Originally Posted by LauraRG

I work with preschoolers and for Mother's Day this year I thought it would be fun learning experience if they got to use a sewing machine to sew a pillow for their moms. I cut the fronts of white muslin and the backs of an assortment of pretty fabrics. The children used fabric markers to make a picture and write their names on the fronts and chose fabric for the backs. We read a couple of books about fabric and talked about our clothing, blankets and other textiles.

Here's what made me sad... of my class of 9 children not a single one had ever seen a sewing machine. I showed them the parts, they helped thread it, how it worked, etc and they were so excited by the process. I put the foot pedal on the table next to the machine... they "hit the gas" using their hands and I guided the fabric. (I used a s l o w speed!) It was a smashing success! Even sadder, only one of my co-workers owns a sewing machine. One mom did come in and say her son couldn't stop talking about using "Miss Laura's Machine" to the point where she took the plants off the top of her great grandmother's treadle machine to show it to him.

At least now there are 9 more humans who have seen, touched and used a sewing machine. Maybe one of them willl become a quilter!

Laura