At our wonderful music teachers’ request, we decided to create elf hats for our Christmas musical using yellow and green felt and sewing machines. I had hoped to have photographed the process of creating our hats, but teaching thirty children how to pin their hats and use a sewing machine without sewing their fingers did not allow any time for photography. It was wonderful to observe students as they learned this new skill. We worked through the many frustrations that come along with sewing. Students faced many challenges along the way and had to troubleshoot sewing machine issues, holes in their seams, and other issues that cropped up. We persevered (me included), and each student had a moment of pride and glee as they examined their professional looking seams. I saw an incredible amount of co-operation and leadership as students mentored one another in a positive and caring way. No student would be left behind; we were determined to help one another to complete our creations! After sewing our hats, each student personalized their creations with ribbon and elf ears. We wore our hats with pride to our pancake breakfast. With the right mindset – a willingness to make mistakes and pick ourselves back up –  we are more than capable of learning any new skill.