What a wonder treat that must have been for you preschoolers and great gift for the childern could give their mothers, Last summer
while visiting grand children I interduced 2 grand daughters to rag quilt making, we used jean and flannel fabrics hope to finish it this year in time for them to enter in in the fair.

there's always the possibility of starting an after school club devoted to quilting (&/or other handiwork)

I started grade school in 1953 and graduated high school in 1965, never one time was I teased about home made clothes---which I made for myself from grade 5

quiltingshortimer, your IQ story reminds me of a similar test being given to my little neighbor about 40 years ago. It had to do with identifying a clothesline and she couldn't because all of us in the neighborhood had dryers and she had never seen a clothesline in use. So as technology and society changes, we're sometimes surprised to find out what they don't know. It would be nice if kids could learn sewing at school, but since that may not be likely maybe we sewers could volunteer at community centers or churches to pass along this wonderful hobby and art. I know many of us make charity projects, maybe in the summer we could give kids a place to go and provide them the chance to participate in giving to charity. Just thinking out loud here. I certainly don't blame their mothers for not teaching them. A lot of women work outside the home and then come home to cook, do the wash, help with homework, and bath the kids. I know they are beat by the time there is an extra minute.

I realize that many kids do not even know where their food comes from if you ask them they say the grocery store.

You were indeed lucky then. I was born in 1964. I was the daughter of a divorce' (his choice, not hers) in a small town in the 70s. I was making clothes for myself, my sisters and my mother before I was 10. Kids made fun of me. They would check the fabric in the local dime store to see if what I wore matched it and tease me about it.

On the other hand, my mom's friends were amazed at how well I sewed. But I sewed out of necessity not pleasure. It was only when my sons were in college and THEIR girlfriends thought it was great that I took pride in it. In my step-family it was considered cheap to give a gift home made. My girls love them.

About 50 years ago my cousin was asked to boil some water so my aunts could have tea. She didn't know how to do it and was concerned she would burn the water! It seems that too many moms have gone to work and don't do any baking, cooking, sewing, crafting like I did growing up. I had to grow up fast due to family situation. I made my first Thanksgiving turkey at 12 years of age and wasn't allowed to take sewing in school as my mom said I already knew how and didn't need to waste a class on something I already knew. Everyone seems to be so busy trying to get all the latest "this and that" and have missed out on the creative side of themselves. The guild I belong to is now meeting with children to teach how to sew and quilt. It will be a lost art along with many other things unless we all try to share our craft and get others interested as well.

Oh dear Laura,

What an ingenious idea. As a retired teacher, I understand the need to add a new dimension to a child's experience. Before I retired I was director and teacher for a group of pregnant and parenting teens in an alternative school. One of the skills I thought all girls and boys should have was learning how to sew. They all enjoyed it so much and we ended up with some really talented students who I am sure will one day persue sewing as they become situated and stable. I have started collecting vintage and newer machines at thrift stores for $15.00 and under, refurbishing them, and giving them to the students who continue to be interested. Bless you for your initiative in bringing something new and useful into those preschoolers' lives. My mother never sewed, but I learned in 8th grade home ec. My mom gave me my first machine in 1959, a Singer Centennial Featherweight. The first thing I made was slipcovers and curtains. I was 18 years old. I still have it and it works as well as it did back then.

I volunteer at our small Christian school, where we have 9 students. Last month we made small pillows for their mothers and they got to use my Bernina sewing machine. Very similar to your story!! The kids loved it!! They see me at school and want to know what "Art" project they are going to make! I really enjoy that, too.

On our local news tonight, a class at one of the local schools got to see a real dairy cow. They learned what the cow ate, how it produced milk, and even got to watch someone milk the cow. They interviewed some of the kids and they were so excited. One of my friends on facebook has a student in that class. He said they've talked about it all evening and keep wanting to drink milk. haha

As soon as my kids were big enough to sit on their own they would sit on my lap while I was sewing.
When they were old enough to talk they would tell others they sewed on mommy's sewing machine!
They love watching the bobbins wind

That's really sad about children who have never seen a sewing machine. I'd say instead of progress that's definitely a sign of regression.

