Writing – Sew Becky Jo

Today I got an email from a public school teacher asking for advice. Homeschooling is new to many, and I feel our teachers are really going through some trial by fire here.

kids around kitchen table homeschooling — kids at the dining room table

Being that I’ve homeschooled, here are MY tips for success. As always, your mileage may vary, but I see a need, and I want to help. This is my wheelhouse.

First, throw out the idea of the quiet private cubby of school concentration desk. That’s some throwback Quaker stuff. It makes school seem really punitive and children are social creatures. If you put a child in a cubby, they will squirm and wiggle right out of it. Put them all around the kitchen table or sprinkle them in the living room. Put them where you are, where they are. Earbuds are recommended.

My kids get online by 8:30 am, breakfast done, teeth brushed, water bottles filled and next to them. Just like with work, this gives them time to orientate themselves to the day, check any messages, turn in anything forgotten, and get in the mode before the 10 am check-in time of Portland schools.

Around 10 am, there’s snack set out for grazing. Nuts, grapes, etc. We have realized we are going to be in close-quarters, quarantined together, so are not practicing social distancing within our family. It’s just not possible. More on that later.

By noon we break for a brief, half hour lunch.

Afternoon, older kids likely still have scheduled classes. They do that until done, then do a physical activity before free time.

Elementary school child does her class assignment of a “Diary of a Whimpy Kid” style journal, then physical activity before free time.

Physical activity options in our house:

1. 1. Go for walk or bike ride. Many of your local bike shops are still open by appointment. Get a tune up or a bike. A bike is the perfect length for social distancing and a great grocery store runner. Here’s my favorite shop in PDX.
  2. Hullabaloo. If you can find one not $124 like this one on Amazon, it is the ultimate sanity saver. I’ve had mine for over 10 years and it’s still going strong. I have friends who’ve made up new spots from fabric in their stash!
  3. Switch Ring Fit Adventure, Just Dance on Xbox – any number of physical game console options.
  4. Put on tunes and have a dance party.
  5. Cosmic Yoga on YouTube. Almost a half million subscribers for a good reason.

Free-time options – Screen-free and Not:

1. 1. Have group drawing/art while listening to an Audible book. I recommend the Little House series as it’s perfect for now, great for all ages and genders.
  2. Libby is also a great option for audio books and links with most libraries. Many counties are now allowing people to sign up for a card online to get digital books and audio books. Here’s Multnomah County’s sign up page.
  3. Science Kit: This usually involves vinegar, baking soda, and food coloring on a tray. Or making slime, etc.
  4. Planting a garden is science AND math. I’m a firm believe LIFE is ALGEBRA. You’re always solving for X. For example: How many seeds fit in a line when spaced 5 inches apart?
  5. Plant a seed in a cup to bring back to class after quarantine! Make it a class project.
  6. Get out the food dehydrator. Make fruit leather & dehydrate nuts. It’s both good quarantine sense and science. There’s all kinds of information about there about why you should soak your nuts, then dehydrate them (phytic acid y’all) and it makes for a great science study. Same with fruit leather – how long do the grapes last vs. how long does grape fruit leather last? (for grown ups, check out Brad’s It’s Alive if you really want to geek out with me.)
  7. Planet Earth. Need I say more?
  8. We love LOVE BrainPOP Jr. If your school hasn’t opened up the app completely for online learning, MAKE IT HAPPEN. There’s even a section on Coronavirus on BrainPOP now.
  9. Bill Gates just posted a tweet for Khan Academy being bolstered up for your use. That man never ceases to amaze. Khan Academy, if you don’t know, is the most used online resource by public schools. Your math teachers LOVE it.
  10. Make a sourdough starter. I love the entire King Arthur website. It’s a practically no-fail place to start.
  11. Use Ms. Jue’s Diary of a Whimpy kid idea and journal/art through it all. Bonus points for using those gel pens you have drying out, that stash of washi tape you’re “saving” and all those stickers and glitter.
  12. Teach to sew/crochet/knit – math, art, AND functional life skills. Look up the history of encoding messages in knitting. Look up the history of human strife & racial inequality in quilts, and current art and human strife in quilts. (I refuse to call these “politics;” that denotes a choice to make it this way.)

Right, so this seems to lean heavily on STEM/STEAM but I believe they’re all intertwined. There’s no math without music and vice versa. Gradients and vectors are math and art. Ratios of oil paint, drying time of watercolors… it all intersects in my mind. A kid baking cookies is learning math and science. Working out a garden plan with the kids figuring out the size of the planting box is both art and engineering. What is the cubic feet of soil for X sized planting box? This is applied learning. This is how we learn to apply worksheets to life. You got this. And you got me. AMA.

Love to you all.

We bake our sourdough weekly. Make a sourdough starter!

I’ve been lucky enough to add my name to The Sewcialists blogger register. I’m particularly proud of this interview I got to do of Zoe, of MMMay fame. Enjoy. (originally posted on The Sewcialists here.) My first interview of Zoe was almost a year ago, and that can be found here on Apple News.

delores batwing — Zoë in her Dolores Batwing top pattern

Beckyhere, and this year, we here at Sewcialists are beyond thrilled to pay homage to Zoe, the maker’s humble hero of MMMay, aka Me-Made-May, and blogger at “So, Zo…What Do You Know?”You may know a lot about Zoe and this yearly challenge, or maybe this is your first introduction. The best thing about Zoe is, not only is she incredibly modest about being an international inspiration, the MMMay challenge is perfectly aligned with the Sewcialists’ mantra of inclusivity and personal perspective. The challenge is entirely self-directed, and it is up to the individual to set their own goals.

