“The child is only truly educated who can use his hands as truly as his head, for to neglect one part of our being injures the whole, and the learned book-worm who is ignorant of the uses of a screwdriver, also lacks that readiness and resourcefulness, mental neatness and capability, and reverence for labour and its results, which a knowledge of practical matter gives.” —Parent’s Review, 1899
So often, in home education, the focus is on the book learning. Whether it’s because we’re taking cues from our own schooling— which relegated “crafts” to handprints on cardstock for Mother’s Day cards and creating paper mâché balloon globes that were crushed on the bus ride home— or because we fall into the trap of thinking that the only knowledge worth imparting is the head kind, I don’t know. But it’s an easy, common mistake to forget that God has made us responsible for the whole person in front of us, not just his or her ability to read and do sums and rattle off the names of the planets.
We miss, too, the fact that life skills are what will go with our children out the door and into whatever future God has for them. It may be laborious to train a child in simple tasks like ushering a load of laundry through the process start to finish, or to instruct him in how to meal plan, shop, and cook for himself, or to allow him to help in painting the living room, or to show him how to properly hang a picture frame. But it’s never wasted. A young adult who can manage his or her own practical life as well as hold down a paying job or steward a growing family doesn’t regret the time they spent sorting reds and whites before tossing them in the wash as a middle schooler.
And then there’s the simple quality of life and added layer of contentment for those who have discovered a beloved hobby, or are perhaps experiencing a new form of creativity for the first time. Don’t underestimate the power of never having to hear, “I’m bored!” or the happiness of not having a screen of some sort running in the background of your days. Children who realize that they have to power to be makers are far less tempted to become the kind of passive consumers who sit around waiting for adventure or occupation be delivered to their front door.
Yes, your house is going to be awash in random raw materials. Yes, you’ll raise a few eyebrows in the mainstream. But you’re used to that anyhow, right? You’re a homeschooler. Your disapproving aunt already knows to expect the unusual when she visits, so your 8 year-old patiently explaining that he’s taken up bonsai training isn’t likely to be a shocker.
If you’re looking for a new handicraft in which to engage your child, the summer months are always a good time to start. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Basket Making
- Beading
- Cake decorating
- Calligraphy
- Ceramics
- Chalkboard drawing
- Clay sculpting
- Crocheting
- Cross-stitching
- Decoupaging
- Embroidery
- Gardening
- Hand Lettering
- Jewelry making
- Knitting
- Latch Hooking
- Leather tooling and carving
- Mosaic tiling
- Painting
- Photography
- Pottery
- Quilling
- Quilting
- Sewing
- Sketching
- Spinning
- Spool-knitting
- Watercoloring
- Weaving
- Whittling
- Wood burning
- Woodworking