Weeks ?-?: Sewing

One of the areas I have been trying to improve upon is structuring my curriculum so that every student does not have to begin and end projects at the same time. Students work at different paces on different projects and that is okay. As such, I have lost the ability to track/organize by weeks. 

After the multi-tool project, some students had some time to do a little Hannukah project, many still kept working on their multi-tools. Starting after break, most were ready to move away from our cardboard study and explore fabric.

We start small with needle threading, always a source of frustration, and then on to a couple of simple stitches. With first grade, I focus mainly on the whipstitch and the running stitch. These  are two pretty simple stitches that allow you to make a range of basic projects. In first grade, felt is the material of choice since it in pretty easy to work with. We use embroidery thread and large-eyed needles to further ensure early success.

We begin with a simple patch. Students sew a whipstitch around the 4 sides and then use a running stitch to sew their initial in the center.

When this project is done, student move on to designing and sewing a felt stuffy.