The Joy of Learning

These exercises involve simple and precise tasks. The child has already observed adults/parents perform these activities in their home environment. The child wishes to imitate. It can be cleaning the prepared environment, setting the table or prepare simple snacks. Of course nothing as complicated as cooking or preparing cornbread dressing, just slicing bananas, washing the baby carrots and such.

The desired imitation is intellectual in nature because it is based on the child’s previous observation and knowledge.

 There can be no prescribed list of materials involved.

 The purpose is not to master these tasks for their own sake i.e. you don’t really hope to train your child to be a plumber by letting him play with PVC pipes, nuts and bolts.

 It is rather to aid the inner construction of discipline, organization, independence, and self-esteem through concentration on a precise and completed cycle of activity.

 Maria said “The exercises of practical life are formative activities. They involve inspiration, repetition, and concentration on precise details.”

Sewing cards

MATERIALS:
Tray containing:
(1) 2-3’ shoelace
(1) sewing card

PREPARATION:
Make a Sewing Card by pasting a bright picture to a piece of cardboard. Be sure that you have at least a 1” border around the picture. Place the picture on the table picture side up, and mark dots 1” apart around the border. At this point you may wish to laminate your card. Using a hole puncher, punch a hole where you made a mark every 1”.

YOu may print from http://www.abcteach.com/directory/fun_activities/crafts/sewing_cards/

PRESENTATION:
1. Invite the child or group of children.
2. Go over to where the work is kept.
3. Invite the child to carry the tray over to the table as shown before.
4. Place the tray on the left side of the table
5. The teacher should demonstrate by grasping the end of the shoelace, that does not have a knot in the end, with the thumb, index and middle fingers of the dominant hand and raise it up (so that it is in front of you and not on the table).
6. Pick up the Sewing Card with your other hand and lower the end of the shoelace under the Sewing Card.
7. Push the end of the shoelace up through a hole that has a red line to the right of it.
8. Place the index finger of the sub-dominant hand under the end of the shoelace to stop it from falling out.
9. At the same time, release the end of the shoelace with the
dominant hand.
10. Bring the dominant hand to the top of the card and grasp the
end of the shoelace with the thumb, index, and middle
fingers and pull until the know is up against the back of the
card.
11. Push the end of the shoelace down through the next hole
covering up the red line.
12. Release the end of the shoelace with the dominant hand and
cover the end of the shoelace on the top of the card with
the sub-dominant thumb.
13. At the same time, place the dominant hand underneath the
card and grasp the end of the shoelace with the thumb,
index and middle fingers and pull until the slack in the
shoelace is taken up.
14. Repeat steps #8 - #14 sewing around the entire card until all
the red lines are covered up with the shoelace.

Variations and Extensions:
1. Use a whip stitch around the outside of the card
2. Make-up Sewing Cards with pictures to go with other units of study

Points of Interest:
1. Pushing the shoelace through the hole
2. Noticing the picture on the card
3. Covering up the red lines

Control of Error:
1. All red lines are covered up with the shoelace
2. Spaces in between have no red lines

Aims:

Eye hand coordination, coordination, concentration, order, independence, development of the ability to sew a running stitch, preparation for writing, etc.

Age:
3 ½ and up

Language:
Sewing, shoelace, card, picture, etc.