Explore fashion history and discover how fabric, shape and purpose can change what clothing lets us do.
£6.99
Digital download · a printable Parent Guide and Wonder Companion Journal for your child
Digital downloadAn ordinary outfit can open questions about movement, comfort and the choices a designer makes. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel became associated with simpler shapes and practical fabrics in early twentieth-century France, although fashion change was never the work of one person alone.
This printable Wonder Lesson connects her story with Paris, millinery and children’s own design ideas. The PDFs focus on creativity and fashion; the companion resource page adds essential adult-led context about Chanel’s harmful conduct during the Nazi occupation, so achievement and harm can be considered together.
Begin with an item of clothing and ask what it helps the wearer do. The Parent Guide offers story and geography prompts while the journal invites children to compare, question and design for a real person or purpose.
You do not need to produce something fashionable or copy Chanel’s work. Notice how choices serve an idea, and use the companion page’s adult-led historical context so an influential designer is not presented as an uncomplicated role model.
The free companion resources include two Chanel biography videos and a Horrible Histories fashion clip, alongside Coco Chanel and Along Came Coco read-alouds and a video book about Paris. Explore fashion sketching, try Design for Movement and revisit Along Came Coco with the quiz.
Follow questions into fabric, pockets, brands and the people who made clothing. The existing historical note also addresses Chanel’s close ties to German officials and attempt to use antisemitic laws against Jewish business partners; adults should add this context because the supplied PDFs do not cover it.
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There is no fixed age recommendation. Choose the maps, comparisons and design activities that suit your child, helping with reading and writing where useful. Adults should decide how to introduce the sensitive historical context, especially with older learners.
Two printable PDFs: a three-page Parent Guide and a four-page Wonder Companion Journal, seven pages in total. This is a digital download, not a physical book, sewing kit or hat kit.
Printing provides the journal’s map, biography, comparison and design spaces. You can read the guide on a screen and use your own paper or notebook if you prefer.
There is no fixed completion time. Explore one story, garment or design question at a time, or return over several days. You do not need to use every extension.
Begin with pencils and paper for design sketches. The optional hat activity can use suitable fabric or craft materials, glue and decorations; an adult should supervise cutting and gluing and keep beads, sequins and other small pieces away from children who might swallow them. Sewing is not required.
Yes. The videos, read-alouds, quiz, activities and historical context are free to access with or without purchasing the printable lesson. The Parent Guide and Wonder Companion Journal are the paid download.
The supplied PDFs focus on her design story and do not cover this history. The companion resource page includes adult-led context about her ties to German officials and use of antisemitic laws against Jewish co-owners. For a fuller study, explore both her influence and the harm she caused rather than equating talent with good character.
Who Was Coco Chanel? is one of the wonder-led adventures in The Wonder Curriculum Volume One. The complete family set travels through science, nature, history, art and the wider world, with every adventure designed to be used in any order.
Download the Parent Guide and Wonder Companion Journal and explore fashion, movement and thoughtful design, with fuller historical context on the companion resource page.
£6.99
Digital download · a printable Parent Guide and Wonder Companion Journal for your child
