Speciality Highlight March 2025: Handwork

Mar 7

First Grade:

Almost all of the students are knitting now! We are carefully watching to ensure no sheep go missing or wander into a neighbor’s pasture (in this case, "sheep" are stitches on the needles). I always smile when a student asks, "How did I get this neighbor's sheep?" or "Where did my sheep go?" when they drop a stitch.

Before the winter break, everyone completed their first knitting project. In recent years, we have started a new school tradition where older students create something special for the First Graders’ first knitting project. This year, the Seventh Grade students made pocket babies. The whole process felt so special—thank you to all the students for their efforts!

Now, we are taking a short break from knitting as students begin sewing their flute holders.

Second and Third Grade:

The Second Graders are hard at work! They are strengthening their knitting skills, learning new stitches, and taking on new projects.

For our gnome projects, students are learning both the knit and purl stitches. They can now see how alternating rows of knit and purl create a noticeable texture difference in their work.

Most Third Graders are crocheting circular projects, while a few are still finishing last year’s knitting projects. Each student works at their own pace, progressing through projects such as pot holders, pencil cases, water bottle holders, and even indoor frisbees.

In March, we will pause our main projects to learn about fibers. Continuing our tradition from last year, we will take a field trip to visit Angora goats at the end of March.

Fourth and Fifth Grade:

We took a break from our main projects as all students worked on a Chinese New Year puppet show. Each student created an animal and helped their classmates complete theirs. This was a great opportunity to practice sewing skills.

More on Fourth Grade:

The students work so diligently that our lessons seem to fly by—we can hardly believe when it's time to finish!

They have all completed their scissor holders and needle holders and are now working on handwork bags. For these, they will design a monogram for their initials, transfer the design onto their bags, and complete the project by embroidering it.

After finishing the handwork bags, we will begin our cross-stitch projects.

More on Fifth Grade:

Almost all of the students have finished their mini-me knitting projects! Next, we will move on to fingerless gloves or knitting socks. These projects will continue until the end of the school year, though some students may need extra time to finish them next year.

Sixth Grade:

The students have completed their juggling balls, which they can use during other lessons. These were made by sewing together four triangular pieces to form a sphere.

Now, we are working on the heavy baby project.

During free periods, students are also finishing socks from last year. Those who have completed their socks earned a well-deserved sense of achievement—along with a small sticker to recognize their milestone!

Seventh Grade:

For the past few years, our school has had a tradition where older students create a special gift (a pocket baby) for the first-graders' first knitting project. This marks the third year of this wonderful tradition!

Now, students are working on Sashiko hand stitching, practicing multiple patterns ranging from simple to more complex geometric shapes. Later, we will assemble all the squares into a functional, usable object.

Parent Handwork

In our parent handwork sessions, we are covering different skills each month: