Handicrafts For Kids: A Mother’s Guide In Why Handicrafts

Handicrafts for kids can be hard to get started, especially for non crafty mothers.

I have already solved this problem for you by creating a wonderful free embroidery curriculum. All lessons are short and easy for you, and just a bit challenging for your children.

Today I would like to take just a little time to tell you why Charlotte Mason thought handicrafts are so important to add to your homeschooling.

Charlotte Mason Handicraft Quote

In the past, I shared Ambleside Onlines resource about handicrafts, today I am sharing Simply Charlotte Mason’s resource.

In this last resource, one quote from Charlotte Mason stood out to me.

“slowly and carefully what they are to do.”

“Slowly and carefully”. That’s exactly what our children practice while they embroider, or any other handicraft.

The skills of being slow and careful are so needed in our world. The ability for our children to slow down and be careful with what they are doing is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children.

These two concepts are really all over in a Charlotte Mason education aren’t they? They are found in habit training, writing, narration, nature journaling etc. In part, this is why Charlotte Mason designed the lessons to be short so that the children can better practice being careful and diligent..

I am always amazed to see how a very active child can slow down, sit, and concentrate on their sewing, or on whatever craft they are working on It’s beautiful, it’s calming, and it’s a gift to our children and to ourselves.

Handicrafts For Kids: But Aren’t Handicrafts A Waste Of Time?

In a word, No!

We educate the head with the usual math, science etc. We get them to love and be in awe with nature through nature walks and more which covers the education of their heart.

But there is still one more part of the body that needs to be educated. The hands.

Now for all those Waldorf parents this may be sounding familiar. The head, heart, and hands is the summery of Waldorf education.

But Rudolf Steiner is not the only one. Charlotte Mason advocated for “whole child” education too, and for very good reasons.

If we were to only lift weights with our arms and never anywhere else, we would be lop sided. Not only would we look funny but we would also not feel right. The advantages of having strong legs and a strong core would be missing.

So too with handicrafts.

How?

I’ll answer this by asking why do we educate?

Handicrafts For Kids: So Much More Than Crafting

Of course I don’t know why you are home educating your children, but since you are Charlotte Mason lovers, I’m willing to bet we have very similar ideas about education. So I will share what education means to me.

I want my child’s minds to be filled with goodness, truth, beauty and wonder, I want them to be virtuous and doing good to their fellow man. I want them surround by the best ideas and to think through them so as to understand them more fully.

All of these things are wonderful, but if our hands are not involved then our kids ability to share this rich education to others as they grow and interact with people in their sphere, then we have handicapped them. Though they have been enriched, that enrichment stays inside them.

To write takes our hands. To canvas for a political figure takes your head remembering the best ideas, and using your hands to hand out flyers and drive to meetings. It is a well educated heart that feels compassion, but it takes hands to prepare a meal for a family who’s mother is in the hospital. It takes the head to come up with creative ideas, but it takes the hands to make it happen.

Am I making any sense at all?

Summary:

Of what good is a rich education if you don’t use your hands to take it out from inside your head so that you can share it with others to enrich their life as well as your own life?

Handicrafts For Kids: How To Get Started

I hope I have convinced you to start handicrafts in your homeschool! Would you like a free Charlotte Mason curriculum for handicrafts? I love Charlotte Mason’s philosophy and used it as my inspiration.

Then I have just the thing for you!

Drum roll please….Free Story Embroidery Lessons!

Simply

• Gather supplies listed in this story
• Short stories for each lesson such as this blanket stitch story lesson
• Step by step photos for each lesson
• Seasonal and extra crafts found here

Start with the first lesson series.

Or start with the second lesson series.

Don’t worry, for I have lots of handicraft ideas for your children which will be fun for them, and easy for you! I got you covered 🙂

Handicrafts For Kid; Bringing Wonder With Embroidering

You’ve seen it before, your children’s wide eyes filled with wonder while listening to you read a story. It’s the stuff you love so much. It is what keep’s you going with your homeschooling journey.

I am here to help you bring wonder into your handicrafts because why not? Can there be to much wonder?

My embroidery lessons are taught through stories about a wood nymph name Willow. She is pictured below. She teaches brother and sister, William and Charlotte Oaks to embroider. Also included are, crafts for holidays made, discovering the wood nymph world, including finding out that the famous Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater was a wood nymph, and more!

Join the 3 main Characters as they learn how to embroider. Start at the beginning or join us for the second round.

We are going on a fun ride that you won’t want to miss!

See you next time!

You May Also Like:

• My Swan Lake Tutu embroidery pattern
• Printable Sleeping Beauty Ballet story cards for Valentines day.
• Free Rumpelstiltskin embroidery pattern