I introduced two of my grandaughters to sewing by letting them use my featherweight and let them sew on paper. I drew line on it and let them go. But as for projects, this is not exactly sewing but do you recall the old fashioned potholders made with stretchy loops? As a former kindergarten teacher, I can assure you this will be a fun, challenge for a 5 year old. It requires coordinating hand and eye movements, and persistence. Children love to put the loops on one way but the weaving, over/under, over/under is a skill that requires concentration, time and patience. But the end result is always beautiful. I used these in my classroom and the children were so proud. I had to do the final step of taking the potholder off the loom, but the results were charming.

Recently, my 10 year old granddaughter helped make dog beds for our local animal rescue organization. She as old enough to make the french seamed "pillow case" but stuffed the bed with my sewing scraps. Your 5 year old grand could certainly add the stuffing in you chose to make pet beds for donation. My Audrey was so proud to be helping make an animal comfortable while they waited for a new owner.

PS My first introduction to sewing was embroidery too. I helped to decorate bibs for my soon to be born brother. I was five but nearly 6. Wish I still had one of them. Alas, gone with the wind and time.

I started my Granddaughter on pot holders. Let her pick out fabric from stash. She quilted it with an X across it. Made a few that she gave as Christmas gifts. Put your patience cap on and enjoy the time together.

My #2 GD made a quilt at age 9 and donated it to the psych ward at our local hospital. They loved getting it.

So glad to hear that your granddaughter is interested in sewing. Since you seem to be leaning toward a tooth fairy pillow, here are a few free patterns that I found on the web. I like the ones that hang on the door knob or bed post so the "tooth fairy" doesn't have to reach under the pillow & wake up the sleeping child.

https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/sew-...pillow-2978220
https://tipjunkie.com/cutest-diy-too...llows-to-make/
https://www.instructables.com/id/How...-Fairy-Pillow/
https://thecraftingchicks.com/tooth-...table-pattern/
https://blog.treasurie.com/tooth-fairy-pillow-pattern/
https://www.shinyhappyworld.com/2014...-pillow-2.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb6uBUrCb5Q

Oh, I just saw this thread & like what Batik does (post #12). She & her granddaughter makes them out of 5" charms. Actually, this whole thread has a lot of other good ideas that you might want to do with your DGD.

https://www.quiltingboard.com/tutori...w-t285301.html

You could make a rag quilt for her doll … they are very forgiving … you will probably need to help clip the edges. Pillowcase is a great idea too! Have fun!

I loved the segment on Sewing with Nancy Zieman with her granddaughters. There is also a Sew for Fun book that she wrote.

https://wpt4.org/wpt-video/sewing-na...or-fun-qomp0c/

http://www.nancyzieman.com/blog/sewi...i-sew-for-fun/

Listen to the Podcast with Sewing tips for Teaching Children to Sew
 

The link below takes you to a Quilting Podcast sponsored by American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine. The host is Pat Sloan, and 1 of the guests is a teacher with tips for teaching children to sew. Enjoy!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...=1000393268726

Thanks for all of the wonderful suggestions. Today was the day. I purchased a special foot to protect her fingers from the sewing machine needle, used my Janome 3160 on medium speed, had the "kit" for a tooth fairy pillow cut out and ready to go with seam lines drawn on the fabric as suggested. We had a slow start because she just couldn't use the foot pedal even with it elevated on a stool. She moved over to using the start/stop button and had a fabulous success.

She sewed the entire tooth fairy pillow by herself!!! She loved it.[ATTACH=CONFIG]616882[/ATTACH]