I have one childcare family that has a couple school aged kids and they sadly don’t get to my house very often anymore. They had a nanny for much of the summer but she took a few days off and lucky me, the kids were able to come back a couple of days.
These two are the craftiest kids I’ve ever had. They love doing anything with paper, paint or craft supplies. If you’ve ever been so kind and sent me craft goodies in the mail that are kid friendly, it’s like that these two were the main two using the goodies.
Being they were coming I decided to try something new with them…
Stitching 101. I’m sharing the idea here today as I know most of my readers have a someone in their life that might like trying it too.
It was easy peasy to prep. In advance I bought:
Plastic Needles (I got mine HERE on Amazon)
Wood Embroidery Hoops (I got mine HERE on Amazon)
Leftover Yarn
Burlap
We cut the burlap a little bit bigger than the hoops. I showed them how to put it in the hoop. Then we took a sharpie marker and made a design for them to stitch. Then we started stitching. The main goal was for them to understand the up and down motion of the needle and to learn how to get the needle near where it needed to be. It’s really introduction to embroidery or cross stitch.
The oldest gal took off like crazy with it and loved it. She was doing everything on her own in no time. She is going into 3rd grade.
A couple of the other girls wanted in on the action and he gal below did really well too. She is only going into kindergarten.
The kids had LOTS of fun. I’ll be watching thrift stores and garage sales for more wooden frames. They like to keep the finished project in a frame. I was also informed that I need better selection of yarn colors. So I’m hoping I can find a bag of yarn at the thrift store that just has small rolled up balls of leftovers.
All in all for a first attempt I’m impressed. The one that was making the letter “A” went on and did more designs on the burlap around the “A”.
It was really fun. I love when I can come up with something they like and can do…and is a cheap craft. Who knows, I just might have started a girl on getting interested in cross stitch.
Everyone has talent. These children are luck to have someone like you to help them figure out what that talent is. My youngest daughter suddenly wanted to learn how to knit & crochet around 16 yo. Quickly taught her during her twin’s Ultimate Frisbee game (another parent impressed she caught on so quick). When she went to University she started a club. They make items for NICU. I’ll ask my knitting/crochet buddies for leftovers to send you.
That is a great idea for a beginning stitcher! Thanks for sharing it. I don’t have anyone in the family that young now, but will probably start over soon with great grands.
For their sewing badges for American Heritage Girls, I’m the lucky one that gets to teach the grands how to sew, hand sew, and quilt. The oldest loved it – she even made a small stuffed animal by hand. The youngest one is really looking forward to doing more when we get back. Isn’t it great we can teach younger generations these things?
Love and prayers
Cute craft project Jo! Maybe just maybe they will want to do this or cross stitch instead of playing video games!!!
Oh, Jo, I think a box might be coming your way! The Arts and Crafts group at Holy Trinity Lutheran in Fort Walton Beach Fl has loads of small pieces of yarn. We also have lots of plastic canvas that would be great for these kids to learn on. You are so giving! We are tieing quilts today so I’ll look for you.
How fun – great project. Always fun to find the projects kids enjoy!
This is a great idea, Jo. I keep my grandkids part time and will remember this for when my granddaughter, who is three, is a bit older.
This post makes me smile! Children can follow a line or draw their own, outline stitch or fill in—it’s so friendly and flexible to their own creativity. I’ll watch for those hoops too. Love it!
You could draw larger Xs on the burlap in a simple design and let them learn cross stitch that way. Kids pick up cross stitch even from the graphs pretty quickly.
JO, YOU ARE THE MOST AMAZING AND INTERESTING PERSON I HAVE EVER KNOWN. YOUR IDEAS ARE JUST AWESOME. WHAT A GREAT IDEA FOR YOUR KIDS TO HAVE FUN DOING AND LEARNING A NEW CRAFT. I WILL BE TEACHING MY GREAT- GRAND DAUGHTER HOW TO DO THIS. SHE IS 3 YEARS OLD AND WOULD LOVE TO DO THIS KIND OF CRAFT, SHE LOVES THINGS THAT ARE NEW TO HER. THANK YOU FOR ANOTHER GREAT IDEA JO. HAVE A GREAT DAY
Great idea, Jo. You have opened up a whole new way for these children to express and entertain themselves. You are a thoughtful and patient teacher, and I am sure the kids love coming to your house.
That is exactly how Dawn and Stacey learned! Left over Aida cloth in a hoop!
I’ve got a bag of small balls of yarn for you – I’ll get it into the mail later this week. Hope that I have colours that the kids like!