Learning some handicrafts skills

Handicrafts, I must admit, were a bit scary for me. Just thinking of adding one more things into our busy schooling routine, one that would require skills that I haven't mastered, was indeed a bit overwhelming.

What are handicrafts you may ask?

   They are life skills that 

• should not be employed in making futilities such as a pea and stick work, paper mats and likes,
• should  be taught slowly and carefully what they are to do
• slipshod work should not be allowed
• therefore, the children work should be kept well withing their compass  ~ HomeEducation Vol 1pp 315, 316

There are many types of handicrafts like: baking, knitting, sewing, clay sculpting, spool knitting etc...When one of the little girls mention at few occasions in the last month, her desire for learning to knit, I took her hint seriously.  

I went to the store to get the biggest needles I could find. Since I taught myself how to knit, I was pretty clueless on how to teach someone else to do so. Did what I do best when need help in a hurry, and sat down and watch some youtube videos on "how to teach children to knit" Seriously, youtube is a great source of information when it come to thinks like this! 

Then pick up that little big girl on my lap and we slowly knit together, her hands over mind and she following each movement while I explained what we were doing. After a while, I let her hold the needle and helped her with the tricky part of "not loosing a stitch". Little by little she gained enough confidence to try all by herself.

Then I realized, I don't need to be an expert knitter (or any other handicrafts) expert to be able to teach the skills, I just need to know a little bit more then they do! 

 I am certain that, in the future, I'll be the one learning some skills from them.

Knitting was a skill that my big girl was interested in and wanted to learn, it made it easier to sit down with her and teach, because she was willing to learn. My 2 other little goose did not share the motivation in learning how to knit, at least not at the moment, but still needed to work with their hands to keep them busy.

I always say "If kids are not busy doing something productive, they are busy doing something destructive"

Got our buckets of beads out and asked them to create necklaces to giveaway to some of their little friends. Why not use that time of being busy with their hands, to create something to bless others, and they did for hours. Busy and happy.

How about you, are you teaching any type of handicrafts at the moment?