Montessori Lacing Ornaments- Kids or Adults DIY Gift!

If you know me, you've probably been subject to a 15 minute speech about how an early Montessori education will change our kids and change our world. I love the Montessori approach to early childhood (and beyond!) for a million reasons, but one of the top few reasons is how it empowers independence in our children. I love the look of pride my kids get when they put their winter coats on themselves (go google the Montessori Coat Flip, and just picture a little 2-year-old mastering such a skill!), or when they create a meaningful gift for someone they care about. I am working very hard to instill the art of giving in my children, and this involves them using their own means (to the best of their ability!) to give a gift. Now, this does take parent involvement to some degree, as I've spoken out about before on this same topic. But, it's my job to give them materials that I know they can create into something beautiful and watch them soar with it!

Lacing is a popular Montessori work, and probably graces the shelves of many early childhood education facilities! It is usually made through thin wood pieces with holes, where children can practice their lacing, or even carboard shapes and cut outs. Lacing is great for developing dexterity and fine motor skills, as well as using their hands to create a beautiful project allows them to fully integrate the learning experience and apply it elsewhere. It's a great life skill to learn how to sew, which is what the lacing is setting them up for.

When I saw some beautiful ornaments made out of Sculpey clay, I immediately thought that I could translate sewing and lacing into the ornaments for my kids. I bought a pound of Sculpey clay from Michael's Crafts, along with some Pearl finish Sculpey glaze to make this project, however I think a basic salt dough would work great if you aren't worried about it being a perfect white color. You need to bake the glaze anyway, so again, salt dough plus the glaze would work great. Maybe even a special modge podge glaze would work too? Let me know in the comments if you tweak this idea and how it turns out!

I rolled out the Sculpey clay, and cut out several Christmas themed shapes. Everything you see here came from 1 pound of the clay, I had just a little bit leftover that the kids wanted to play with. I poked holes with the end of a paintbrush, making sure that it went all the way through, so that there wouldn't be issues for the kids when they got to lacing. I would err on the side of making these holes too big, we had some minor issues lacing once we put the glaze on, as things closed up a bit due to glaze running into the holes.

My helpers spread the glaze across all the ornaments with paintbrushes, making everything pearly and sparkly! Again, we used the Sculpey brand Pearl finish. We then baked these guys according the package instructions.

This is how I set the work up for them after everything was baked and cooled. William (age 4) ended up adding a large eye needle, like a yarn needle, because he quickly recognized that it would be easier with that tool. He also has been working on sewing with needles of the like at school, so he's well practiced. Norah (age 2.5), used some twine that had a pretty sharp end so it was easier to get through. If our holes hadn't of closed up a bit, the simple yarn with a taped end would have sufficed! Setting it up with everything they need, in a left to right order, makes it easy for them to figure out the work without feeling lost. Lots of options to utilize and customize to skill and age!

William laced all three ornaments as gifts to his teachers at school, and was so proud!

I was more hands on helping Norah and didn't get a picture. She and I teamed up, where I laced the lace through and she would pull it through the other side. She wasn't in the mood to work independently, so I followed her lead and assisted. She was just as proud at the end product!

No matter how they lace these, they end up looking adorable! A win-win in my book, they get to totally own a project, and it is something the receiver will cherish forever!