Tech Savvy Knitters

So I'm thinking it went something like this:

Student A: I need some needles.

Student B: Get some on ebay.

Student A: I don't shop on ebay...I'm...12.

Student B: I can get you some needles on ebay.

A few days later...

Student B: I won the ebay auction for some needles.

Student A: How much?

Student B: $1 (plus $7 shipping)

Student A: Cool.

A few more days later...

The needles are in! Six pairs of straight needles, a gauge tool, and a stitch holder.

You know how you get excited and motivated when your shipment of yarn or tools comes in? Check out where this guy's (student A) motivation led him.


He MADE THIS! His own needle holder out of a binder! Look at the staples to divide for the needles. This is genius. It really is. In addition to the needle holder, he also made this:


A wallet of his own design. It's two knitted rectangles, from different color yarns, perfectly dollar bill size and very neatly sewn together. And to top it off, he sewed on the coin pocket. At his unveiling of the wallet to the class (he made most of it at home), he was immediately commissioned by another teacher at our school to make an identical wallet for purchase. The wide-eyed class was in awe.

I have another tech savvy student who is whipping out iPod socks with cables.

Her own design and it fits the Nano perfectly.

Finally, my fearless beginning knitters are making SOCKS! It took me 15 years of knitting before I attempted socks--before I even thought socks were a worthwhile project (since you can buy socks for $4). But these students have totally bought into the idea and we currently have three socks in progress.



My students are stealing my heart.

Speakin' Their Language

Once the students finish their dishcloth, I have them work on the "Advanced Sample." I implemented this a few quarters into this job as I was pulling my hair out trying to teach K2togs and YOs one at a time to students who were trying new patterns a bit above their level. So I decided to put some common stitchery into this one little swatch and it has really paid off. Now when they graduate on to a pattern of their choice, they shouldn't get too stuck with some of the basic stuff. The advanced sample actually is based on the sample from the Sweater Workshop, by Jacqueline Fee. In her book, she takes the reader through a series of ribbing, increases, decreases, buttonholes, and more. The idea is that when you're done with her sample, you have all the skills you need to make a sweater.


So our sample is scaled down, but same idea.

We have a cabling section, ribbing, color change, increases, decreases, fairisle, and YO buttonholes.

As one of my students was on the decrease section, she pointed at the pattern and said, "I don't know what that is." The pattern read: k1, s1, k1, psso. So I slowly read it to her pointing to each letter: "knit one, slip one, knit one, passed the slipped stitch over." Her response? "OMG! It's like IM!" I was actually very impressed with myself for knowing what she meant, though I have never texted anything in my life. But it got me thinking. This junior high group of kids, so quick to learn new technology--even when it means learning a new language like text messaging--will learn this knitting technology in the same way. Once they complete their advance sample, I can speak to them in knitting language. When a student asks, "What do I do now?" I can reply, "You will K2tog at the end of needle one and SSK at the beginning of needle 3." And they will understand MY language!!

I enjoy their look of understanding as I speak this new language and also the look of confusion and awe from the newbies, which, in turn, adds to the esteem of my more advanced students.

Well, got to go, talk to you later. Oh...I mean GTG TTYL!

Leave It To the Children

One thing I have learned as a teacher is that I don't have to rely on myself for all the ideas and creativity for my knitting class. Junior highers are chock full of them. We have a teacher at our school who had been out ill for some time. One of my students had the amazing idea, all on her own, to begin knitting a scarf for this teacher and to have each of the students in the class have a turn at it. We used the feather and fan scarf pattern from the Mason-Dixon Knitting blog. The pattern was easy for me to teach to the one student, and in turn, easy for her to teach the four row repeat pattern to each of the other students. I loved watching her take on this project and she motivated the other students to participate. Beauty (sigh).

Knitting Survey

I was spoiled by my 3rd quarter knitting class. Not that I haven't enjoyed ALL the other quarters, but in particular, 3rd quarter was exceptionally enjoyable. The combination of students made for a quieter class session each morning--not too much drama or controversy. There were fewer than normal students (about 14-15, depending on the tutoring schedule). And they inspired one another on a daily basis. That was the pleasure. Sometimes I felt I could slip into the background of the class and watch them knit and chat and look at patterns and figure out what they wanted to make next. It was amazing. The teacher who soooooo graciously shares her classroom with me and all the stuff that comes with me suggested I survey the students about some of their experiences while learning to knit. Fourteen students were surveyed. Here are the results.

1. On a scale of 1-5 how much do you enjoy the craft of knitting? Circle one.
(1 = Don't like it 5 = Love It!)
Two gave it a "3"
Two gave it a "4"
Ten gave it a "5"

2. How difficult was it for you to learn to knit? Circle one.
(1 = Super Easy 5 = Really Hard)
One gave it a "1"
One gave it a "1.5"
Four gave it a "2"
Seven gave it a "3"
One gave it a "4"

3. If knitting was difficult for you when you began, has that changed? Why or why not?

Four said "It wasn't difficult"

The others said:
"Now my hands are used to it."
"It was at first then was easy."
"Because I had never knitted before and I didn't know what to do at first."
"It was hard because I added stitches. It was challenging and after (being pulled out for academic tutoring and then coming back) it was easier."
"Yes, but then I got the hang of it."
"In the beginning it was hard to know where I was at, but I knit faster."
"It took awhile to get the hang of it, but now I am pretty good."
"It is really easy to do now. I want to be in it again."
"It was easy after I got used to it."
"Yes, it helped me a lot with concentrating."
"It changed because I practiced it."
"I tried really hard to learn how to knit."

