Yay – Back to school time means back to sewing class!

These days, no doubt, there are a LOT of  after school enrichment class opportunities at schools!  It doesn’t matter which school you attend, chances are there’s some sort of after care program. Usually this involves vendors coming in to teach specialty classes for things they probably aren’t learning in their regular school day.

And if it’s not school enrichment classes, there is soccer, dance, piano lessons, choir , fencing and so many more amazing activities that your child can choose from to supplement their school day education.

So why would anyone choose after school sewing class this year, you ask?

Here are a couple reasons we feel strongly that after school sewing classes make total sense.

1. 1. Learning how to sew, either using a needle & thread or using a sewing machine will get your child away from all the screens! At least for a little while.  There are no screens (laptop, phone, computer, iPad or otherwise) in sewing. This is a class where kids are going to use their imaginations to create things with their hands using fabric, thread and creativity. There are few activities these days that don’t involve a computer and  basically create something from nothing with your hands. Sewing is one of those precious activities and all kids need a little bit more of that in their life, don’t you think?
   2. Taking an after school sewing class reinforces the things you learn in school! Ever heard of STEM?? Yeah we figured you had! Well, sewing is one of those activities that has a little bit of all things STEM. In sewing we talk a lot about how things are made and what makes up our clothes. What is cotton made of and where does it come from? How is fabric created? These are all science questions that we talk about often in sewing. For technology, you can’t get any more technical than having your third grader learn how to use a piece of machinery that literally makes the clothing we wear everyday. For engineering, that’s pretty much what sewing is all about. Figuring out the best method of creating an actual thing of of fabric and thread. And finally math. Yep, sewing is math,  as well. How do you think we figure out how long a bag strap should be, or how big the circumference of the circle skirt pattern should be, or how big to make the beret? It’s ALL math!

   3. Learning sewing in a class teaches you other important life skills your children wont learn in school! Sewing class will help your child flex their creative muscle. While physical strength and getting exercise are important, so is using your brain to it’s utmost creative potential. Sewing allows students to use their creativity in a way that really isn’t allowed in school anymore. The sewing projects they’ll work on in our classes will allow design opportunities that you don’t find in most school curriculum. Making decisions about how to design something is a practical skill that will help them later in life and in careers like engineering, fashion design, interior design, architecture, product design and so much more.

   4. Arts in School is Becoming a Thing of the Past! More and more, sewing, art classes, music classes or anything to have to do with the arts in general is not taught in our schools anymore. There is such a focus on academics and test scores that the arts are getting pushed aside at alarming rates.After school sewing classes give our students a taste of creative art even if it’s after the normal school day. In a sewing class, we teach children to use their hands to create an adorable stuffed animal, a beautiful piece of clothing or a handmade birthday gift for their parent that I know will be cherished for years and years after they took the class with me. This is very special and not something you see in art class anymore!