My friend has a daughter who absolutely does not know what to do with her time. She did not have alot in terms of mothering, now is an affluent young bride who quit her job. She does not understand the wonderful parts of keeping house, of sewing..... It IS sad. I could absolutely never be bored, as there are always dozens of things to finish to start, to try, to improve. If she had been exposed in school it could be different. Wish I lived closer......

I was a substitute teacher for many years. One time I was in third grade and one of the other teachers brought in some pansies so that we could make paper flowerpots for Mother's Day. One child raised his hand and said he didn't have a mother. Other children nodded their heads, so I asked about their mothers. Some lived with grandparents, most lived in foster care. Only one or two children in a large class lived with their mother. I think of those poor children all the time. What is really sad is that their situation is not all that unusual these days.

Sorry to state that the kids here get 8 weeks of sewing, maybe a pillow or a pair of shorts in 7th grade. Most are disaster because they have they no help but the teacher but she has 30 students in the class. Tried to teach my 4 grand daughters but so far no real takers. 2 do a little sewing. Maybe in time. I didn't start quilting till in 50's so there is hope.

I learned to sew very young. A relative was a millner and gave me scraps and fabric flowers and petals to make doll clothes. My grandmother taught me how to hand sew them. My mother sewed beautifully, but only at night after we went to bed and woe to the child who even touched her treadle machine. I never learned how to coordinate feet and hands on a treadle, but took home ec in Jr. High and became very adept on an electric machine. I made most of my own clothes from then on and all of my DD's clothes until she begged me to stop in her teens. I tried to teach her how to sew but she refused to learn. Now, at 34, she is finally able to do simple sewing and is enjoying it. I think I may be able to get her into quilting at some point, especially since she loves to fabric shop and is great at putting fabrics together. It's a shame the school budgets so severely limit teaching home crafts. How are the young people to learn to take care of themselves without those classes, especially if there's not someone to teach them at home.

I can understand why that would make you sad, but on the bright side, think of the exciting world you just opened up to all of them. You should feel GREAT about that! :)

Way to go! I'm sure you left a great impression in their minds. That's all it takes, is one inspiring moment!
Kudos to you!

It is a shame that kids are not taught the basics on how to take care of themselves anymore. There will be a time when these skills will be needed. I taught my two girls & son how to cook & sew & do crafts out of nothing but stuff around the house. They ended up teaching their kids how to cook & do crafts, but never got into the sewing bug. When my next to the oldest DGS was 8, he wanted me to teach him to sew. So we spent lots of weekends together. He was so tickled to be able to make all his Christmas gifts with G-Ma. One day in my sewing room we got to talking about music. I ask him if he wanted to hear some of my old songs when I was a teen. So I pulled out my old 45 records & he said "WOW G-Ma, I've never seen CD's that big before." LOL I also taught three GDS to sew & make quilts.

I have a stepdaughter that her mother would not allow communication with while growing up. When she turned 18 we got in contact with her. Anyway, her mother didn't teach her how to cook or sew. When she got married & moved over seas with her DH, she would call me from there & ask me to guide her through cooking home made bread, egg noodles, etc. They just came back to the States last summer & we went to visit with them for the first time in 11 years & 4 kids later. She & the girls wanted to learn how to sew. Boy what fun that was. They have really taken to it & are sewing up a storm. She just sent me a purse she make me for Mothers Day. When she has a question, she calls & I guide her through it. So I am still being a long distant teacher & loving it.
she said her DD #2 still brags to everyone that she got to sew with her G-Ma. Can hardly wait to get together with them again. Oh what fun we had at the fabric shop together too.

So it was a great job for you to put an interest in the little ones to want to sew & be proud of something they made themselves.

Those students are lucky to have a teacher who values the simple things in life that can bring so much pleasure and satisfaction. What you taught them will stay with them far longer than all the sports they become involved in.
Kudos to you and I hope you continue to teach many students hereafter.