4. What have you learned about your learning style from knitting?

"It depends on your mood in order to see if you knit tight."
"That I do my best by doing it over and over and over!"
"It helps me be calm and patient."
"I'm not sure."
"Purling and knitting."
"It helps me relax and be calm."
"You can patch up clothes and do other things."
"It may take me awhile, but if I dedicate myself, I can succeed."
"I have learned many styles like purl, knit, etc."
"?"
"That I can grasp things really easy sometimes."
"Um...not it really helped me."
"I watch people."
"I learned better when someone showed me and explained."

5. Is there a way you could apply your experience of learning to knit to learning other subjects or life skills?

"Yes. Because I know that if I try I can be great at something."
"Yes. Because knitting is like life. You have to go one step at a time."
"I heard doctors need to know how to knit and sew...might have been just sew."
"I don't know."
"Yes, my creative ability."
"I could use finger knitting to make a rope."
"Maybe..."
"Yes, to be calm and patient."
"When I am old."
"Scrapbooking. I can knit stuff into a scrapbook."
"BE PATIENT! Don't be in a hurry. It will come to you."
"Yes. In knitting."
"Take your time on everything."

6. Which words best describe you when you knit? Circle all that apply.

Relaxed (10)
Frustrated (0)
Time flies (4)
Proud of my work (10)
Stressed (1)
Able to think (4)
Takes too long (1)
I stink at it (0)
Calm (10)
Bored (1)
Productive (7)
I could do this forever! (8)
Talkative (1 written in)
Fun (1 written in)

7. How ofter do you knit at home?

Three said "Never"
Four said "Once/week"
Five said "2-3 times/week"
Two said "Nearly every day"

8. What other types of projects would you like to knit?

Hat (4)
Teddy Bear (1)
Anything (1)
Monster bear (3)
Stuffed animals (3)
Scarves (1)
Tank top (1)
Socks (2)
Shirt for monster bear (1)

9. How many quarters have you enrolled in knitting? Circle one.

Five said "1"
Seven said "2"
Two said "3"

10. Circle the two that apply to you.

7th grade (5)
8th grade (9)
Boy (9)
Girl (5)


Whew!!! Some fun information there for me to digest. To close I'll showcase some of the final projects from the 3rd quarter and leave you with my favorite survey response. "Knitting is like life. You have to go one step at a time."

Foundations

So here's something that baffles me.

The students in our school get to choose new electives every quarter. During each 9 week quarter, there are three three-week sessions during which selected students are pulled from their electives in order to receive more individualized instruction from their core teachers in subjects they need help in. Great system. It works very well for the students who need extra help.

Because of the way our system is set up, I can have students actually attending knitting class only three weeks out of a nine week quarter. The other extreme is that students may return for more than one quarter and stay with me the whole time. Sometimes they're with me for consecutive quarters and sometimes they're gone for nine weeks (or three or six) and then return to me.

Obviously there are a variety of lengths of time that students can be in my knitting class, however, time in the class hasn't been the key variable in performance. Some just catch on quickly, while others don't.

I've been trying to observe this learning process in order to improve my own teaching abilities. In my observations, the one occurance that baffles me the most is when I have a student (and there have been more than one) who has a very difficult time with knitting. He or she tries daily for the 3-9 weeks that they are with me, but for some reason, the finished product is filled with holes, extra stitches, split stitches, etc. It just doesn't happen for them. Then they leave me for awhile. Then they come back. (Here's the baffling part.) When they return, they pick up their sticks and start knitting at a MUCH higher level than when they left. It's like they've been knitting and practicing the whole nine weeks they've been gone! But of course they haven't. They have no idea why they can knit soooooo much better now than when I last saw them in my class. It's a bit of a phenomenon for me. It has really interested me in the whole learning process. Perhaps we need foundations. Then a break. Then return.

Here are some examples of some knitting from these students. You'll see a variety of abilities here, but for me each one has demonstrated amazing leaps in his or her abilities.






Sorry...no "before" pictures. That might have been embarrasing at the time. Hindsight is always clearer.

The Monster Ball

The lastest trend in my class is the Little Monster Bear from 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders, edited by Judith Durant. It started with one student who was looking through the book for something to knit. When she showed the picture to me, my first thought was, "Why would you want to knit THAT?!!" But then of course, it became clear when I remembered this is JUNIOR HIGH knitting. Of course! Brilliant idea!! Let's get started. This little project was so fun to watch. She used her increasing and decreasing skills and learned to make I-cords. She also got a heavy dose of finishing by sewing up seams and attaching the legs, arms, and ears. The little guy (gifted to her sister) caught on like wildfire and spawned a huge crop of more Little Monster Bears.



Don't you want one too?

The One Row Scarf

It baffles me what interests and captures the attention of the junior high knitter. I'm always bringing in ideas, easy patterns, showing websites, etc. Most of the time it's received with lukewarm attention. They're polite. They come over to the computer to look at it. Make a few comments. And then nothing. I thought the ballband dishcloth would be so fun for them to do, but not one took it up. Then I come in with the pattern for Stephanie Pearl-MchPhee's One Row Handspun Scarf. I hand it over to a student on a piece of scratch paper. I say, "Here, try this." She humors me. Next thing I know, she's taken off with this scarf and finishes it in a matter of days (which is warp speed in junior high knitting). Everyone declares it as having the look of "store bought," which in my class is a huge complement. And the NEXT thing I know, there are two more of the same project being started. Here is the first scarf (which has already been gifted) of this little trend.

Bernat's Softee Chunky.

And here are the others.

Bernat's Softee Chunky. With a hat of her own design. This set has also been gifted to a lucky recipient.


Lion Brand's Jiffy.

My envy rises as I continue to admire these scarves and I make the comment, "I want to make one of these," when a student promptly reminds me that I keep on saying that. (Smart alec.) So I go home and start one myself.


Paton's Divine.