Dishcloth Dolls

When I started homeschooling, I had all kinds of ideas about how I wanted to teach my children.  One of my primary goals was to make real life applications from what they were studying.  I don’t want my girls to think that learning only occurrs behind a desk.

 

Let’s fast forward to now, the end of Boo’s second grade year.  Ever since we extended our trip home this past fall, we’ve been playing catch up in terms of schoolwork.  While we made a point to have the girls do worksheets and took them on several educational field trips during that visit, I really, really want to finish the curriculum that we’d previously purchased.  So we’ve been doubling up as we can over the last several months and it hasn’t left a lot of time or energy for extra projects.

It's probably going to sound silly, but I finally found an opportunity for a quick and easy project while we were reading this book.

The book takes place during the early 1900’s in Florida and chronicles two families trying to make a living in the brutal backwoods environment.

At one point early on, the book mentions how one of the older girls made dishcloth dolls for some of the younger ones.  Remembering a handkerchief doll my own grandma gave to me many years ago, I decided we could try making some ourselves.

I searched the internet, but the few patterns that I did stumble across were too intricate.  I wanted to make something close to the dolls illustrated in the pages above.  I wanted the girls to realize that children just over a hundred years ago found other things to occupy themselves than the mounds of plastic toys that have infiltrated our own home.

 

Although I tend to be a pattern follower myself, we decided to wing it.  Armed with just dishtowels, elastic hair bands, and some ribbon, this is what we were able to create.

 

 

Simple, fun, and easily accomplished during Bitty's naptime.

 

 

Based on the smiles, I think it was a success.