Four-year-old April is sat on a cosy two-seater sofa sewing a star, but has to stop to independently rethread her needle before continuing with the task. Beside her, a child is exploring a bead box and carefully threading those she has chosen to make jewellery. The sewing area contains a unit adorned with fresh flowers and tempting resources including a wide choice of donated fabrics, brightly coloured buttons, a pin cushion, needles and jar with scissors.
This is a typical day at Poppies Pre-school in Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire, where nursery head Sharon Imray instilled sewing into the setting's continuous provision many years ago. Sewing links with their Froebelian ethos (see Further information), regarding children as autonomous learners who learn best through hands-on activities and benefit from interactions with other children and adults who are tuned in to their needs. Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) also wrote about ‘Occupations’, which support children to express their thoughts and feelings through creatively using a wide range of media – of which sewing is one.
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