Getting started on making jewellry with children.
Making gifts and especially jewellry with your children is a great way to spend time, save money and learn as you go along. This is a quick set of hints and tips on how to get started.
keep it simple
it's good advice for life and it's definitely good advice for working with children.
First thing to suggest is do something you've already tried out yourself. The younger the child is the less patient they tend to be, and sitting watching while you tie your own fingers in a knot will not inspire confidence in many. Know what you're doing so that you can assist them to succeed.
Secondly, make sure you've got everything you need to hand. Getting halfway through making something and running out of beads/thread/glue/fixings will lead to disappointment, and for most children that will tend to mean they give up at that point, and you'll find it that much more difficult to entice them in next time you want to try something.
Try to suit the activity to the child - you can make jewellry with boys, but most of them will favour something less gaudy than girls - a simple knotted necklace or bracelet will go down well, hemp is a good material. Or they will often go for scoobied animals or you may even get away with some origami, which can be used to make beautiful earrings.
First thing to suggest is do something you've already tried out yourself. The younger the child is the less patient they tend to be, and sitting watching while you tie your own fingers in a knot will not inspire confidence in many. Know what you're doing so that you can assist them to succeed.
Secondly, make sure you've got everything you need to hand. Getting halfway through making something and running out of beads/thread/glue/fixings will lead to disappointment, and for most children that will tend to mean they give up at that point, and you'll find it that much more difficult to entice them in next time you want to try something.
Try to suit the activity to the child - you can make jewellry with boys, but most of them will favour something less gaudy than girls - a simple knotted necklace or bracelet will go down well, hemp is a good material. Or they will often go for scoobied animals or you may even get away with some origami, which can be used to make beautiful earrings.
Good stuff to have around.
- Beads. Pony beads, hama beads, perler beads, seed beeds, wooden beads, glass beads, plastic beads. You're going to want to choose sizes dependent on ages and mouthing habits of the children you are working with, but basically, beads are a good start.
- Thread. Embroidery thread, elastic thread, hemp, cotton, preferably something that fits through the beads you've chosen or can hold the knots you've been looking at.
- Fixings. Now these are optional until you get onto more complicated pieces, but you may find that they make finished pieces look that bit more special and more likely to be valued by both giver and recipient.
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