One of the things I love about a home education is the opportunity we have to learn skills through handicrafts. Actual, useful skills that can be applied to life. Handy crafts that are handy!

Some of these skills are available to school children too through design tech classes. Some children have generous parents, grandparents or extended family who are happy to spend time passing down.

Sometimes there aren’t enough hours in a day or a weekend to discover and practice old methods, traditions or pastimes. The knowledge and skills are lost over time.

Unschooling and home educating families have time on their side. Mastering a life skill through handicraft work gives a great sense of accomplishment to children. Their time has been enriched and put to good use. They have produced something worthwhile that has purpose or artistic value. It has allowed them to tap into their creativity and can be a source of relaxation and comfort to them.

We have been fortunate to try our hand at many skills over the years. There have been some the girls were not keen on but most have become favourites that we look forward to with each season. The memories being made are as valuable as the skills mastered.

This week Ashleigh has been sewing on scout badges by hand. Her best attempt yet! Beautiful secure stitches. Winter could not plait hair but today she mastered the technique whilst making her corn dolly hanging decoration for our home.

Some other skills the girls have learnt and used over the years have been:

• Weaving

• Butter making
• Crochet
• Knitting
• Bread making
• Felting
• Soap making
• Wood carving/whittling
• Fire lighting
• Bead work
• Pyrography
• Leather stamping
• Flint knapping
• Origami
• Paper quilling
• Clay sculpting
• Pastel/watercolour and acrylic mediums
• Jewellery making
• Card making
• Bandsaw boxes
• Bird boxes

• Badge making

• Candle making

• Peg Dolls for toys

LOOK AT IT THIS WAY

We all love a cut and stick picture collage, a play dough creation or a pasta necklace. Who doesn’t have a toilet roll snowman on their shelf or some other cardboard masterpiece?

These fun, free projects are lovely for encouraging creativity and have low pressure. However, because they are not very demanding or necessary they can eventually lose their novelty value. Kids tend to grow out of them.

With handicrafts kids are entrusted with “grown up” tools, they are learning skills that will be useful and serve a purpose all through their lives.

To help explain, here is a breakdown of Winter’s seemingly small achievement, learning to plait.
She made a small corn dolly decoration for our home. In its simplest form, she created a seasonal decoration.

In its complexity:
🌾 She understood we needed to soak the stems and why.
🌾She asked questions about the grain itself.
🌾She learnt how to manipulate the fibres into a plait technique successfully. One she had never mastered up until that day.
🌾She produced a piece of creative art she could be proud of.
🌾It had a purpose.
🌾She later practised plaiting my hair, for fun and unprompted.
🌾If she wanted to she could teach her sister and friend now.
🌾She will be able to take that new skill and apply its principles to paracord projects, knot tying, bushcraft, friendship bracelets, net making and needle crafts. Really for all sorts of things as well as expression or simply plaiting her dolls, toy ponies and sisters hair or bread or….
The possibilities are endless.

I know most children learn to braid whether or not they go to school! But did you realise all they gain when they do? Children are learning ALL the time. The lessons that stick will always be the ones they choose and enjoy the most.

Share with me your favourite crafts and ideas for us to try!

© 2023 Juliette Proffitt