Knitting

I am beyond thrilled with what we have accomplished the first two weeks of school. The baby and I both had to be on antibiotics and yet my daily log is full of completed assignments. Can't wait to see what we can do at 100%. We are doing a 4-day school week of the basic reading, writing and arithmetic. Friday is for field trips, science experiments and art projects. So today we are heading out to do some geocaching.

The most thrilling part of the past two weeks has been watching my oldest fall in love with knitting. He got a book from the library. I got him some dowels and he made his own knitting needles. He practiced all the time. He carried his bag of knitting supplies wherever we went. I had to remind him that math came before knitting and knitting books were not to be read in bed when he should be sleeping.

Last night he completed a triangle. He learned the pattern all himself. He did a great job with the decreases. He's inspiring his siblings to join in on the fun.

Why is knitting important?

First of all, it's not a girl thing. Creativity is universal. But just to be on the safe side, I asked my husband for his blessing before proceeding with teaching knitting. When I was homeschooling our boys along with my niece and nephews, I made all parties aware of my desire to teach knitting as is done in Waldorf schools. Neither my brother nor my husband objected. At that time, only my niece learned to knit.

Waldorf schools teach knitting at every age. It comes before the alphabet. Knitting improves concentration. It perfects fine motor skills. Knitting is all about numbers and patterns which is part of why my pattern-thinker loves it so much. It teaches problem-solving because you will try to figure out a way to fix a mistake before undoing fifteen rows of work. It allows you to create something useful. David is making triangles and plans to add fringe to use as cat toys for our four strays who chose our family. Best of all, knitting is a social activity. People get together all over to knit. I've met quite a few people just based on our mutual love of fiber arts. Ravelry is a superb resource for bringing patterns, ideas, events and people together.

Off to do some treasure hunting!