Classroom Sewing Kit

I am often asked about how I set up my classroom for sewing. What materials I have out for the kids and how it's organized.

This year, I have three containers on the bottom of my art shelf.

One is filled with fabric scraps. There is a variety of fabrics including felt, cotton, and burlap. Most of the scraps are small to medium in size and may be used for both sewing and other crafts.

Next to the fabric is a bin filled with with polyfil stuffing. Making pillows is a popular activity in kindergarten!

At the end is a yellow bin where kids can put their works in progress. Some years I give the kids plastic gallon sized bags to put their projects in, but a simple bin also works well. I have the kids take off the needles before putting their projects in the bin.

I keep a basket with needles and needle threaders, pins, scissors, and thread on my desk. This way I can keep track of the materials and make sure they are used appropriately. As the year goes on, they will begin to thread their own needles and become more independent in their sewing. In older classrooms, you might be able to put the basket of supplies on your art shelf.

If you are thinking about adding sewing to your art area in your classroom or home, you should! Start small and let your kids guide you as you move along and sew projects. All the sewing tools and materials we use in the classroom are the same ones recommended in the Sewing School book. You can also find a list of supplies in the "In the Child's Sewing Basket" in the sidebar at the right.

Let the Sewing Begin!

This is me on the second day of school.  Yes, the second day!  It all started with a simple request to sew that turned into a full-blown sewing circle!  The kids patiently and eagerly waited while Jill and I thread needles, discussed how to pinch the needle so that it doesn't come unthreaded, and talked about how to make your stitches just the right size so that the stuffing doesn't fall out.

We made dozens of little pillows and pouches that close with hook and loop tape.  To keep things simple, I folded over a piece of fabric so that it just needs to be sewn on three sides.

This year is already off to a great start!

Little Free Library

 At first glance, it looks like a large mailbox or maybe a birdhouse.  But open it up and you'll find that it's really a tiny free library put up by neighbors (and also teachers at my school).  Do you have a Little Free Library in your neighborhood?  If not, you should!

It has become a favorite destination on our nightly walks with the dog.  This one is dedicated to children books, but there are 2 others in our town that carry adult books.   This article tells the story of the Little Free Library.

My Very Own Skirt Workshop

Andria and I had a blast making the My Very Own Skirt from Sewing School with 11 girls at Sew Memphis.  While we followed the same pattern, each skirt is as unique as the kid who made it.

We spent a bit of time talking about machine sewing basics.  I love how Andria describes using the zig-zag stitch to "eating Cheetos for breakfast."

The girls paired up to help each other trace patterns.  Some created a "human pin" by sitting on the pattern while a friend traced around it onto fabric!

Careful concentration at the machine.  For time and ease, we decided to skip the traditonal hem and go for a fray hem.  To do this, sew a zig-zag stitch around the bottom of the skirt and the fabric will fray up to the sewn line.  It looks better once washed. 

Our next sewing workshop for kids is slated for Oct. 20 - Disguise Yourself at Sew Memphis.  Kids ages 5 and up can make one of a kind disguises just in time for Halloween.

Tin Can Stilts

Nothing beats walking around on a hot summer afternoon on some homemade tin can stilts!

We just finished reading Ramona and Her Father (quite a heavy book for a second grader, but that's another discussion) and in it, Ramona makes tin can stilts.  So, we did too.  There are many ways to make tin can stilts, but we made ours like Ramona.

Here's what you need:  2 cans (we used coffee cans), hammer, big nail, kitchen twine or jute, sharpie, and scissors and masking tape (not pictured).

Make marks with Sharpie on each side of the top of the cans.

Hammer a big nail into each Sharpie dot you made to make a hole.  Phoebe is doing a good job posing for me here - I helped her hammer.

Thread the jute down through one side and up through the other.  We put masking taped on one end to help thread it through.  Stand on the cans and pull up the string to figure out how long each handle should be.  Cut the string and tie the ends together.

Have fun!  Ramona is right - they are very loud and fun to walk around in.

But be careful, because you might fall and the strings can break after awhile.

Have fun on your tin can stilts!

Caterpillar Time

Every year a new crop of caterpillars come to visit our garden.  Yesterday we discovered at least a dozen little guys crawling all over the parsley.  We carefully transferred two into a large jar and have been giving it lots of food and attention.  One has already begun the metamorphosis to turn into an Eastern Black Swallowtail!

To Be Like Anne

This summer, my mom took Phoebe and I on a trip of a lifetime to Prince Edward Island and the land of Anne of Green Gables. I have always been an Anne fan and was eager to share this wonderful book and character with Phoebe.

How could we resist the Anne wig and hat??  It totally takes me back to my Annie wig days! 

What a wonderful trip and, of course, we discovered that Prince Edward Island has much, much more to offer than just our kindred spirit Anne.