Elizabeth's "The Making Lessons" Details

Buried under a huge pile of multi-coloured wool on the couch one evening, I planned it.

My first, real, handwork project which I hoped to use to teach my young son at home. It was such a simple idea & yet I hadn’t the slightest idea of how important it was at the time.

I made a play-farm.

Just 12 squares of basic knitting - all held together by a knit stream & a few paths. Embellished with some veggies, a little bridge & a few different stitches, it became my key lesson tool for years.

While attending a parent & tot program at a nearby Waldorf school, I realized how the things the children played with weren’t just toys. I hadn’t really thought about it before. Good quality toys had always been a priority for me while raising my 3 bigger kids (they’re all adults now).   I chose them mainly so they would last & because, as a life-long creative, I appreciated the effort that had gone into making them.

It wasn't long before I discovered that children can make great things with fibre from a very early age. Watching my little son making wet-felted balls, pompoms & little felt figures, I was inspired to do it at home with him. He loved it & was good at it. And then? Being an unusual hybrid creative-researcher type, I started delving deeper into the Waldorf curriculum.

Why did handwork play such an important role in Steiner’s method?

Well, I found out & so much more! Since those days, a lot has changed. My son is 9 now & I have a lovely daughter who is 5. My husband & I decided 3 years ago, to pack everything, sell up & leave Toronto.  We moved to a small village in the French countryside, where I homeschool the kids using an eclectic blend of Waldorf, Reggio & things that feel right.

And the play-farm ?

Yesterday, my daughter, had it laid out on the floor (5 years later !) floating her fairies on the pond while she told herself the most elaborate story....

What are The Making Lessons ?

 

 

This 4-week self-paced course is taught via easy-to-follow lessons; each brimming with inspiring ideas & supported by up-to-date research about the fabulous effects handwork has on our children’s brains & bodies. 

This course is live. It will grow & change as we move through it. I will be planning projects for my own children along with you (I'll show you how & what I’m doing).

And ...

if you want to tell me more about you & your kids (where you live, ages, curriculum), I’ll tweak the course here & there to make it even more relevant for you. 

I have been a professional designer & maker for 30 years. Handwork has been my passion since I can remember & now for the first time, I am sharing my flexible approach to designing handwork projects online. 

You'll discover how these techniques will simplify your planning & help you feel more confident & relaxed about including handwork in your everyday lessons.

 

You’ll enjoy coming along for this beta-version of the course if you:

• like to think for yourself, draw from many sources & then translate your ideas into a rich & exciting curriculum for your children
• have so many ideas you don’t know where to start when it comes to handwork projects
• teach children aged 4 - 9 (approximately kindergarten to grade 3)
• want a little bit of support & guidance when planning your projects

 

How are The Making Lessons taught?

Creating anything is always a multi-faceted endeavour which rarely starts at just one point. It’s so easy to get caught up in the planning & dreaming. Often, we miss getting to the making stage!

As a homeschooling/work-at-home/designing mother, I know how challenging it can be to find a long stretch of time to myself (pretty much impossible), so The Making Lessons are clear, short & filled with solid content.  

Mix + Match + Create = Enjoy 

Once you have completed the course, you will be able to mold this approach, adapt it, make it yours - so that you can quickly & easily write lesson plans & design projects for any age child(ren) using any curriculum - for years to come.

Listen, watch & do at your own pace.

You can spend as long as you want browsing, choosing & sampling
anything that takes your fancy.

 

Everything will be presented in 7 multi-media lessons -

Lesson 1 - Why Handwork Matters

• how it affects children's heads, hearts & hands
• how handwork is brain smart
• how the course works 
• how to get the most out of this opportunity

Lesson 2 - Collecting Ideas & Content  

• deciding where you want to tie handwork into your curriculum
• the powerful places in curriculum to integrate handwork  (handwork integration 101)
• how to annotate books & sites - easily remember where you found topics & ideas

Lesson 3 - Inspiration 

• where to find it & what to do with it once you’ve got some
• build your own personalized sourcebook 
• how to create a "look board" with your kids

Lesson 4 - Skills & Projects 

• general overview of age appropriate handwork skills
• observing & assessing your child's skills
• assessing your own skill levels
• define YOUR unique making talents
• learning new skills
• how, when & where - types of projects - gifts, toys, dolls, teaching tools, décor, contemplative 
• explore tools, materials, vocabulary & basic skills for major fibre arts

Lesson 5 - Creating your own "Handwork Studio" 

• collecting materials & tools
• building your own library
• when & what to buy
• what NOT to buy
• how to work on a budget

Lesson 6 - Teaching Handwork

• tips for designing engaging lessons
• create your own individualized craft guide & lesson planner 
• how to create an environment that enhances the handwork experience
• easy to follow techniques with examples of simple lesson plans
• tips for building confidence, maintaining motivation & making it fun
• how to vary lessons—make them easier, extend them
•  enjoy the lesson you’re teaching it without worrying how you’re going to present it
• working with multi-age groups

Lesson 7 - Making Handwork Memories

• Record - making sample books, storing finished work
• Report - how to tie new handwork skills into academic topics
• Share your children's work with school inspectors, friends & family

Each lesson will feature :

• Videos & podcasts
• Lots of inspiring images (many from my own projects & archives - 25+ years worth !!)
• Q&A posts (I’ll gather all of your questions & answer them after each lesson)  

PLUS. . .  

