The Best Way to Teach Kids About Community

April 2021

The leaves on the tree outside my window are starting to turn yellow. That means winter is approaching. And that means the Global Kids Sewing Party (GKSP) is over… and I still haven’t written a post about all the creative kids who joined in and sewed wonderful softies to give to someone in their community. So here’s my better-late-than-never post.

teaching kids about community through sewing

Student sewing a softie for the GKSP at at Arlington Elementary School, USA

What’s the GKSP all about?

Well, it’s about kids learning how to sew and teaching kids about community. By sewing softies to gift to someone in their local community kids learn that community means supporting and looking out for each other…and they learn that this is something they can do right now. It’s a great way to show kids they can make a difference.

Yasia sewing a Softie for a friend in the Ukraine

The Global Kids Sewing Party 2021

In 2020, the GKSP was cut short as we faced an unfamiliar world with Covid restrictions and with libraries and schools closing their doors. It was a tough year for everyone everywhere and in many countries still is.

Nevertheless, this year the GKSP was back in full force with 225 families, schools and groups registering to join in. As the list of countries that were joining in grew longer and longer, I got more and more excited!

First, I want to say thank you to the wonderful people who joined in from Australia, the US, the UK, Germany, Spain, the Phillipines, Korea, Ukraine, Canada, Poland, Switzerland, Israel, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Italy, Pakistan, Hong Kong, the UAE, Belarus, Russia, South Africa, India, Mexico, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Bahrain, New Zealand, Bolivia, Singapore, Portugal and Wales. You made my year!

Sewing a softie to give to someone in the community

Sewing a Softie in Bolivia

And a big thank you to all the wonderful parents who joined in with their kids, to all those teachers who joined in with their students and to all those librarians who organised softie sewing bags for kids to pick up from their library to sew at home.

And to the kids all over the world who happily sewed a softie to give away an even bigger THANK YOU.

As Matilda at Freshwater State School wrote, “It was a hard, fun, enjoyable project but the best thing about making the softie was seeing the Year 2’s reaction.” And Kayla, “It was hard but fun and it was worth it when the Year 2 student got her softie.”

What’s happening next?

As we head towards winter in Australia, I’m busy preparing for Sew a Softie in July and enjoying the lovely reviews for my new books, The Zenki Way: A Guide to Designing & Enjoying Your Own Creative Softies (the book I always wanted to write) and Sewing Simple Softies With 17 Amazing Designers (which showcases the wonderful work of Sew a Softie participants)