By offering children interesting activities with which to experiment and practice, we can help them acquire increasingly complex skills
Decide to set up a job for your child means responding to a need for development that our child implicitly or explicitly requested.
Each activity we propose must be motivated, thought and cared for. The child, through his free manifestations, shows the adult to be engaged in the acquisition of a certain competence: motor, linguistic, relational, expressiveness or fine manual skills (also learning how to use sharp objects in an prudent way). Careful observers of the child allows parents to understand the level of development of their child in the various areas and, consequently, offer him adequate educational proposals. The precision, concentration, execution of a complex procedure can be promoted by offering the child interesting activities with which to experiment and practice. When we decide to set up a job (we call him that for the seriousness of his intent), we must take care of:
- the aesthetic order
- the order of the material
- the order of presentation and execution
Sewing activities
If we had to decide to set up an activity on sewing, we will choose a pleasant material to the touch, taking care to respect chromatic combinations and types of subjects used.
Let’s get a tray able to contain everything you need to carry out the activity: a Felt mat, a awl, a pair of scissors with rounded tip, a colorful cardboard Often (smaller size than the felt mat), pencil, wool thread, wool needle (plastic needle, with very large Asola). A small container for scissors, pencil and awl, a bowl for the ball. The need is present in the tray to allow the child to be able to work in complete autonomy.
To encourage concentration and attention is preferable Don’t mix different communication channels: If I use the word, I do not fulfill gestures with your hands and vice versa. Showing through action and not through an explanation is much more effective, especially with small children.
How to proceed
- With slow, precise and clear gestures, place the felt mat in front of you with the cardboard above
- Draw a simple form, for example a square
- with the practical awl of the holes to the corners of the square and at the center of each side
- Pass the wire in the eyebrow’s sum and practice a knot at the end of the wire
- Start sewing starting from a hole
- Complete the figure until he returns to the starting point, then travel the figure on the contrary to fill the empty spaces
- Cut the advanced thread and practice a knot on the back of the sheet for the thread to remain stationary
The activity, to this degree of complexity, is recommended for 3 and a half-year children. However, each activity can be simplified or complicated.
To simplify, you can put the wire in the needle, draw the image and practice the holes.
To complicate, however, you can suggest increasingly complex images. Draw two identical images, cut them out, overlap, practice the holes and proceed with the seam of the two parts together.
It is important, before proposing the activity, assume what degree of complexity is adequate to the child so that he can be autonomousdo not suffer the frustration of the insufficient but not even get bored.
The most stimulating and interesting condition for the child is in fact to be able to face a slightly more complex task of his skills.
The images are taken from: www.howemontessori.com with the authorization of the author
