

The only difficult fold in the entire book is the Peace Crane. Everything else in Friendship Origami is easy enough that even younger kids (aged seven or eight) could accomplish many of the folds with the help of a fold-savvy adult to clarify some of the step by step instructions.  While the jewelry and purse projects are geared specifically toward girls there are many that are not.

Both girls and boys will enjoy folding the wallet, hat, dice, dog and turtle origami projects outlined in Friendship Origami.  The folded gift box is a great way to reuse stiff paper like the perfume inserts and advertising cards in magazines as well as old greeting cards.  The “Heart of Lace” makes a great Valentine project and the pinwheel, catchall and basket make great party favors.

Many kids learn to fold paper fortune tellers (also known as cootie catchers) at some point in their school careers and Friendship Origami presents yet another option for this project in using them to create puppets.  (Note: In the book they are used as a candy dish and can be found in the table of contents under Sweets for the Sweetie.)

Origami is a great activity that both kids and adults enjoy that yields hours and hours of entertainment and Friendship Origami is a great introduction for young people to the ancient paper folding activity.  All instructions are fully illustrated in simple, plain language.

How to make Paper Bag Puppets

A recent notification about a Twitter update being retweeted reminded me that I have been seriously slacking in migrating my articles from the soon to be defunct Helium web site. The update in question was an article on how to build a puppet stage from cardboard that was retweeted by LSP @puppet_school, It's a small thing, but I'm grateful for it, since I published over 300 articles on Helium and in December they will disappear if I don't do something to preserve them. 

I've just transferred the puppet stage article, and since this one was related, I wanted to transfer it at the same time.

Making Paper Bag Puppets

Making puppets from paper bags is cheap, quick and easy and is just the kind of activity that will keep your wildly imaginative kids entertained for hours on end. What's more, the fun doesn't stop with the creation of the puppets themselves. Once your kids have a nice collection of paper bag puppet characters they will have to come up with stories to start their own puppet theater to entertain the rest of the family.

Kids love pretend and puppets are a great way for them to explore storytelling and imaginary adventures. With a little help from you they can even create their own puppet home movies. Animals, storybook characters, monsters and even alien creatures will be invading your home, righting wrongs and battling the big bad wolf for the amusement of friends, relatives, classmates and anyone who will listen.

Getting started is as simple as assembling a few craft essentials. All you need is a package of brown or white paper lunch sacks, glue and an assortment of paper or fabric scraps. For puppets with more detailed features pencil, markers or crayons would be helpful. Scissors are handy for older children who are good at cutting but you may want to cut shapes for hair, eyes, noses and mouths, etc., ahead of time. This will make things easier for your junior puppet master.

The bottom of the paper bag will serve as the puppet's face and the flap created by the fold of the bottom against the upper portion of the bag will serve as its mouth. Your child will make the puppet "talk" by inserting his or her hand in the opening for what would normally be the top of the bag and working the flap up and down with their fingers.

To make a puppet simply add eyes and other facial features by cutting geometric shapes from pink, brown, white or black construction paper and gluing them onto the paper bag. To see an assortment of cute animal puppets you can make simply and quickly using very few materials visit Enchanted Learning's paper bag puppet craft page at: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/puppets/paperbag/. A number of other web sites have instructions and templates online for creating all sorts of puppets from animals to holiday themed characters including First School, ABC Teach, and DLTK.

If crafting from scratch is just not your forte it's okay; all hope is not lost as there are a few great craft kits available for wonderful paper bag puppets from Martha Stewart that come with everything you need included. These are available through Amazon.com com, Walmart and local craft stores.

Paper bag puppets are so simple even the most craft challenged adult will have no trouble completing several of them in a manner of hours. The best part is at a cost of just pennies a piece, your child can make as many as he or she wishes.

Make a DIY Puppet Theater from Cardboard

I've been lagging behind the past few months as I've been busy with Speed Dating event management, but now that the year is winding down and Helium is about to go away forever, a Twitter retweet notification from LSP @PuppetSchool this morning has reminded me it's time to resume migrating all my articles before they disappear!

The original article, titled How to Make a Cardboard Puppet Stage, first appeared on Helium in July of 2010.  I also did a related article for them on making paper bag puppets, and another on finding resources for making paper mache. I want to thank LSP @PuppetSchool for digging up that Twitter update and sharing it with their followers.

