At the start of 2018, I had the idea to do a book quilt. But after life started to get insanely busy with my toddler underfoot, I thought this isn’t the season for a quilt. I still really wanted to do something to commemorate my time spent reading aloud with my children, but it needed to be less involved than a quilt. Then I remembered that we were already working on another tablecloth project (which I’ll discuss in a separate post), so why not a book tablecloth, too? Yes, a book tablecloth!
I am a sentimental person. I don’t keep all the things, but I do keep those special items that invoke wonderful memories and I’ve never regretted keeping them. This book tablecloth came from a deep desire to comfort my future self. These days are fleeting, I know this. Right now, we spend countless hours gathered around our school table, cuddled on the couch or snuggled in bed with me reading aloud to my babies. One day, sooner than I’d rather it be, they’ll be gone living their lives. This is my tangible record of those moments when I’m missing those days hard. Yes, this is for them, it’s for all of us, but truly it is for my momma heart.
When we first began, they needed my help a lot. I was sure they would never master threading the needle and knotting the thread. So much so, I started questioning if this was the best idea I’ve had. Gratefully, God is always teaching me patience through my kids, even when I don’t feel like being patient. With time, they did get the threading and knotting down. These days there aren’t as many threads getting all a tangled mess.
The only thing I ask of them is to fill it up. I want to see their artwork in every last space. They have complete and total cart blanche with the creative aspect. They decide the what, where and the size of their embroidery. Some times they stitch the cover of the book and then some times it’s an illustration from the book. Other times, they stitch whatever stood out to them the most and do their own composition. Again, I leave that up to them.
Before they begin embroidering, they draw out their design with a sewing marker. I don’t recommend using the disappearing ink markers, because the drawing will likely will disappear faster than they work. A lot of their work is done over days, even weeks, so it’s important to use something that will remain until they are done stitching.
I mentioned earlier in this post that this tablecloth is for them. I could have just had them draw and I do the stitching, but I wanted to use this as an opportunity to build on their embroidery skills. For a while, I just had them use a basic running stitch and did not bother with teaching them more than that. When I felt they had a grasp on basic embroidery, I started introducing new stitches. Embroidery: A Step-by-Step Guide to More Than 200 Stiches At first it was one new stitch a month, now we are up to a new stitch every week or every couple of weeks, depending on difficulty and time available. I typically will demonstrate it for them in their practice hoops and then they will do stitching while I read aloud. Once they feel comfortable, they start to incorporate the new stitches into their designs. The tablecloth has become a progressive showcase of their handiwork.
If you’d like to do this project with your children, you’ll need a tablecloth (this is the one I used), a sewing marker, embroidery floss, embroidery hoops and embroidery needles. Just remember, you do not have to be a master embroiderer to do this. I assure you I am not. I truly want to encourage other Moms, regardless of skill level, to take time out to do these things now and know that when you do, you are preserving all those special memories for your future self.
HOMESCHOOL
An Artful Approach to Mapmaking
I recently posted a picture of our map work on my instagram feed and there were quite a few questions in regards to how we do cartography in our homeschool. This blog has been patiently waiting for its first post and because of the interest on my instagram picture, I was inspired to write up a quick post and hopefully inspire some of you to try mapmaking with your children.
When we first started cartography, I would print out a map and they would trace it onto another piece of paper. When that method seemed to have run its course, we started drawing one state at a time, eventually being able to draw a complete map of the United States. Now, there is nothing wrong with either of these ways, but it just wasn’t working for us. They were bored and becoming increasingly uninterested in maps and mapmaking. About this time, I started looking for books about maps, hoping to turn this around. In my search, I came across, Mapmaking with Children: Sense of Place Education for the Elementary Years by David Sobel. If you are wanting to implement cartography into your children’s studies, I can’t recommend this book enough. It challenged me to turn our rote memorization of maps into an art process.A few people asked at what age do you start? My children in these photos are 10, 9 and 6, but I could have and wished I would have started this sooner. Maps don’t have to be overly complicated. For the map featured in this post, I read a passage to my children from, A Land Remembered. It talked in great detail about the route Tobias and Zach MacIvey took on their cattle drive to the Great Cypress Swamp in The Everglades. Next, we located some key points on a map of Florida and then the map was theirs for the making. As you can see, they each interpreted the passage differently. Accuracy was not the goal here, though I’m sure that will come with time.
I’ve included a list of the books we have read or are currently reading in our mapping studies. Some of these are out of print, but well worth hunting them down!
Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor by Robert Burleigh
They Put Out To Sea by Roger Duvoisin
Mapmaking with Children: Sense of Place Education for the Elementary Years by David Sobel
Map Art Lab by Jill K. Berry and Linden McNeilly
What’s in a Map? by Sally Cartwright
The Magic Map by Mary Graham Bonner
As the Crow Flies: A First Book of Maps by Gail Hartman
All About Maps and Mapmaking by Susan Marsh
Henry’s Map by David Elliot
The Once Upon a Time Map Book: Take a Tour of Six Enchanted Lands by B.G. Hennessey