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By Kim Vij 7 Comments

Our Sewing Adventure with Peter in Blueberry Land by Elsa Beskow

Learn to Sew with Kids

This post contains affiliate links to amazon.

Visit Sweden

We’re learning about Sweden this month as we travel Around the World in 12 Dishes.  At the library my daughter and I discovered a very famous Swedish Author that we couldn’t wait to spend some time reading her books and creating a very special craft inspired by her illustrations.  Just wait until you experience the collection of books written and illustrated by Elsa Beskow and how she will inspire you!

Click here for more Books by Elsa Beskow

Elsa Beskow was a Swedish children’s book author and illustrator. She is often called the ‘Beatrix Potter’ of Scandinavia. Elsa Beskow’s popular Swedish children’s books include Peter in Blueberry Land, Children of the Forest and Pelle’s New Suit. Swedish children have grown up with Elsa Beskow’s books for over 100 years. (Source: Saffron Tree) For background about this author we found Florisbooks and Wikipedia to be helpful. 

Here’s our background information we learned about Sweden too!

Peter in Blueberry Land (Puttes Äventyr i blåbärsskogen) (1901)

The story we found ourselves inspired by was Peter in Blueberry Land by Elsa Beskow. My daughter and her friends have a love affair with picking blueberries so they easily could identify with the main character.  

In the story, Peter is looking for blueberries for his mother’s birthday but he can’t find a single one. Suddenly he feels a light tap on his shoe, and a strange and magical adventure begins.

Picking blueberries with kids

Wooden Peg People for Creative Play

After we read the story my daughter was inspired to make her own little wooden peg people to recreate the story and create new stories about the characters Elsa has created for her readers. 

This inspiration led to our very first lesson on learning how to sew.

learning to sew with kids

I gave my daughter the wooden peg and told her to trace it onto a piece of paper and then to draw an outline of a shirt that would fit the doll. We then cut out the paper and held it against the doll to see if it would look right. Once we had the right size we cut out the fabric to match our pattern we created. We left the fold at the top of the fabric for the head and then cut a slit in the fabric for the neck. It made it really easy for her to just sew up the sides.

For her very first time I was really surprised how she was able to figure it out so quickly for age 5.  While she was sewing I even made a little blueberry basket for her dolls. 

At the end she used some leftover material to make blueberries and strawberries and we made a boat from the story together.  We put all of the pieces onto a story tray for her to play with.

Learning to sew with kids

Wooden Peg Doll Inspirations we found a few for you!

Forest People from Kitchen Counter Chronicles inspired by Elsa Belbow too!

Wooden Peg People Tutorial from We Bloom Here
Wee Peg Doll with Carrying Pouch from Rustic Remnants

Here’s a little peek into the world and imagination of Elsa Beskow

Beskow became one of the most well known of all Swedish children’s book artist.

Learning to Sew with Kids

I think we might adventure into a real sewing project together next, how cute is this Berry Picking Apron from Soule Mama inspired by Peter In Blueberry Land too!

Here’s how Amanda does Sewing with Kids. Trust me she’s much better at sewing that I ever will be!

Berry1

Source: Soule Mama

Do you need some ideas for what to do with Blueberries?  Here are some Swedish Thumbprint Cookies and many more recipes  from Sweden in our Around the World in 12 Dishes. 

Here’s a quick science & art lesson about the Northern Lights in Sweden too!  We are having so much fun learning about the World through cooking with our kids and learning about foods from various countries.  Come join the fun!

Basket of blueberry for blueberry picking with kids

Check out the Swedish Recipes and Crafts here:

Around the world in 12 Dishes

If you do this, we’d LOVE to see a photo of it. Email it to us or post it on our Facebook page

Like this idea? Pin for later or share now with a friend!

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Filed Under: Reading Tagged With: Around the World, grade school, Kim, LOVE BOOKS, Sewing, Sweden

About Kim Vij

Early childhood teacher, author, speaker and mom of 3. Kim shares ways to make learning fun and parenting an adventure by sharing developmentally appropriate activities.

« Snapshots of Parenting with Purpose – 52 New Experiences
Raising an Eco Tot – 10 Environmentally Friendly Activities for Toddlers »

Comments

  1. Raising a Happy Child says

    April 12, 2012 at 12:32 pm

    What a great way to combine good literature and a new skill. I pinned this post, since I also want to try sewing with my 5 year old. Thanks for the encouragement!

    Reply
  2. Jenni Fischer says

    April 13, 2012 at 2:53 pm

    I've loved following 12 dishes around the world.

    Reply
  3. Jessica says

    April 17, 2012 at 1:42 pm

    Great post! I found you from UBP 12. I have made a note of this author as well. 🙂

    parentingwithresearch.blogspot.com

    Reply
  4. Morocco tours says

    May 12, 2012 at 8:09 pm

    Thanks. Your Blog reads well, I like it, keep at it, love it,Our Sewing Adventure with Peter in Blueberry Land by Elsa Beskow, Thanks

    Reply
  5. Travel morocco says

    June 7, 2012 at 12:49 pm

    I enjoy reading a lot and your stories are worth reading, nice blog, keep it up.

    Reply
  6. Desert tours morocco says

    June 11, 2012 at 7:23 pm

    I loved all of these posts. A lot of these things we have, but I got some really great ideas.

    Reply

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Kim Vij

Early childhood teacher, author, speaker and mom of 3. Kim Vij shares ways to make learning fun and parenting an adventure by sharing all kinds of easy kid crafts, activities and even recipes for kids!
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