How to Make a Cardboard Puppet Stage

Building a cardboard puppet stage is a great weekend activity to do with the kids, especially on rainy days when playing outdoors is out of the question. If you have a large cardboard box, paints and a bit of fabric you have everything you need to create your very own family puppet stage.

The best box to use will be a tall rectangular one such as the wardrobe boxes for storing clothing during a move or a large appliance box. These will make great free standing puppet theaters, but medium sized boxes could be used just as easily to create tabletop stages.

If using a tall box, carefully remove the top fold-down flaps with a box cutter or very sharp scissors. Next you will need to remove one full rectangular panel from one side of the box. (Leave the bottom intact.) This will serve as the back of the puppet stage.

On the opposite side of the wardrobe box, across from the panel you removed, cut out a rectangular piece of cardboard to serve as a window. This will be the audience side of your puppet stage.  Take care not to make the front window too large or too small.  It should be just large enough to allow viewing of two or three hand puppets (perhaps twelve inches tall by fourteen inches wide).

The height of the front window from the bottom of the box should leave room for the performers not to be seen during a puppet show.  The actual placement will depend upon the size of the cardboard box used to create the puppet stage.  By leaving the “floor” of the box intact the puppet theater will be able to stand on its own without any support.

The next step is to decorate the stage to make it performance ready.  To transform your humble cardboard box into a magnificent puppet stage (after cutting) begin by either adding a coat of black poster paint or by covering the box with black fabric.  Actual fabric curtains can be added on to the front of the puppet stage or painted on.  If using fabric curtains you’ll want to create ties to hold them back during a performance.

Creating a cardboard puppet theater is as easy as cutting a few pieces from a large enough box and decorating the outside to your liking.  If using a smaller carton, such as one that has held several jugs of water or reams of paper, cut the window from the bottom of the box and turn it on its side to be used as a tabletop puppet stage.

Want a Less Messy Alternative to Decorating Easter Eggs?

Yes, I know it's the middle of May, and yes I know that Easter Sunday was several weeks ago. So why am I posting about decorating Easter Eggs? Well, because I am still migrating that plethora of Helium articles and this is the next one to come up for re-posting.

This is yet another one of those times where I wish I'd had the opportunity to post photos as well in order to illustrate the tasks covered for decorating eggs without dye, but if I start re-doing everything as well as re-posting, I'll still be sitting here next year and with only half of the articles salvaged.

Alas, dear reader, you'll just have to take my word for it. I'm really good at giving directions, you know!

How to Decorate Eggs without Dye

Decorating eggs at Easter is a fun and exciting pastime for kids, but it can also be a messy one, particularly when liquid dyes are used. Aside from the potential spills, drips and stains egg dyeing can bring, many parents are becoming increasingly concerned about the chemicals in commercially sold Easter egg dye kits. This unease has led to them to seek out natural dyes as well as other alternate non-toxic means for decorating eggs with children.

Do to the ever expanding DIY craft market, there are a wide variety of materials and methods that can be used in the absence of traditional dye kits for decorating eggs. Depending on the age of the children involved and the degree of messiness assisting adults are willing to endure, dye-free egg décor can be pre-school simple or artistically intricate.

Perhaps the best material to work with when decorating eggs with small children is stickers. Purchased stickers provide instant gratification while allowing little hands to customize their Easter eggs with everything from smiley faces to animals to their favorite Disney characters. Large craft stores feature entire aisles of stickers in a wide range of sizes and styles to accommodate every imaginable theme.

Alternatively, custom stickers could be made from large blank labels such as those used for addressing packages. Kids can color and draw freehand on the labels with regular markers, colored pencils, or crayons. Those with limited drawing ability can use stencils to create colorful geometric patterns, or simply make their own abstract designs. Temporary tattoos could also be used to decorate eggs for Easter, as could nail decals.

Perhaps the only drawback to decorating Easter eggs with stickers is that the eggs are still mostly white (unless using brown eggs). For kids with even minimal drawing ability, food coloring pens such as Food Doodler and Gourmet Writer, allow for adding straight or curved lines and simple designs with less hassle and mess than egg dyes. The more drawing skill kids have, the more elaborately they will be able to decorate their eggs.

In addition to food coloring pens, there are a number of food paints available that could be used instead of dyes to decorate Easter eggs. These are probably best suited for older children and teens, and can be obtained from retailers that carry cake decorating supplies.

No matter the age of the child involved Easter egg decorating with stickers, edible pens or paint, temporary tattoos, or a combination of all three, parents can rest assured they will be doing so dye-free, and with a lot less mess.