I mentioned in my first Learning Notes post of 2019 that the 7yo was learning to knit with two needles, and the 5yo was knitting on a circular loom. And while this seemed pretty, I dunno, normal and standard for me, it occurred to me afterwards that this was probably not, in fact, normal and standard.
Here are the sorts of handicrafts I teach my children, as part of our school day but also just as part of life: sewing by hand and with the machine, finger knitting, spool knitting, and eventually two-needle standard knitting, cross stitch, practical pattern design, wreath making, flower arranging, decoupage, bird house making, and so forth. Additionally we work with watercolours, pastels, coloured pencils, and other such art mediums, and we work in the kitchen together canning, drying, fermenting, baking and so forth.
In this day and age, all of that sounds like I'm preparing middle class Victorian children for a life of social rounds and playing the pianoforte.
So that's the 'What'. And this is the 'Why'.
To start with, I teach these skills, to some degree, to my boy and girl children. This isn't a gender thing. I don't teach the girls to sew and cook and the boy to fix the lawnmower. Although if I knew how to fix the blessed lawnmower rest assured I would teach them all that as well. No, I am an equal-opportunity task master for the most part, although I won't go into detail with a lesson that the child has no interest in. The 9yo wouldn't enjoy a flower arranging class, for example, but I will still give him a basic lesson so 'clump everything in a fistful into a vase without enough water' isn't the default. Here's a few tips to make the flowers last longer and look nicer. Here's why I'm using this vase and not this vase over here. Additionally, age does play a role to some degree. The 9yo is strong enough to knead bread, and the 5yo is not, so he would get to knead bread. The 7yo is focused on artistic, detailed tasks. The 5yo has the energy and enthusiasm. The 9yo is more advanced intellectually. The 7yo can be patient. And so forth.
These handicrafts are not useless, I think. I've derived a great deal of enjoyment over practicing them myself, and I think my home looks nicer because of it, but beyond that they've also proven really useful over the years. I could make a quilted table runner for a bridal shower when I didn't have enough money for a nice gift because I knew how to quilt. I could take advantage of the bounty of free apples in the neighbourhood because I knew how to can them. I could save a child's pants for a little longer with a quick patch or button. I sewed my own wedding dress and then knitted scarves for each of the people who helped with my wedding planning. These have been useful skills for me, not outdated nonsense.
I also think that above and beyond their usefulness they serve as an excellent teacher of patience to children, of the joy that comes from working at something and getting better at it, in a much faster and more tangible way than you get with more academic subjects. You don't really get better in the same way with math, say, or grammar. You learn more, and that's nice, but if you can knit, then in a relatively short amount of time you can make something impressive that will leave people saying "really? You MADE that!?" And that's a good kind of positive reinforcement for a child.
It's also strengthing fine motor skills at an age when handwriting is forming. All of those little hand and arm muscles, getting stronger and more flexible right when they need to be. And it develops hand eye co-ordination. And spacial reasoning. And problem-solving skills in general, really. Handicrafts develop a child's sense of proportion and beauty and art. They help tie in history lessons in a real and useful way and make the lesson 'alive'. They capture the imagination and at the same time they reign it in a bit. You want to make a hat? This is the real world. In the real world this is how you make a hat. This is how long it takes. This is how much it costs. You can daydream about making a hat all you like, but if you really, truly want to make it, you have to learn how it's made and what that takes. I tell you, reality is not a subject taught nearly enough in this day and age.
For us, then, I suppose it is both a practical and a creative outlet. These things they are learning to do are fun for them, for the most part. Sometimes, as in lessons on how to clean, they are less than enthusiastic. But even then - learning how to do something that has to be done that you don't want to do is a very good skill to learn.
Finally, I love to teach the children and it's my joy to be able to do what I love. But I don't fold up into a neat square and get stored away when I don't have my 'teacher' hat on. I have a life of my own, and interests, and skills, and I want to share those things with my kids. I enjoy these things, and when you really love something, it makes you the best teacher of it.
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