The Christopherus Curriculum – Handwork

The following is a rough outline of the handwork and craft curriculum as it progresses through the grades. It may well be that as we develop the Curriculum we change some of this around somewhat, add to it and take from it, but we wanted people to get an idea of how the handwork curriculum, like the rest of theChristopherus Curriculum, flows and develops over the years. So please regard this document as a “work in progress”!

Gracie shows off her sheep!

We have had assistance in developing our handwork curriculum. Lauri Bolland (whose daughter Grace is pictured to the right, holding a finished project from the 3rd grade curriculum) created most of our 2nd and 3rd grade handwork projects. And former Christopherus consultant, Lisa Marshall developed our 4th grade handwork curriculum.

First Grade
Working with wool – carding, making crafts. Knitting. Seasonal nature crafts. Making puppets. (First Grade Curriculum)

Second Grade
Continuing with wool – using a drop spindle if possible; dyeing wool; knitting and crocheting. Simple felting projects. Seasonal nature crafts. Making puppets. (Second Grade Curriculum)

Third Grade
Native American crafts; using a drop spindle; crocheting a hat; simple felting project; making a needle case and a felt pocket organizer; carpentry. (Third Grade Curriculum)

Forth Grade
Macramé; knitting a hat and mittens; crocheting various items; quilting 1; needle felting; paper crafts; whittling; carpentry. (Fourth Grade Curriculum)

Fifth Grade
Embroidered bag; 4 needle socks; quilting 2; geometric star patterns for windows; batik print; more whittling. (Fifth Grade Curriculum)

Sixth Grade
Various woodwork projects; mosaic; further block printing; three dimensional stuffed animal; soft stone carving. Also stain glass and decorative work inspired by the Book of Kells and by Islamic calligraphy. (Refer to the Sixth Grade Curriculum for further details).

Seventh Grade
Knit a sweater; sewing project such as an apron; origami and similar complex crafts; jewelry making; carve a bowl; embroidered pattern using early Christian (e.g. Book of Kells) or Islamic calligraphy from last year.

Eighth Grade
Following a pattern and using a sewing machine to make a shirt; build a doll’s house or a box with hinges; make paper and a book; make a doll.