Q: The Quiltmaker’s Gift

Welcome! The following is the 16th in a series of 24 lesson plans, Learning the ABC’s through Literature, the 1st year. It was written especially for classroom use within a homeschool co-op, and was designed to teach the alphabet, over the course of a school year, using classic childrens literature. The books are primarily taken from the Five in a Row Curriculum by Jane Lambert, with several others added as well. The plans were designed to give just a little bit more, so it could be more usable within a classroom setting. Teachers questions, printables, craft ideas, classroom handouts, etc are included within all the lessons. This is geared towards a K-1st grade class. If you are interested in something similar for older children, the Learning through Literature series is a more developed concept of this same idea, geared towards 1st-3rd, and also uses mostly Five in a Row books. You can find it here, Learning through Literature, the 2nd year.

Q: The Quiltmaker’s Gift

What Do I Need:

The Quilt Makers Gift
Heavy Cardstock, preferably colored or patterned
Letter Q Handwriting Sheet (printable version here)
Quilts

Review

Letter “Q” says …
“Qwa”. But there is something funny
about Q – not sure if you have learned yet or not. Give me a word that starts
with Q.

Queen. Quilt. Quarrel. Quart. Quartz. Question. Quick.
Quarry. Quarter.

Q always is followed by U. If you are writing a q, go ahead
and follow it with a U. They are attached.

Introduce the Story

Our story today is a little bit different. It is a kind of
writing called “a fable” and it is definitely FICTION. What does that mean?
Pretend. Made up.

Fiction means – not true
Non-Fiction – means its true

But a fable, also called an allegory – usually has a lesson
is it trying to teach you, or another story hidden within it. See if you can
figure out the lesson as we are reading through. Don’t tell me though. Wait
until the end.

Who knows what a quilt is? Show examples. Does anyone
remember any other book we read that had something like a quilt? (The Rag
Coat). Quilts often tell stories. Lots of fabric knitted together. Sometimes
from different people. It is warm and cozy. Usually it takes a long time.
Usually if someone makes you a quilt, it is something special.

Read “The Quiltmakers Gift”

… what was the
lesson?

… verse in the Bible where Jesus says, “it is more blessed
to give than to receive” Sometimes we
think that THINGS will make us happy.
Sometimes we don’t share because we think that having it to ourselves
will make us the most happy. Sometimes we don’t give something away because we
think keeping it will make us the most happy. We all do this at times. But you
know what? The Creator of the Universe, the one who created us, who knows our
hearts, he says … it is more blessed to give than to receive. This is the one
who gave his only son. This is the one who spent his whole life gift himself to
others. This is what God’s life does. And God has built us, his people like
this … we THINK things make us happy. But actually, when you give something
away … it actually makes you the most happy

… does anyone have a story of a time they gave something
away? How did it make you feel?

Handwriting Sheet

Click here to print

Woven quilt Craft

This is a simple weaving craft that our 4-6 year-olds had no trouble doing. Plus, they end up with something that really looks like a quilt. This could be a paper quilt (if you made the main sheet wider) or a bookmark quilt (which is what most of our kiddos chose)

You can use any type of cardstock or thick paper that you’d like. If you can get some patterned cardstock, it really adds to the finished product. The thicker the paper, the easier for the kids to slide it through. This can work with construction paper, but it would not be my first choice, as it is a bit more flimsy.

To begin …

Step one (not shown)

Cut strips that are 11” x 3-4”. Fold them in half

Step two (shown)

Beginning at the folded crease, cut small slits almost to the end, leaving 1/2 to a full inch of uncut space.

Step 3
Cut a variety of colored strips, that are just slightly longer than the narrow width of the main strip you just cut. These are what the kiddos will weave in and out. Also – you could have the kiddos do these steps, but I found it easier to pre-prep this part, and have them jump in at the next step.

Step 4
Begin to weave the strips in and out of the slits. After each strip, push the strip toward the top so that it fits snugly, then add the next strip. This is a great time to talk about patterns and encourage the kids to make their own patterns, or go free style.

Step 5
This was our final product! All the kids enjoyed it and completed this without much trouble at all. If you have some fun stickers, let them pick a few that go with their quilt. I love the stickers from the Eye Like books. They are so cheap and you get a huge variety of beautiful pictures. If you think they look better au naturel, that’s great too.

Step 6
If you have time, you can secure the edges with a tiny bit of glue, and trim them all to be the same length. But honestly, this isn’t really needed, and we didn’t seem to have a problem with the strips falling out.