The Creation and Evolution of Stitchers
Friday, September 25, 2009 at 9:46PM Christian's class has already covered several areas of study in these first few weeks of school. They have an area outside of their room which they have made into a mural; they all worked to design a creation scene. They have discussed God's handiwork from the very beginning of time, and they have learned about many of the key Bible stories in Genesis. They read from Scripture every day, as well as sing songs, learn poetry, and write and illustrate journals.
Now they are moving on to the next big unit, which is dinosaurs. The first mural has been taken down, except for the background of earth, sea, and sky, and will stand as the background for coming projects. The students are going to collaborate on a dinosaur scene, with the animals roaming the land amidst the trees from that time.
I'm going to try to keep the Friday stitching related to something that is going on during their current studies. This time it happens to be easy; I found a relatively simple dinosaur outline, traced it onto a plain piece of paper, and then transferred that onto their fabric squares using dots. What may not be easy is stitching this particular square. I think it will be very challenging for them since it is so curvy. Unfortunately, there were no squared-off dinos. They were quite snaky, or spiky, or horny. Oh, you know what I mean!
This is our friend, the Diplodocus.
I asked Christian to pick from a couple of different dinos, and he chose this one because it wouldn't eat him.
Here it is on the fabric...it's hard to see because the pen doesn't show up well in pictures (at least in pictures that I take at 1 a.m. in my dining room with zero natural light, because, hello! it's the middle of the night).
So far I have been very blessed with the help of a great deal of extra mom hands on Friday mornings; there is no way I could do this without them! They patiently thread needles, undo mistakes, and praise these children's efforts. The kids have come a long way in just a few short weeks, but there are still a lot of extra loops, knots in thread, and fabric corners sewn into the backs of their squares. It really is a lot of work helping them get this done, but it is so worth it.
I wouldn't want to miss this face for anything.
A couple of them finished their cross and fish today, and began the dinosaur. They were so proud of their completed square; it brings me joy to see them look at what they have accomplished with such satisfaction. They are turning into quite the seamstresses and seamsters.
Some of the things they said to me today that I thought were especially sweet or funny:
"I have my stitching in my room, for practice!" (talking about a small plastic circle I sent home with thread and plastic needle in order to get some extra experience and get more comfortable with the stitch)
"I want to make them [the stitches] big...it's faster."
and related to that one..."If I make them [the stitches] small, I'll never get done!" (that was actually Christian; I told him he would, indeed, get done)
They are going to be so thrilled with what they have at the end of the year, won't they?!
Friday stitching
Reader Comments (4)
What a wonderful project. Looks like it will build lots of self esteem too.
Elle
Christina! That project is amazing. I think that dino is about as easy as you're going to find, and remember - the mistakes are cute and age appropriate. :) It will look like kids did it and that's fine - grandmas actually like them better that way.
I'm glad you're having so much fun with this.
Elle-it is already such a big deal for them, even the boys!
Mindee-I had the same thoughts on the mistakes...it's their own work, and if it's their best job then it's wonderful. I've told a couple of moms that, you know, it's okay if it's not perfect. They're six!
That's a great project, Christina. I love how creative you are with them.