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The Knitting Pen

A Blanket of Many Colours

May 4th, 2008 by BJB

If you were to visit my classroom these days, you would likely find me walking around the room with a crochet hook in my hand and a brightly coloured blanket trailing behind me, while teaching curriculum at the same time. Multi-tasking in action!

With the school year drawing to a close, our after school knitting club will soon wrap up for the year as well. My job is to work the squares, which the students have been working on so diligently, into a blanket which we will donate to our local women’s shelter.

Our knitting club students range in age from 7 to 11, with varying abilities and attention spans. The squares they’ve produced are all shapes, sizes and quality. It’s requiring some very creative crocheting to pull them all together into something that resembles a blanket; but I persevere.

The students have consistently put such care into their knitting, and been so loyal to this project over the months, it’s really important that they each see their squares in the finished blanket, regardless.

I’ve been so impressed by their willingness to work for so long on something that will ultimately be given away. Considering the fact that many of them come from struggling families themselves, their generous spirits inspire me.

Posted in classroom, knitting

2 Responses to “A Blanket of Many Colours”

  1. Alison from the UK Says (June 4th, 2008 at 8:12 am ):

    Hello Barbara,

    I love your knitting club idea. My daughter works part time as a ‘dinner lady’ in a junior school (age 4-11), giving out school dinners and generally supervising play time.
    She has been asked to organise playtime activities, especially with a view to inclusion of all pupils.

    You may have heard the hymn with the line ‘England’s green and pleasant land’? (William Blake’s ‘Jerusalem’. )The reason for the green-ness of course is the RAIN – lots of it, and in summer, winter, spring & autumn. My daughter, as a result, is trying to generate ideas for ‘wet day play’.

    Reading about your club, it has struck me what a great idea this would be. I recently re-discovered knitting, and am finding it a joy and therapy, as well as putting me in touch with knitters around the world. What could be more ‘inclusionist’ than knitting?

    I will refer my daughter to your blog. If she does start a club, I am sure she will give you some feedback.

  2. BJB Says (June 4th, 2008 at 11:03 pm ):

    I agree completely. Many of the students in our club do not excel at anything academic but they do at knitting and it`s so important to them.
    Thanks for your comment–I hope to hear from your daughter as well.

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