Zoe kindly agreed to an interview. I’ve had the pleasure of chatting up Zoe before, and if you’d like to visit her FAQ page for a little background, I highly recommend it. Without further ado, I present the Sewcialists Zoe Interview:

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Zoe, it’s your 9th year hosting MMMay! First let me say, congratulations! Running MMMay has gone from a whimsical idea while living in Barcelona to a full-on international event. It looks like #memademayalone has over 50k posts on Instagram, and last year variations of #MMMay17total over 34k!

How do you feel about the success of this yearly challenge?

It’s fabulous to see how many people want to get more from their me-mades by thinking more deeply about what they make and how they wear it. I think MMMay’s popularity/success is because it is entirely customisable for the individual participants so it can be truly useful. However, there’s something really nice about knowing that there are hundreds of other people doing something similar at the same time as you, especially if that thing is challenging (which it should be!)

I love the self-determined nature of MMMay, and I feel that is what makes it so popular. As you’ve said to me previously: Participants “can improve on their own relationship with their self-stitched wardrobe, and perhaps their creativity and sense of self more generally.” I just LOVE that quote. Keeping that “relationship” guideline in mind, what are some tips you have learned to keep beginners from being overwhelmed?

A month can feel like a long time to do something that’s a bit difficult and out of your usual routine, especially when the initial buzz of excitement has worn off after the first week! If you’re flagging, go back and read your original pledge to remind yourself of why you chose to challenge yourself. Also, follow the hashtags (#MMMay18being the main one) or check out some people’s blog posts (you can find participants’ blogs by looking at the comments section on the sign-up post). Reading other people’s experiences and revelations so far, and seeing their wonderful self-stitched creations, is likely to give you a real boost. And if you really aren’t enjoying it, then you don’t have to continue! No one is going to judge you or be angry, MMMay is meant to be fun and illuminating after all, and if you’re just not feeling it, then no problem.

On the flip-side, some of the participants are more seasoned and may feel a bit of creative burnout. What are some ways more advanced makers can incorporate to keep it fresh?

I LOVE seeing repeat participants coming back year after year and upping the ante! I remember when Handmade by Carolynstarted introducing handmade shoes into her Me-Made outfits! I’m not suggesting everyone should aim to go all out like that, and if you really have achieved a relationship with your handmade wardrobe and creativity that you’re perfectly happy with, then there’s no need to take part at all. However, if you still feel you want to make some changes and improvements to that relationship, then there are countless pledges you can make. Perhaps there’s a type of tricky garment that you’ve been too scared or intimidated to try making yourself (bras or jeans perhaps), or some kind of technique that you’ve always wanted to try (intarsia or a kind of lacy knitting stitch maybe)? You could pledge to make that type of garment or something that uses that technique, and wear it by the end of the month? I often find that life brings its own challenges (like being pregnant, life with small children, a new career, going on holiday during May) that would bring a fresh perspective to MMMay from previously years without you even needing to search for it.

Your life has evolved from those early carefree years in Barcelona to carving out a creative, sustainable, family life in Eastbourne. How has your relationship with sewing changed?

I’ve written a fair bit about how my relationship with sewing has changed since having children (this post for example). I love sewing handmade clothes for my kids now, at times as much as or more than sewing stuff for myself. Partly, it’s a way of providing and caring for them. But perhaps more importantly than the final garments themselves, sewing helps me carve out some time and brain space that is entirely my own, when every other aspect of my life at the moment seems to be directed by the needs of others. It’s an act of self-care and very necessary for my mental health.

Many of us in the sewing-sphere look to you as having an authentic voice and inspiration for staying true to oneself. As many may or may not know, starting Me-Made-May was an inspired response to things like the Makeshift Project and the Wardrobe Refashion pledge, and there have been many challenges since inspired by your work. Who, or what, are some of your current sources for maker-inspiration?

I recently read a book about clothing rationing in the UK during WW2. The experiences of women during that time (including the amazing diaries of Nella Last) really inspire me, the way that many of them used their skills and the materials they had to hand to provide for themselves and their families. The way many people clothe themselves with fast and cheap fashion is literally unsustainable, so I think that looking back at the lessons learnt by previous generations is going to be increasingly necessary. Oh, and Pinterest, sewing blogs and Instagram like everyone else, obviously!

Now, for a bit of fun. A Zoe Top 10 List! What are your top 10 most worn patterns?

Self-drafted Jeggings pattern (but if I’d seen the Eleanore pull-on jeans by Jaliebefore, I probably would have started there!)
My free vest camisole/singlet pattern
My free pants/undies/knickers pattern(both of these are literally worn every day)
Tova Topby Wiksten
Gable Topby Jennifer Lauren Handmade
Agnes Topby Tilly and The Buttons
Dolores Batwing Toppattern by me!
Cabernet Cardiganby SBCC
Kinder Cardiganby Wendy Ward in her new book
Suzon Blouseby République du Chiffon (recently completed so not really had a chance yet, but loving it)

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Ah, I wish there was a WordPress plug-in to give Zoe a round of applause. Personally, as a returning MMMay participant, this is exactly the inspiration I needed. Did you find any nuggets of wisdom in this interview to inspire you this year?

Category: Writing

Homeschooling Tips for COVID-19

Repost: The Sewcialists Interview Zoe of MMMay