What is the ‘right age’ at which a child can be taught to sew? Well, that is a very good question that has been asked of me many times.
I teach children students to sew using the award winning, ‘Kids Can Sew’ program and curriculum. This successful sewing program for children enables those as young as six years old to sew. In my experiences seven years of age seems to be the magic age where they are more than ready to learn the vanishing art of sewing.
I’ve found that the ‘right age’ is child dependent – as it is based on a particular child’s hand-eye coordination, as well as their dexterity level. I am sharing this ‘right age’ question as I recently I started teaching four kindergartners (all are five years old!). I’ve discovered when you empower kids to do things that they and others think they shouldn’t be able to do… you will be pleasantly surprised how well they perform.
I am teaching these kindergartners a little differently than my older kids. I have them sew a simple project each week – and they just love it. They are so cute!!!… and they say the darnedest things. I want to share this cute picture of these five year olds and their first finished project.
5 year olds can Sew!
One of their Moms shared this: “The class was AMAZING! The girls got their materials, pinned their cloth, sat down, turned on their machines and got to work. They knew exactly what to do and were totally focused. I was so proud of them all. And they were very proud of their bags.”
Fabric fun for 5 year olds yields cute bags
My point being that… if these five year olds can learn to sew, you and your child can too!
Happy Sewing, JoLene
What a delight to see Lorelei and her classmates. Their sense of accomplishment is written all over their faces. Thank you for sharing the photos…it means a lot to me as I am on the East Coast. Through your blog I get to enjoy my granddaughter from afar. Jane, otherwise known as “GJ”.
Hi Jolene,
My name is Catherine and I’m planning to start up sewing lessons in my area here in Phoenix. I am interested in the kids can sew program and was thinking I can teach younger than seven but am interested in all the help I can get in terms of what to have them do, ways to teach them, etc. Are you using the kids can sew program with the 5 year olds and adapting it? Can I possibly get ideas from you for lesson plans? I’d love any input you can share!
Thanks,
Catherine