Different Uses of Crafting Hobbies

Manipulatives--simple crafts for educational purposes.

I have dabbled in several crafts.  A lot of them have been hands on learning tools for my children.  I learned how to make some of them back in my college days during my elementary education courses.  I still on occasion make some for my kindergarten child. Manipulatives for teaching language arts, math, social studies, and science are just some of the collections that I have made and/or kept.

Bracelets--made by my oldest daughter and me.

I once made some bracelets, with red, white, and blue beads for patriotism, which a lady bought from me during a yard sale that I was conducting.  That gave me the idea to encourage my daughter to create some with different types of beads of different colors.  It was fun to see what she could come up with.  Even more exciting was to see that she can make money with the bracelets she made.  My aim was to show her that she could make money with something she created. 
 

Many years ago, I saw that my mother, as a widow, always struggled financially. I'm not saying that I am rich, by any means.  I just decided to equip my daughter with a means to help herself if she were ever strapped for cash.  I like the saying that if you give a fish to a man, he will not be hungry for that day; however, if you teach that man to fish, you feed him forever.  I know, I'm paraphrasing, but you get the idea.

I think it is important to show our children that we can conduct yard sales or create novels to sell for money.  If they see us do those things for ourselves, instead of depending on the government for handouts, we can change their lives.  The legacy we can pass on is immeasurable.  I have seen too many families passing down the idea of entitlement of financial help in the form of food stamps.  I want to change that in my lifetime.  I want to be an inspiration to my children.

How about you, my precious readers?  How do you use simple crafts in your life?  Do you use them to relax?  to make money?  to socialize like in crocheting clubs?  I hope you have some craft you participate in to enrich your life in some way.

May God bless you all with a deep peace, my beloveds.