Teaching boys to sew

As a mother of two boys, I struggle with their constant desire to tackle, crash and play rough. Yes, Laz, too. At almost 5 months old, I already know that he will be my rambunctious boy. He hits and grabs at anything near him, all while wiggling and rolling. On one hand, I want to play with them and meet them where they're at. On the other hand, I just want to have a nice quiet afternoon knitting. Yeah, I know...living in denial.

Thankfully, Elijah's favorite pastimes are puzzles, building things and playing card and board games. This Christmas, my parents got Elijah some awesome toys that were along those lines. We brought home about 10 new puzzles and a magnetic dress up guy. Another toy was a junior sewing activity which we opened today. Eli spent a good 35 minutes threading the string through the little holes around each animal until the string was gone. Then, he moved onto the next animal. He loved it!

Sewing and cooking are generally considered feminine activities in our culture. In Malawi, the best tailors were men. I love the idea of my boys being a Jack of all trades. Who knows, if they ever decided to stay live in Africa, they will be well rounded and ready for anything.

I love my boys but I do hope to someday have a little girl. Until then, I am enjoying sharing my "feminine" activities with Elijah. Plus this activity is great for learning fine motor skills. Eli will be ready to write soon.