momma aimee Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 and when? and does it matter if they are boys or girls? is it / was it something you already were skilled at? and most importantly how do you start with a younger (under 10 or 11) child) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfknitter.# Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Well I wondered if it wouldn't be best to start with felting, because that seems to be about wetting wool and bashing it around a bit. :tongue_smilie: I don't know. Maybe weaving if I could think of things to actually do with their weaving once they'd done it. You kind of miss the work in handiwork if it's a random piece of something with no purpose that gets tossed in the bin. I'm looking forward to having a bit of thinking time to look through archives.com for the handicraft books I can't access through Google books. :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deee Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 This is an area where Waldorf excels. Children start craft in preschool. They begin making little figures out of coloured beeswax, they sew little felt gnomes, make things out of fleece and hammer bits of wood together to make boats. By kindergarten they are finger knitting and sewing large felt toys. They often make felted pictures or make and dye the felt first. We have a lovely sea horse my son made. By first grade they are weaving (often with finger knitted wool) and knitting. My son wove a recorder bag and knitted a doll in first grade. Second graders do more complicated knitting, building up to crochet. Woodwork starts in ernest in grade 3. Parents are generally asked to come in and help. Handwork happens after lunch from 1st grade on. It is a very large part of the curriculum. Its also something I find very hard to maintain as the mother of one homeschooled boy who hates to knit! There is something about a class dynamic that makes handwork much easier, I think. Try looking at some Waldorf school websites. Because the craft is so lovely, its often displayed, so its easy to see pictures of. Freya Jafke's books are helpful (eg Toy making with children), as are books like Festivals, Family and Food. Be warned that Steiner folk often have very strong ideas on the whys and whens of handwork. Knitting is especially prized. You can take or leave these views and just use what works for you. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Yes, the Waldorf folks do such a nice job with handcrafts, but I do wish I could find resources that weren't so expensive! I wouldn't mind paying so much if I could use them, but so many of their books include season based activities which don't mesh with our reality down here in the Southern Hemisphere! It also seems like the books are made to be used by teachers who've already been through the training, so understand all the bits that are missed out. But I haven't looked in some time so perhaps I have an incorrect perception. I've been thinking of going back up to the Steiner shop for another look. I might have to keep thinking until I've saved up a little money. ;) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dahliarw Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 My kids did some basic handcrafting in their montessori preschool, sewing on a button, stitching along a line, paper weaving, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Our kids were hammering the plastic "nails" to help put the drawers together on their new school desk table today. Does that count as handwork? :lol: FWIW, I think it's a great example of hand eye coordination. Neither of them missed the head once. They did a great job. Off to research handwork options now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Ds8 is apprenticing with me in the kitchen (cooking and baking). After that, we're moving on to sewing. Dd4 is tagging along. She's interested in everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Well, if kitchen prep counts... Dd gets cross if I peel my own potatoes and carrots. :001_huh::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertmum Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 We have a 5yo boy. It never occured to us whether it was a boy or a girl "thing" to do handwork. My hubby is very much into Waldorf so loves the idea of ds doing things with his hands. We go to every single arts and crafts workshop available. DS loves beading which I think helps with motor skills. He has made tons of necklaces, and braces and such. Also, we are doing basic knitting. I've got a scarf knitting kit from a shop. It is made for children so the kit comes with chunky plastic needles (read=not dangerous enough to kill anyone) which are easy foryoung hand to work with. Yes, I can knit. I learned eons ago with mum and I'm just retaking it now. I imagine you don't need a kit, just some chunky wool and big plastic needles-and a scarf is basic. DS "assists" dh with fixing things. Just the easy part mind you -I don't trust ds with saw and hammer yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanikit Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 My DD has sewed children's toys (the ones with plastic "needles" and pieces of felt with holes already punched in it). She also likes to help her father with the plumbing and changing light bulbs (does that count? :)) I know we started knitting taught by my grandmother when we were about 6, so may start this with my DD when she is a bit older. As for the kitchen she has got as far as buttering bread and cutting soft fruit and vegetables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 My 4 year old daughters have gotten those pot-holder looms. My little one is awesome at it ... stick to it and gets the patterning. Nice that its a math thing too :) My 7 yo has this sewing box, and I think it is quite nice! Fun projects that can be accomplished with a little hand holding. My girls both love beading (not *my* favorite). I like the CM idea that handcrafts need to be "real" and "useful" as well as beautiful. That we don't just craft for crafting sake. (I really like this series at Afterthoughts: Crafts in the Life of a Child Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4). I was in a Christian school Kindergarten class on Saturday and the walls were saturated with construction paper leprechauns and colored flags and so many paper crafts that the children worked hard on. What's going to happen to all those papers at home? How many are going to be trashed? How many kids are going to learn that their work is unimportant because it is going to be thrown away immediately ... or even eventually? What does that do to their desire to work neatly and carefully? And I'm wholly on the side of the parents here ... I have 3 children, I cannot store all those things nor do I want to! The Sunday School papers drive me crazy, I can't imagine having school projects too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissKNG Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Lacing kits and those potholder looms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Already Gone Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 (edited) … Edited September 18, 2022 by Already Gone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo2 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 My son is kind of crazy about his own projects, which are usually somewhat mechanical in nature, and he does a lot of that in his free time. But two more structured handicrafts we've had success with were the aforementioned potholder looms and latch hooking. I forgot about latch hooking! I bet my 9yo could do that! We did the potholder thing, friendship bracelets, beading bracelets, sewing pillows. Next up is embroidery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 We've done quite a lot of crafts, I really enjoy crafts so it's something I can do with her. So far my dd has done: Wet & needle felting - we have done a lot of wet felted balls and recently she has been needle felting. Sewing-she has made toys and odds and ends but has now started a quilt with simple blocks. She is about 1/5 way through that and slowly plodding along doing more. We did an embroidery class for a few weeks but it was a bit intense so stopped to learn it at our own pace. Clay - really likes this, mostly makes little figures. Weaving-she tried this but it doesn't really hold her attention. Fingerknitting/using various different knitting things to make cords and stuff DIY type skills - We've made stuff like birdboxes before and she has recently been helping us on stuff around the house, sawing or drilling with help, stuff like that. Beading - she likes making collars for her toy cat. I would like to teach her cookery, she does things like peeling potatoes/carrots and stirs things but really wants to do stuff independently so we will explore that a bit more. I would like to teach her to use a sewing machine and make clothes and to knit. My ds has done a little bit of felting and has sewn a mouse or two. He does a bit of toddler type cooking. His attention span tends to give up before these sorts of projects get far through but I will get him more involved as he wants to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryTime Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I.ve focused mainly in building sewing skills. I start with the lacing cards. Then around age 3, they get their first needle to string popcorn for the Christmas tree. It's a very big deal in our house! My dd5 just started her first felt doll today and enjoyed it tremendously. We'll keep working on mastering various hand-stitches for a few years. Maybe start cross-stitching around 8 or 9. Also, we'll begin crocheting around then as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violingirl Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 My now 6.5yo learned to finger knit last year and is learning to knit on straights in the last few weeks. I plan to teach him to sew simple things too in the next year or two- everyone should know how to sew a button back on or fix a hole in a pocket. Both of the boys cook with me and DH so they're learnin that too. And DS2 has really shown an interest in DH's model planes, so that might become something he can do when he's a bit older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I can knit, so I started Rebecca with knitting (with needles) at age 6. She asked to learn. Then she learned how to cross-stitch, latch hook, sew (felt and cloth) and crochet. She's also cooking simple things. Sylvia doesn't seem interested in anything though. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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