2024 - 2025 Kindergarten Complements with Ms. Smith

NOTE: To enroll in Lotus & Ivy Hand Sewing & Woodworking class, a grown-up must be readily available to support the student’s learning in every class.

ROLE OF HAND SEWING AND WOODWORKING IN THE KINDERGARTEN (and early grades):

Teaching children to make useful and beautiful things with their hands is a fundamental element of the Waldorf curriculum from kindergarten throughout the grades. Through practical and meaningful handwork activities, such as Hand Sewing and Woodwork, younger students develop strength and coordination in their hands and fingers. In addition, improved fine motor skills foundationally prepare students for writing, drawing, and artistic work in grade school. 

Learning to skillfully use their hands not only develops the child’s sense of self-reliance and confidence, but handwork skills also awaken creative powers, promote a sense of reverence and wonder, and develop a healthy imagination. 

Additionally, handwork and woodwork help the child acquire the following traits and skills: 

• Patience and perseverance are developed with projects that take days or weeks to complete, allowing the child to extend their learning through in-depth experimentation with tools, techniques, and materials over time.

• Handwork strengthens forces (behaviors) that are weak. For example, it encourages thinking in the dreamy child, feeling in the overly intellectual child, and stimulates activity in the weak-willed child.

• Working with hands builds the capacity to solve unexpected problems. Students learn to notice mistakes and figure out ways to correct them.

• Working responsibly with real tools requires attention to detail, which builds the capacity to concentrate and focus.

Rudolf Steiner explains that the development of adult qualities, such as sound judgment and balanced thinking, depends far more on whether the child has learned to use his hands and fingers in practical ways than exercising logical thinking in later life.

Matti Bergstrom, a Swedish neurophysiologist, says, “The density of nerve endings in our fingertips is enormous. Their discrimination is almost as good as that of our eyes. If we don’t use our fingers in childhood and youth, we will become ‘finger-blind,’ and this rich network of nerves will be impoverished, which represents a huge loss to the brain and thwarts the individual’s overall development.”

To paraphrase Waldorf woodwork teacher Bernard Graves, motor activity evolves into skill when the child responds sensitively to the nature of the materials and the correct use of tools. Likewise, willpower is transformed into a beautiful form when working artistically with design, color, and shape. And when these two aspects are combined in work, that allows the child to have a sense of fulfillment and a sense of true purpose in their efforts. Work which might otherwise be an insignificant act, is raised to the status of a virtue.

The practical, repetitive nature of hand sewing offers the child a more subtle, inward, and settling activity. Through the use of soft natural fiber materials, the child uses simple sewing tools to craft objects that may be useful, imaginative, or made as gifts. Each project made builds upon the previous, both in skills learned and improved craftsmanship.

All children benefit from practicing sewing skills. Threading a needle requires patience and a skilled hand. In addition, knotting the thread and stitching by hand contributes to the development of hand-eye coordination. Apart from learning to sew on a button, repairing toys or clothes, or making an original gift for someone, learning to stitch by hand is a valuable skill that will prove itself useful over and over throughout their lives.

The process of sewing teaches patience in a subtle but very effective ways. Once the child realizes that they can’t sew before threading the needle; they can’t cut fabric before marking it; they can’t take shortcuts while stitching pieces of fabric together, and so on, they’ll slowly begin to learn to be more patient as the importance of process emerges.

Conversely, woodwork is active, hands-on learning at its best, offering a completely different set of sensory experiences to captivate a young student’s interest. The smell and feel of wood, working with real tools, the sounds of hammering and sawing—these experiences offer the child’s hands and mind opportunities to imaginatively create, solve real problems, and use strength and coordination to complete a finished piece. Through the building of “will forces,” woodworking is incredibly empowering for all children, especially those who struggle with the notion of things being “too hard” to accomplish. Woodworking teaches grit and determination.

Woodworking teacher, Peter Moorhouse (The Importance of Woodwork in Early Childhood Education), explains, “Mathematical thinking is developed, scientific knowledge is gained, technological understanding is developed through working with tools, and children become engineers as they construct. Woodwork is exceptional for developing children’s creative and critical thinking skills. As children tinker and experiment with the possibilities of wood and tools, they then go on to express ideas and resolve their work. But woodwork is not just about what children make—it is all about the changes that are happening within the child. Woodwork has a significant impact on children’s self-esteem and confidence, and it develops a sense of agency—that ‘can-do’ mindset.” 

Once the child is immersed in woodwork, grownups will likely observe high levels of engagement, deep focus and concentration, and increased persistence and perseverance when faced with challenging tasks. In addition, because each project takes time and effort to produce, woodwork offers an antidote to our fast-paced, immediate gratification society by providing hands-on learning experiences that require patience. 

Adults may wonder: “How can younger children safely use real tools, such as hammers, drills, and saws?” Woodwork becomes a low-risk activity when basic safety measures are implemented, and appropriate tools are introduced and monitored responsibly. We will cover the safe use of tools, and like hand sewing, each project will build upon the previous, both in skills learned and tool usage. 

