Sew Much Fun!

My eight year old twins have a new activity that they like to do before and after school these days. It is not playing with Pokemon or Yugi-Oh cards (that is soo yesterday) and it is not playing Brawl on the Wii (believe me, they don't need electronics to brawl). No, they have uncovered their own inner Martha's and are now sewing fiends.

It all started with a wonderful quilting unit that every second grader at their elementary school participates in each year. The unit focuses on the mathematical aspects of quilting as well as design. The unit concludes with each child designing a quilt square. At the end of the year the students and parent helpers have a sewing party where they turn the quilt squares into pillows.

When I first heard that they were going to do this in class, I thought it could be trouble. I mean, c'mon giving a room full of 8 year olds needles and thread seems like a recipe for disaster. But I helped out in each boys' class and was amazed to see how much the kids enjoyed it. Most of the kids got the hang of it in no time and thoroughly enjoyed this age old past time. Of course there were a few kids who nearly put me over the edge by tangling their thread over and over again, but overall it was a lot of fun. And we didn't even need to pull out any Band-Aides.

I got a kick out of listening to the kids as they worked on their projects. They would comment on how surprised they were to be so good at it, how this was their first time using a needle (clearly kept away from some kids for a reason) and how they never knew sewing could be so easy. They were enthralled and enamored with the whole process. The best part was seeing how proud they were of their finished pillows.

Needless to say, my boys LOVED it! They enjoyed it so much that this week we went to Michael's to get sewing materials in order to create more masterpieces. They decided to make their own stuffed animals (pictured above) and my son N. made his for his teacher because she collects frogs (yes, that green guy is a frog). Their enthusiasm for this new activity is terrific. And I must admit, that I never thought that working on a sewing project with my 8 year old boys could be so much fun!