Learning Life Skills Through Handicrafts

If you’ve been around here for long, you know that teaching my kids life skills is one of our main reasons we decided to homeschool. Kids at public schools aren’t learning life skills as well as we’d like for our kids, so we took it upon ourselves to do the dirty work.

But once our kids got home, I was unsure of how to go about teaching life skills. I lacked so many skills that I felt inadequate but I knew I had to find a solution.

Soon, our kids were learning life skills by just doing life with us. From cooking meals together to building a shed, they were learning things I knew would benefit them throughout all their life.

Emersyn loves handicrafts, so I was excited when I started thinking of all the ways she is learning life skills while doing cute little crafts.

This post is sponsored by Elevation Handmade. All opinions are my own.
A positive review was not required. I was compensated for my time.

Who knew it was so fun to learn life skills through handicrafts?

4 Life Skills Kids Learn from Handicrafts

Calming Activities

In a world where we’re constantly pulled in a million different directions, our kids need to learn how to remove themselves from the chaos and find something that helps calm them down. Handicrafts is a great way to do just that!

From embroidery to painting, there are many different handicrafts that leave children feeling less overwhelmed and stressed.

Fine Motor Skills

So often, we focus on developing a child’s gross motor skills. We make sure they can throw a ball, climb a tree and skip down the road. But often we forget all about simple fine motor skills.

Handicrafts can solve that problem! Children learn to grasp beads and paintbrushes. They learn to thread a needle and make steady strikes into their needle felting.

Patience

Have you ever embroidered a tea towel? If so, you know the patience it takes to see your work come to life. From the first stitch to the last, your child learns to be patient and work steadily along, without giving up.

Following instructions

Since we’re very relaxed homeschoolers, I was shocked at what a struggle my kids had when it came to following directions to the T. But learning to follow directions exactly as they are to be followed is a skill that even many adults struggle with.

Fun handicrafts, like making a friendship bracelet, require children to follow specific instructions.

Handicrafts are FULL of life skills but my mind tends to draw a blank when it comes time to pull out a project. I’ve spent hours on Pinterest, only to be left with overly complicated crafts that require expensive supplies.
That’s why I was thrilled to find The Makers Club Membership.

With the monthly or annual membership, I have access to TONS of age-appropriate craft projects. My kids can learn at their own pace and build a solid foundation in a skill before moving on to more detailed projects.

Instead of trying to piece together a list of projects that will help build my kids’ life skills, it’s all done for me! All I have to do is log in to the membership site and decide which handicraft we’re going to work on today. It’s more than just popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners. Kids learn life skills they’ll carry with them into adulthood and it gives our crafting time a purpose.