What Parents are Saying about Ms. Smith’s Kindergarten Complement Classes

Woodworking:

“Lotus & Ivy is the perfect combination between homeschooling and Waldorf education. My kid’s hand skills are outstanding for his age, and I know it is because of Lotus & Ivy.”

- G. Pinzon

“Our daughter is so proud of having her own toolbox and new woodworking skills she can show off to her Dad in the woodshop and around the house! She even took it upon herself to sand and beeswax an old stool she wanted to use.” 

- R. Burke

"Kindergarten Woodworking has been such a wonderful experience. It is good for our kids to do hard things, and the look on my daughter’s face when she perseveres and makes it through to the other side of something that she really had to work at is absolutely priceless. This is an invaluable thing to learn in a world that spends much time and energy on making life more comfortable and less challenging. Ms. Smith creates an environment that encourages effort and capability. My daughter wants to work with her and for her, and she loves what she has been able to do in her class. She proudly shows her creations to all her friends, and they exclaim, “I want to do that!” We are so grateful for this opportunity to learn and grow with Ms. Smith.” 

- D. Giles

“The class went above and beyond my expectations (and his too, I think!) He absolutely loved the class! During the first class session, he commented as he sewed, “This is very soothing!” Through Ms. Smith’s thorough teaching, he picked up the skills very easily and was so excited for each class session. I am amazed at the skills he learned even from the first session, and cannot believe what he accomplished through this class. I tell everyone I know how wonderful the class is, and how I can’t believe Ms. Smith can teach young children to sew so well over Zoom! She is extraordinarily patient and kind with the students, and I can tell she truly loves to teach. She made the class fun and welcoming by encouraging the students to share talents, tell jokes, and talk about their day, and was frequently checking in with each of them to make sure they were on track with the project. Ms. Smith maintained excellent communication with the parents and was promptly responsive to questions and comments. I am so thrilled that I found this class and took the chance on it. My son has developed practical skills, exercised his creativity, and built his self-confidence. This class far exceeded my expectations and I am so grateful that my son had the chance to participate.”

- J. Kochy

Hand Sewing:

“I am thrilled that both of my children have learned sewing skills from Ms. Smith and now have the confidence to initiate their own projects. They have also taken it upon themselves to repair torn stuffed animals, as well as holes in their own clothing, without needing any assistance from me - even my 6-year-old! This is such a valuable life skill that they can carry with them forever. I am so proud that the sewing skills they have learned have contributed to their maturity in caring for their belongings. Sewing has helped them with their fine motor skills, patience, perseverance, and confidence. I believe every child can benefit from learning how to sew, for so many reasons. Ms. Smith is such a skilled teacher and helps each child (and their grownups) develop solid skills and take pride in their work.”

- J. Kochy

"Our family has absolutely loved our time in this hand-sewing class! We have learned so much and felt so supported. Ms. Smith is so knowledgeable and encouraging, and she makes my daughter feel seen and understood. My daughter’s skill, patience, and perseverance have received a tremendous boost since the beginning, and many of Ms. Smith’s quotes have become her life mantras! It is adorable and so good for her. I have had many questions for Ms. Smith, and she has made time for them all with grace. She has created such a welcoming environment for our whole family. We have had such a wonderful experience. Thank you!”

- D. Giles

"I think that if anyone is on the fence about enrolling their child, they should just go for it! I was worried we would fall behind, that my daughter wouldn't have the skills needed, that it would be too much for me to commit to, or be too involved. But that was the farthest from the truth! Lotus & Ivy has an excellent hand-sewing curriculum that slowly builds up skill and confidence, and you have taken almost all of the prep work out for the parent. I am an open-and-go type of homeschool mom, and Ms. Smith made this class so easy to follow. Her warm and engaging style of teaching has been exactly what we were missing in our day-to-day routine. Her classes have been a game changer for us, and we are so happy and appreciative that we had the opportunity to be part of her sewing family! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts."

- N. Arizo

"My daughter smiles after Hand Sewing classes with Ms. Smith and tells me, “We have the best homework ever!” She’s created a sewing station in our house, so she can sew all the time. In just 9 weeks of classes, she’s sewn 10 toys - including cat, dog, and fox stuffies; a cuddly gnome baby, and mama and baby bunnies - all of whom go to bed with her. Ms. Smith has gifted us with life-long skills and expanded our world.”

- C. Lau

"Our Family enjoyed Hand sewing class. We all had a lot of fun with the projects, and they were easy to learn and understand. Learning to sew gave our daughter a lot of confidence in being able to make something herself that she could enjoy for years. Knowing this skill can greatly help her in the future. Being on camera with the other students was motivational because she could see that other kids her age were able to show each other their work and compare ideas of what they had accomplished together.”

- L. Johnson