A Link Between Toys & Quilting

I attended a childcare workshop on Saturday from 8 am to 3 pm & boy was it Cool!!!
Everywhere you looked, you could find similarities linking toys to quilting. I was ecstatic!!!!
We got to take turns checking out each of the centers provided and then there were 'observations' to make. We studied the various areas of child development and how each center lended to that area.
In English terms.... This means that while playing with the magnet tiles (above),

1.  a child would develop fine motor skills (working those fingers for preparing to write)
2. Learn colors & shape
3. Experience the science of magnetism
4. Experience flat versus 3-d form
5. Sorting
6. Patterning
7. Counting
8. They can also be used to trace in an art center

In a quilter's frame of mind, these are templates begging to be used.

Can you see the patterns on these disks??? Oh Yes! More quilting related toys!!

And TA DA!! An actual embroidered blanket with Mirrors sewn into it. This child educator was good! 

Quilters love embellishing with beads, colorful threads & mirrors.

And children learn to experience beauty in textiles and to experience how it feels.

Inspiring huh?!

Log blocks shown here. I plan on getting some of these myself when we trim a tree or 2 this spring.
What would a child learn?

• Wood texture
• Sorting short and long, thick and thin
• Counting rings as well as feeling them as some are raised
• Use them to build, trace, do a crayon rubbing
• Make designs
• Learn new vocabulary(knots, rings, bark, etc)
• Learn types of trees as woods are different shades

A quilter can use the rings in a piece of wood to inspire the traditional "echo" quilting we do much of the time in our creations.

 And there are kaliedoscopes & mirrors in this learning center.

Typically used to

•  encourage self expression
• learn reflection of light, textures,
• vocabulary of names of our expressions
• gripping skills
• focusing skills (peering into a kaliedoscope takes practice when you're 2 or 3)
• science of smooth & shiny, sparkley & colorful
• self comfort in seeing the display in a kaliedoscope.

Quilter's already see the beauty in a pattern reflected in light.

Puzzles.

Just look at the shapes & colors here.

I think I can officially say this.....

Quilters are children at heart.

I rest my case!