Have you ever wondered if your kids would enjoy leatherworking as much as you do? Last week, one of our readers emailed us and happened to mention that she homeschools her three kids, and includes leatherworking as a part of the curriculum.
In searching around on the internet to see if others were doing the same, I came across a few examples of leatherworking classes that were designed specifically for kids. I didn’t do leatherworking as a kid, but I imagine many of you did. These classes remind me, especially now that I have a young daughter, of exposing kids to new things early.
Have your children expressed an interest in your leatherworking hobby? Let us hear your story by submitting a comment below!
I would need to be bound hand and foot and mouth, plus leather tool insurance
I think we can all relate to that!
I have two kids who are old enough to play with leather tools – 5 and 3. They love it. I have to keep them away from the sharp tools, but they’re more than content to bang on stamps, “dye” leather with water (it changes color when it gets wet), or glue things together. My oldest has even learned some basic stitching. It slows down my work, and sometimes requires a lot of patience, but it’s awesome “project time” with my boys. They’ll probably be better leather workers by their teens than I am at 40.
Thanks for chiming in, Nathan. I can imagine that it takes a bit of patience to “play” when trying to get some serious work done, but that sounds like an incredible way to spend time with your kids! I’m sure they love their dad time in the workshop. =)
I personally “justified” the financial and time investment of getting into leather working by offering it as a course for three of my children that we homeschool (ages 12, 15 & 17 when they started). It has been a great experience for all of us. The work they are producing is quite impressive given that they are beginners and are being taught by another beginner. I’d love to be able to share some pics of the wallets, belts, etc…
What a great project for you and your kids, Peter! Please send any photos you have to our email address. We’d love to see them!
I’ll be teaching my son very soon. He’s only 5 (nearly 6) but with excellent fine motor skills. I’m thinking simple little things like key rings, tassels and simple folded card holders made with rivets. Then we can move onto more difficult things. He’s going to outclass me so fast and I’m really excited by that.
That’s such a great skill to reach your children, Betty! I’d love to see some photos of their work and the process if you ever feel like sharing via email.
It cracks me up just reading the comments. I have 2 kids. My daughter has 2 left hand and her younger brother has only one right hand. He does amazing Oregami but sadly he lives with mom. My daughter who lives with me has no interest in leatherwork but she is a straight a student. I can’t even get her to help building my website…
We know how you feel, Detlef. Getting kids to do something with their hands in the age of screens is a real challenge. All the more reason to make an effort!
I’m a primary school teacher on the Isle of Man. I’ve been leather working for nearly 2 years now and would love to introduce my class to it. They love seeing the photos of my projects! I’d love to hear people’s suggestions on what I could do with a class of 30 7 year olds!
That would be a great addition to their other school subjects! Having kids work with their hands (in the age of devices) is more important than ever.
About thirty years ago I taught a leather work class to my son’s Cub Scout troop (8 to 10 yrs. old). I made up stamping tools out of large nails and even had several of my swivel tools for them to try. They even got to try out the letter and animal stamps. We used the round coaster blanks and each boy got to take them home. To my knowledge, none of the Scouts went any further with this skill but at least they now know how it works.
That’s an honorable effort though, Chuck. You never know what will stick with kids long-term, but it never hurts to try. Thanks for chiming in!
My granddaughter asked for her own tooling tools for Christmas! I have 3 grandkids making key rings and stamping leather slides for their hair and thonging purses, they love it – it is a bit noising with all the banging!!!
That’s amazing! It’s so cool to see kids take something and run with it. But I can imagine it gets noisy! Thanks for taking the time to read through our post and respond.