Wednesday, November 17, 2010

handwork



As I progress further down this path of homeschooling, I am looking far and wide for inspiration and workable plans. Teaching and immersing our son in the Word of God is still at the forefront of every school day and is the area we start first and try not to rush to just get done. And although I read up on other methods of education, I always evaluate them in light of the Bible's view of mankind, in particular, children and Redemption. So with that said, I have spent time in the last year reading up on the methods of Montessori and and more recently, Waldorf schools(more on this to come).
My Montessori Journey was my first exposure to a Christian Montessori approach and from which I have gained many ideas and web links. Using the Montessori resource catalog, For Small Hands, I bought the fabric and sewing supplies to begin to teach Seth some simple stitches as handwork(aka handicraft) which was recognized by Charlotte Mason as being vital to a child's development and life skills.




He is eager to learn and seems content to sit and concentrate. He is already making plans of sewing me a shirt for Christmas, however I did temper that by saying he probably would need to give himself more time to learn and practice. He has decided to wait for that until next Christmas. :)



Lest you worry about the needle, it's a tapestry needle which is very blunt and safe to use as a beginner. Burlap fabric was recommended as it is an open weave and by removing a single thread, a guide path is created to enable straight stitches.

4 comments:

  1. Ia m curious about Waldorf too...looking forward to what you have to say! I don't much but like their emphasis on simple, homemade toys and the little tent like playspaces I see in so many sample pictures of a Waldorf learning enviroment.

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  2. Anonymous2:54 PM

    MemMem likes!!
    I know this isn't FB ;)

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  3. I have also been slowly wading into the philosophies of Waldorf and Montessori. I'm interested in where you go with it.

    So thankful to have others go before me and test the waters before I get there ;)

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  4. Vanessa and Gina,
    I will try to put something together explaining how I see we can implement these various methods without compromising our biblical Christianity. Thanks for your interest and your encouragement.

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