When life happened and I dropped some things by the wayside concerning the Charlotte Mason educational philosophy, handicrafts also got put on the back burner. We missed that aspect so much, as it is one of our (many) favorite things about the CM education.
So along with keeping, we are getting back into handicrafts as well.
Miss Mason placed much importance on children doing handicrafts. However, her idea of handicrafts might be a bit different than today's idea. Most people think of a craft as something simple and quick. Not so with Miss Mason: she believed that the end product should be useful and she said that children should not "be employed in making futilities such as pea and stick work, and the like."
Handicrafts teach life skills, hand-eye coordination, and it also helps
the children see the fruit from working on a project over a period of
time, and the satisfaction of completing it.
Now, how did Miss Mason believe that handicrafts should be taught?
Well, first of all, she said that we, as parents, should teach the children "slowly and carefully what they are to do."
The children should be expected to give their best effort, and that "Slipshod work should not be allowed."
And the handicrafts should challenge the children, but not be above - or below - their level: "The children's work should be kept well within their compass."
(All quotes taken from Volume 1, pages 315 and 316 of the Charlotte Mason Series.)
Having said all that, I was so excited to find out about the Learning By Hand link-up with Amy Jo, where I am sharing this post. I am looking forward to reading about other families' handicrafts and getting new ideas for ours. :)
So here is the first handicraft I want to share..I needed a some type of holder for my Flexi Clips, and my dh, being the carpenter/furniture builder that he is, came up with a great idea for a wall-mounted rack. He asked how long it should be and how many pegs I needed on it. Then he and the children got to work. They measured, sawed, drilled, glued, sanded, stained, and finished. (Sorry I don't have photos or instructions; this project went together quickly and before I realized it, it was finished.)
This is how it turned out..
They installed the pegs at an angle so the Flexis wouldn't slide off. :)
I absolutely love the rack. It's perfect; there is plenty of room for all my Lilla Rose items - even the hair sticks, which I store on top. :)
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might...."
~Ecclesiastes 9:10
