Crafting Materials

In the handicrafts category you will find a wide range of things for children to fold and make small works of art, e.g. from paper, or to form and knead imaginative shapes with modelling clay and modelling clay. Under Works you will find everything you need to teach children how to work with wood, to carve, sand or saw with them. Everything that has to do with wool can be found in the category Wool and Felt. Here you can find wool for weaving or felting and yarn for knitting or embroidery. Learning these cultural techniques has something process-like about it: first the adults give ideas and guidance, later the children have the skills and knowledge to implement their own ideas. Especially for children in their first seven years, the principle of example and imitation applies here. It is something special to experience craftsmanship for yourself. Most children take great pleasure in creating things from wool and yarn and watch curiously early on while knitting, crocheting or sewing. Working with wood and making beautiful, creative and useful things also inspires girls and boys alike. With all this, children need the guidance of adults. But then there are no limits to their own ideas, e.g. when folding, when they make the most amazing airplanes or origami artwork from paper. In any case, the great and creative works of art, which are created by folding, kneading, carving and sawing, or according to a template and instructions, always amaze you. In the Waldorf Kindergarten the children are introduced to the most diverse materials. They can make birds with wool, weave with wool and yarn, embroider or felt. With wet felting the children can massage, knead, press, smooth and walk the wool and thus train fine motor skills and concentration and stimulate their imagination. Kneading has always been popular in kindergarten. Dealing with kneading also enables a variety of sensory experiences. For this reason in the Waldorf kindergarten and in the Waldorf School there is a different "dough" than the regular dough. Here colourful modelling beeswax is used as the modelling clay for kneading. Of course most of the handicrafts are carried out under the guidance of the teachers. Especially the handicrafts for the annual festivals are very important in the Waldorf Kindergarten: At Easter eggs are colourfully decorated or painted, in spring flowers can be made, at Whitsun pigeons made of wool, lanterns folded for St Martin, at Christmas stars folded from paper or Advent calendars and at the end of the kindergarten time one can even fold or make a small school bag for oneself. The preschool children often get special tasks again, like weaving with wool or embroidering with thread. This often results in beautiful and great gifts for the parents. Handicrafts and handicrafts are also important elements in the Waldorf School, and handicrafts are more likely to be done in the after-school care centre. The subjects handicrafts and handwork regularly occupy an important place in the timetable. The children learn how to spin, weave, knit and crochet wool and thus receive the most varied development opportunities. The children's senses are stimulated when they work with sheep's wool. They can feel and smell the wool and, when it is dyed, experience the bright natural colours. Knitting with wool and yarn promotes fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination and frustration tolerance. In the older classes, the children can then implement ever larger knitting projects and also their own ideas. There are also special projects in the Waldorf School. In the 3rd class, for example, the craft epoch and in the upper school there are also visits to craft businesses. Also at home adults can become creative with their children and realize great ideas. We support you in this and offer you many handicraft ideas, e.g. for Easter or for young people ideas for their own DIYs and room decoration, suggestions for kneading something with modelling clay, for small children simple handicraft ideas and also suggestions for handicrafts and folding with older children. It is a great process from the first idea of a project, be it a handicraft, handicrafts or handwork, to the creative implementation. It should always be weighed up how much guidance and how much free space is needed. At Waldorfshop we offer online on the subject of handicrafts handicraft felt, round woven frames, yarn and wool, knitting fork with wool, wool and accessories for felting, paper for handicrafting and folding origami, kneading beeswax for kneading as well as alkena beeswax plasticine, a special kind of plasticine, for kneading, instead of plasticine also modelling clay for kneading work, handicraft folders, various handicraft sets with templates and light handicraft instructions. For handicrafts we offer wood for carving, a fretsaw cabinet, children's knives, workbench, hand drills and everything else for working, paper for making and construction kits. At Waldorfshop you can choose online from many DIY ideas and craft ideas, which are also suitable for beginners. You will also find many tips in our books full of craft ideas and ideas for working with wood. Many of our products are also suitable as gifts for your children or for you to make something for your baby or children yourself.