Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Crafts and Kids and Why

I don’t know about others, but I learned to love crafts when I was a child. I watched my DM crochet and knit. I was fascinated at what she turned out with her needles and hooks, not to mention her sewing machine. I learned to do simple crochet edgings when I was five.

In school, we often had “hobbies” classes. I suppose they would be “craft” classes today. I used to pester neighbors to buy the shell earrings and pins I made. I tried anything and everything. In the 40s, and even early 50s, girls worked on things for their “hope chests.” These were boxes of embroidered linens that were supposed to be for when we got married. I did not do well with embroidery - everything was puckered and rarely did any of my cross-stitches cross in the same direction as the one next to it.

Some folks do not take up a craft until they are adults. I wish every child could enjoy the pleasure of creating a handmade project. Of course, there is the time-honored clay ashtray, and the paintings on the fridge. I guess we still do teach our little ones crafts of all sorts. That is a good thing. Hopefully, these little ones will never know boredom because they will always have something to do when time or worries weigh heavily on their hands.

Father in Heaven, please continue to watch over the little ones and help us to help them to build the skills that will bring them joy.

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