Creative Homeschooling...

I do not remember very often to share about homeschooling, but today I was able to again combine the worlds of sewing creativity and learning for my younger two, and thought it would be fun to pass the ideas on. Bell is in first grade and Noah is in preschool, but both of them have some basic learning that they can do together. Sounds of the alphabet is still a bit of a struggle for Bell, so having Noah right along side her is a type of cheerleading she needs. Today I felt I really needed to figure out some kind of creative way to help with their memory, something tactile. So, I came up with two fun ways to learn the alphabet.

First we decided to create a new letter each day- "the letter of the day." Today was the letter "A" of course. The kiddos helped me pick out the fabric, I cut the shape(nothing fancy) and sewed them up, and the wee ones then stuffed each of the letters while we talked about the letter and it's sounds. I don't know if you realize this, but stuffing is one of the most fascinating things to a little kiddo-mine could come up with 1001 ways to play with stuffing(polyfil). Here are some of the pics...

Next I worked on some capes over lunch time for each of them. Very simple, but they each had two squares of velcro attached in the middle for "the letter of the day" . They became super letter heros! Each day we will attach a different letter of the alphabet to the cape for there lessons....

Since they have been wearing the capes long after school is over, it also helps to remind me to keep bringing the letter into our conversations throughout the day. I need a little help sometimes too:) School should never really end.

And those capes---yes! they were made from reclaimed bed linens:)

Wool has Taken the Spotlight in my Studio....

Maybe it is just the chill of winter, but I have gone head over heals for working with wool this year! I have been playing with recycled wool sweater for over 6 years now, but this past year, they have found their way onto center stage in my studio (aka my laundry room). This time of the year, in the shop, it slows down, giving me a chance to reorganize, clean, and prioritize new projects. So a little flip occured in the space. Here is the after...

I have been trying to put what we have to a good use. Since we moved our family room to the basement this past year, I had some leftover cabinets and a countertop sitting in my garage that I decided to put in the laundry room to give me a space for designing my hats and mittens. The laundry room had just enough room. And my wool shelf moved into the space as well.

I have gotten a few new pairs of mittens made this past week.

A wild new owl pair...

Some new grape jelly mittens...

And the girls have designed their own pair of mittens.

Madi did a monster mitten...

Joslyn did a puppy pair...

Always fun to get the kids involved in my work!! Love their minds!