Tag Archives: Concentration

Ready Steady Sew

Today the children in the home room have been exploring the sewing area. We had a discussion about threading a needle and how it can be really difficult to do but once it is done we are able to create stitches on the sewing table. Together the children shared their thoughts and ideas on what to do next, as a group we decided they would like to try sewing something onto the hessian.


The children searched the sewing area and found a variety of different materials in different shapes, sizes, colours and patterns and they were able to choose what they would like to use.
Firstly they drew patterns on the material that they chose to sew on and, with a little support with they cut out shapes using the large scissors. We then used the hole punch to cut out holes in our material to make it easier to thread the two bits together, this needed a lot of concentration. The children used their hand and eye co- ordination while completing this task. At the end they talked to each other about their own creations.

“can we cut out love hearts?”

”I can thread my needle?”
We decided using the Hessain table was easier than an individual piece.


”I liked doing both”
“I cut mine all by myself”
“mine is stuck together”

The younger children have enjoyed threading the large buttons, they spend a lot of time doing this so we added some pine cones, sticks, pipe cleaners, ribbon and wool for them. The children needed a little guidance of what to do and before we knew it they were confidently picking materials to wrap, weave and twirl, all the time developing their fine motor skills and concentration.

Sew Much Fun

In the home room we have created a new sewing area which the children have shown a great interest in. Today we had a discussion on a variety of the resources available and explored these by touching, naming and there purpose. The children could confidently identify lots of things connected with sewing:

“Needles are jaggy”

“scissors can be sharp”

“Wool is nice and soft and squishy”

“thread is hard”

The children were keen to try and thread a needle so with great patience , concentration and hand and eye co-ordination each child had a go. During this time we talked about the whole in the needle is called an eye and when you thread you put a knot at end so the stitch stays in. The older children were able to complete this and were excited to try to do a stitch on the sewing table. They listened well to instructions and were able to follow this with little support. They helped each other when got a bit tangled and commented on each other’s stitches.

“Look at your big one”

“ you have done lots”

The younger children were able to thread the large shaped buttons using laces.

The children were unsure what the wheel, block and trees were for so I demonstrated weaving, encouraging them to take part. All the children enjoyed the weaving and had fun experimenting with the the different coloured wool and objects.

“ it looks like a rainbow”

” I like these trees”

Why not try exploring simple weaving techniques at home using ribbon or paper. This is a great activity for hand and eye co-ordination and a good way for building up fine motor skills.