A variety of PDFs -- created specifically for this course :

• Guided exercises & short readings for you to reflect on
•  Handy worksheets, tables & forms to print & use immediately
•  Shopping Lists for materials, tools, resources ( including FREEBIES)
•  Checklists for preparing lessons (have everything ready BEFORE you teach)
•  Charts & Calendars (festivals, handwork skills lists for kindergarten to grade 3)
•  Basic starter patterns & templates to get you started
•  Annotated book lists (my core resources & I’ll tell you why)

Bonuses :

• I’ll share lists of my favourite inspirational blogs & websites. 
• I’ll give you access to my private pinterest board which I will build during the course. 
• You can share & explore the course with the other participants by leaving comments on the private course blog.  

Now,

you may have some questions about your situation & how The Making Lessons can work for you. You can indulge in this short, practical course - even if :

• you don’t know a lot about handwork yet (everybody has to start somewhere !)
• you use a mix of curriculums & packages (customization is the name of the game)
• you don’t have a whack o’ cash lying around for mounds of supplies (who does?) 
• you teach a mixed age group of children (projects can be even more fun)
• your kids go to school but you’d like to enrich their lives with making beautiful things
• you keep trying to add handwork into your days but can’t seem to find the time
• you teach in a professional setting (this approach will simplify your planning)
• your kids really little (it’s never too early to start learning & gathering inspiration) 

It’s possible for anyone to benefit from this course if they are willing to read a bit, think a little & try some new things along the way.

*** This is the course I wish had existed when I started homeschooling 9 years ago. ***

I live ( & love) this stuff - I read/design/teach/make constantly —it’s my thing!

If you'd like to enjoy the satisfaction & freedom
of easily designing your own handwork lessons for next year along with me,
simply click below to enroll.

This is a beta course—it will never be run again at such a low price.

BUY NOW for $57! 

Hurry! There are a limited number of slots open at this price!

The full market price of The Making Lessons is $97 USD.

P.S. The GREAT BIG BONUS !!

Those who complete & submit the core course exercises (details in Lesson One) will receive a complimentary 20-minute Skype one-on-one session with me. We can plan a project, brainstorm for a festival or just chat about handwork. Whatever you want to talk about!

A NOTE FROM SALLY:  I am hosting this course (and not making a penny) on my blog because of the incredible talent and inspiration of my friend Elizabeth.  This course is a must do!  Don't miss this goodness for such a bargain price.  Handwork is a powerhouse in the classroom!  Elizabeth is going to walk you through the process of bringing handwork to your academic settings.  I am so excited for us all!  

Questions and Answers about A Dash of Power

Dear Readers,
Next month I will launch my classroom management e-course.  Yay!   I am so inspired and grateful for the opportunity to share my approach.  In truth, it is not just my approach but the integration of many powerful and effective teachers in my life.  I know that I would not be the teacher I am today without having learned these powerful truths in teaching from these amazing individuals.

Today, I am finally at the place where there is no discipline issue that takes away my joy or desire to teach.   At one point in my teaching career, I would call in sick to "recover" from "dealing" with the children.  That just doesn't ever happen anymore.  In fact, I have faced several very extreme discipline issues in the past few years.  I think it was about 5 years ago I had one of the most extreme discipline issues of my career.   It had me up against the wall.  Nothing worked.  At one point, I began to look for another career.  In the midst of this crisis - I sought help.  In this coaching - I found my truth.  The content of this course saved me from leaving teaching.  And since this experience, no child's behavior has ever compromised my joy in teaching. 

A few weeks ago I was working on the course material when it occurred to me that this course was something every teacher ought to have.   Why?  I have had the deep blessing of mentors who addressed the deepest and most profound levels of being a teacher.  I literally paid thousands of dollars to receive the most incredible guidance.  I want to share that with you - at a price anyone can afford.   The time to share it is now!

Please email me if you have any questions I did not answer!

How is this course different from other approaches?  
Great question!  This course goes past the standard tips and tricks to the heart of the matter.  In this course we will dive into the anatomy of managing children.  There are fundamental truths to managing children.  Without these truths, it is like putting coins in a slot machine.  It is all chance.


I have a very difficult class in a poor community, can you help me?   
I spent seven years of my teaching career working with children in poverty.  My approach to classroom management was born out of these experiences.  Children in survival are much like animals - they sense fear and weakness.  I had to find my power to meet them in a calm but assertive way.   Domination never works. These children needed the real deal!

How much time will this take?  I am overwhelmed at school!
The course is designed to provide instruction at three levels.  The first level is content.  If you take the course and do nothing more than read the content - it would take only 30 minutes a week.  At this level - you would get the meat of the material.  The next level is integration.  This is the application of the content in multiple learning venues.  If you took the course at this level - you could expect to spend an hour a week.  Finally, there is the deepest level of the course.  This is putting the material into practice.   At this level - the course would be about two hours or more a week - depending on how much you practiced.

I am a bit hopeless and exhausted.  Why waste my time and money?
I totally understand.  A Dash of Power has been designed to meet your deepest needs as a teacher.  It is a deeply inspiring course.

I homeschool my children, how could this benefit me?
Honestly, this course could be applied to parenting!  The course content can be translated to parenting very easily.  But here's the thing, when you are homeschooling, you are taking on another role with your child - one of being the teacher.  This course could offer you priceless guidance in the seamless dance between parenting and teaching your children.

I think I will take it later, when will you offer it again?
I have not decided if this course will be a live course in the future.  Just like my other e-courses, the first offering is an opportunity for me to discover the best ways to deliver the course to you.  Because it is a first run - I am offering it deeply discounted.  I have not finalized my plans on when it will run again.  Please stay tuned.  I recommend just doing it now!

Important Course Information
Fall 2011 Closed