Crocheting with kids

This past December a dear friend of mine mentioned that she had started a crochet club at the elementary school where she teaches music.  Of course, I was immediately interested!  My friend and I share a lot of interests – teaching music, tasting wine – but the one that lights us up the most is crocheting and knitting.

Since January, I have started every Wednesday at her elementary school with 15-20 3rd and 4th graders, hooks in hand and smiles on their faces.  They are absolutely delightful to get up early for!

I never realized how difficult crochet can be to learn until I tried to teach children how to do it.  I’ve been crocheting for over 40 years so, of course, it’s easy for me!  The kids started with single crochet, making simple book marks.  The hardest thing for them to master (they never really did master it) was how to hold the yarn in their left hands and why that was so important.  The concept of gauging tension and always working from the right side of their piece was completely foreign.  Still, some of the students were very successful with their crochet and graduated to making scrunchies, scarves and even a couple of hats.

With so many programs being cut from schools as budgets shrink, clubs like this one help give the students a sense of community and belonging.  Not only did they learn to crochet, they developed relationships with teachers and fellow students outside of the classroom.  I’m proud to know teachers like my friend and the colleagues who helped with crochet club, those who give freely of their time and talents for the sake of the students with whom they work.  We owe them a debt of gratitude!

So, with the school year drawing to a close, we had our last meeting last Wednesday.  I’ll miss the students who are graduating to middle school, but you can bet I’ll be back in September to see old friends and make new ones as crochet club begins again!