Seamstresses and Sewing Machine Unit Study

It’s Fun-ucational 

We are taking a break from Sonlight through the holidays.  We did this last year, and having some flex time during the busy Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons worked well for us.

So, for a little "fun-ucational" activity, I let Alexis choose whatever she wanted to study about.  She chose Sewing Machines.  She had an ulterior motive.  She is dieing to get at my sewing machine.  From a time-line perspective, this could not have worked out better.  We are right in the thick of the industrial revolution era with Sonlight.

Because Isaac Singer is so "colorful" I decided that it would be a smart idea to add Seamstresses to the mix of studies.  A good read about Betsy Ross may be just the thing to counter the character of Singer.  Also, hand stitching is always a good skill to concentrate on, and may help slow down Alexis’ urge to be at the sewing machine.  One plan I have is to do a comparison on clothing availability in the Revolutionary War vs. clothing in the Civil War.  We will also do a timed test on stitches (machine vs. hand stitching) and then test the 2 products for endurance.

These are books that we are reading now:

We are doing this unit study "Lapbook" style and will include some fun activities from a great book that I ordered through Keepers At Home called The  Best of Sewing Machine Fun for Kids.  It has all types of activities included in the book, from puzzles to sewing exercises to naming the parts of a sewing machine to spelling and more.  I highly recommend this book for beginning sewing instructions for children.  

I am happy that my 4th grader will enjoy this busy time of year with some fun things to look forward to.  I will add some photos of Alexis sewing and the Lapbook as we progress more into the unit study.