My DIL has no clue what a sewing machine is or an oven unless micro is in its name.So I can't wait til they all move here so I can show my 3 GDs how to sew and have someone to bake for again.My son use to use the sewing machine and bake cookies and cakes from scratch

Oh this is sad... I taught myself to read music by following along with the hymnal. How many other children have done this? and how many will miss the opportunity? What a shame they have assumed people aren't smart enough to read music.

What wonderful stories you have all told! I was certainly not expecting a response like this to my little rant. Hopefully those of us who learned creative arts from our parents and grandparents will continue to find oppportunities to pass those skills forward to the next generations. Me, I am going to try to find other outlets where I can pass these skills along. Thanks everyone for the inspiration!!

Laura

Bless the Moms, Dads, Grandmoms, and Teachers that share sewing! I took Home-Ec, back in the day when that was a course. I attempted to sew some bib overhauls (in style back in the 70s). I tried to use my mom's Singer and had nothing but problems, gave up on sewing until 30+ years later. My mom made us some stuffed critters and some elastic band pants but didn't know enough to teach me anything about it. I don't think she really wanted me to use the machine.

I was so sad...
 

When I was a Boy Scout leader, one of the first things I did with the troop was teach the boys how to sew their merit badges onto their sashes. Many had no clue how to thread a needle, let alone sew with it. By the time I was finished with them, they were able to sew on their merit badges, lost buttons and some could even hem their trousers! I had many a Mom thank me...especially the Moms of boys who went on to Eagle Scout. Scouts must earn 22 merit badges which equals a lot of sewing! :-)

Reminds me of Girl Scout Troop I was able to visit. Mom could not afford Girl Scouts but we were in a program for poor kids to take part.

I had that experience when a young man saw a typewriter in my attorney's office and he was amazed that the letters appeared immediately on the paper and you didn't have to send anything to a printer.

Mine either :-) but my 3 yr old granddaughter loves to sit in my lap and use the machine with me. We go very slowly and her fingers stay away from the needle but she enjoys it so much. And piecing fabrics on the design wall, she knows just how she wants the colors aligned and she is now my design buddy! even my daughters are getting involved again. If only the D-I-L had any interest... never even took home-ec. I don't think they even offer sewing anymore where we live.

How many kids out there have never seen wall (or desk) phones with cords? Pay phones? Vinyl record albums, 45's, cassette tapes? VCR tapes? Typewriters? To think we think cell phones, CD's and DVDs and laptops are "newfangled" inventions, they are the only technology the kids know! I guess I'm getting old...hehehe...my DH would probably agree with me, but then again he IS 5 years younger than I am, so he'll never quite catch up to me. [I'm 56.5 years young on a good day and 113 years old on a bad day!] Ah well...just think how many changes we've seen in our lifetime and think of how many the kids of today will see in theirs. Makes you stop and think, doesn't it?

Wow what a powerful story! You have touched the lives of those 9 children more than you know! You are an angel!

Talk about a generation gap! Yikes!

I am reminded of how often our skill sets fit our circumstances. Preschoolers that haven't seen a sewing machine but probably know how to operate a computer game that we can't figure out. It is a novelty item to them just like a computer game was to us.

It used to scare the daylights out of me to take my children to town because they had no concept of walking in traffic. My mother didn't drive and when I was 5 I could cross US41 by myself because I needed that skill.

My husband and I were talking about carrying water. My grandparents didn't have running water and neither did we several times in my life including the 7 years before I married. I know that I can more easily carry two buckets of water - no matter the size - than one but a lot of people we know don't realize that.

I know how to clean a chicken, milk a cow, churn butter, use a wringer washer and a million other skills most people today don't have because they don't need them for their life. Just the other day I showed a young man how to use a slide rule.

I have seen in this thread the comment that most adults don't need English, math and science but that simply isn't true. We just use them without realizing it.

I am not convinced we could slip right into the lives of any of the people we are criticizing for not sewing without some difficulty.

Just think, if they all wanted to do what we do it would drive prices even higher and God knows they are nearly out of range now!

