Kids in the Sewing (Craft) Room

We are nearing the end of the school year and if you're like me this means little ones in the sewing room at least sometimes.  It will be inevitable I will have to sew with my soon to be first grader hanging out with me, I do however have some item that help to occupy her and let her be content and creative.

I thought I might offer some ideas to help when our little helpers want to...help.  Firstly I should add I have a large table in which she can have a designated spot to sit, so that is a huge plus.  A small stool and some newspaper or craft paper is good for more messy crafts, though I try to stay away from those.
This first idea is an sort of educational one, we have actually been doing this activity for years.  It can be done a few ways, this is how I do this.  I also assume if you are a crafter you may have some of these items on hand.  This is to help with vocabulary, spelling and reading.

What you will need.

• Alpha beads or scrabble tiles, or we have a game called "Upwords" which has large plastic letter tiles.  If you don't have these you could easily print some up.  I would include the entire alphabet and extras of common letters, this way sorting and choosing will be more of a challenge.
• Flash cards, again, if you don't have any you can make some, I did this first with "sight words" for a good list this website has some ideas.  Flash cards are easy to find in most stores, or print some of your own.  

Choose or let your child choose a word and then from their beads/tiles spell out the word.  Have them sound it out, or use it in a sentence for them.  Pretty simple, and mine enjoyed the challenge of doing it herself.  We often ran out of beads or tiles before she was done, she liked to see them all lined up.