JMHO

My daughter is in a school lunchtime club that does basic cookery. One week they were making chocolate chip cookies and the teacher asked for suggestions as to what ingredients they would need. One boy said 'cookie dough'. I guess his mom buys hers ready made. I thought that was sad enough, but your story is sadder!

They also are not taught to count change back. Registers tell them the amount to give but they're "bum-fuzzled" if your bill is, say, $14.07 and you give them a 20 and 7 cents!

That is really sad. It makes me think, even at work, I don't know anyone else that sews there or even has a machine. I used to get people all the time asking me to fix their clothes(thank goodness that stopped). There is a plus to it...My kids are all younger...they range from 4- 15 yrs old. Everytime one of their friends come over, we get them sewing or doing some other craft. Last night, my daughter had a sleep over. I had all the kids sitting and hand sewing while they watched a movie. Even though they don't sew at home, you can still do what you can to get them sewing too. Whether it be your kids coming over with friends, or grand-kids' friends.
My oldest daughter's friends all save their craft projects for the fair at the end of the summer. They try to enter in as many categories as possible(from sewing to gardening and everything in between). They usually work on them a little bit on the weekends. It's a good way for all the kids to stay busy and they can earn ribbons(sometimes a $1-$3 if they get 1st, 2nd, or 3rd prize).

Making change is one of the early math lessons around here.

Neither of my boys married a girl who sews, though both are talented and crafty in other ways. Often when I visit, theire is a basket of mending or shirts needing mending awaiting me. I can't count the number of curtains, drapes, Roman shades (one DIL's favorite window treatment) I've made for their houses. One son/DIL just sold their house and moved to another city, and bought a new one. The people who bought their former house loved the window treatments, which wouldn't fit (size, color, style) in their new one anyway. Their buyers paid an extra $3000 for their window treatments.

The good thing, though, is that one of my granddaughters (13 now) loves to sew. I taught her and gave her one of my older machines. Last Christmas, I gave her a new one. Both her greatgrandmothers sewed. Maybe it's an ever-other (or three)-generation thing. My mother didn't sew. I learned from my grandmothers.

So sad that so many of the homemaker arts are going by the wayside. How many girls do any canning now? Sewing seems to be getting another "lost art" for the younger generation plus all the fast food meals. Cooking from "scratch" is also fading. I am lucky I guess as some of my grand children do sew some at least and a couple are great cooks but by and large it's pre-made, pre-cooked and fast 'n easy....sigh...I do miss some of the good old days.

I took cooking and sewing in 4H as well as in HS. Have been sewing my own clothing since I was 10 years old.
Probably wouldn't have met and married my DH without having taken home ec in HS. Our "final" our senior year was to bake cookies and send them to the USO for our servicemen in Vietnam. We each filled a large coffee can, wrapping two cookies flat sides together and wrapping them in Saran Wrap. We were instructed to put a note inside giving our name and address as the soldiers would be required to write a thank you note to the person sending their cookies. The soldier that received my package thanked me and asked if I would mind writing to him. We wrote regularly for over a year before he was sent back to the states and actually met for the first time. We were married 1 year to the day after actually meeting for the first time and have been married for 43 years next month. We have 3 grown sons and a daughter and they have all been taught to cook, bake, sew, and iron. Two of the sons are actually the cooks for their families as their spouses never learned these skills. I am now teachimg the grandchildren the same skills. I do wish they would teach life skills in school including money management and parenting. I would have liked to have had some parenting classes before raising children.

I am just a little older than you are. My Mom was a fantastic seamstress and made all of my clothes. Noone cared where anyone's clothes came from as long as they had clothes. This is probably because I lived in a rural farming area, and most people were just trying to survive. When I was in high school I was really excited to buy my first dress from a store. Boy, was I disappointed!!! That dress was not as nice and did not fit as well as the dresses that My Dear Mom made. My Mom passed away 10 years ago, and I find it almost impossible to get clothes that fit. One of the many things I miss about my Mom. She was the best person I have ever known.