Term 2 2004 - Zart Art

profile
Knitting
in school Hours
Over the past few years,
students at Kalinda Primary
School have incorporated the
craft of knitting and crochet into
other areas of their studies. Under
the theme of How Can I Help You,
the students looked at different
ways communities help support
individuals and groups who are in
need, and how they could become
involved. Part of this unit of study
involved visits to a local elderly
people’s home where they met
the residents over a few weeks
and perhaps read to them or just
chatted. When these visits were
finished the students decided
that they would like to give
something so that their visits
could be remembered, especially
by those residents that don’t get
many visitors. The children learnt
how to crochet squares, which
they then collated and sewed
together to make knee rugs. Many
parents volunteered to help with
teaching small groups who then
passed on their newly learnt skills
to other members of their class. A
few students then went along
and presented the knee rugs that
were much appreciated. This
activity will be repeated in Term
Three for 2004.
During 2003 the students’
study topic was WHOSE IDEA IS
IT This unit was a study about
how everyday items are designed,
working through the following
steps:
1. thought of to satisfy a need
or desire;
2. designed to do this for a
particular consumer;
3. designed with cost efficient,
durable materials;
4. produced using various
tools and machines;
5. packaged for transport and
sales purposes;
6. meeting the need or desire
first discussed, or reviewed to
achieve this.
The students were asked to
think about how an item is made
following the above steps. They
then presented their displays in
different ways, eg. interviews with
people, photos, diagrams, books,
posters, samples, etc.
To support the design-tocompletion
process in class, all
students watched the spinning of
alpaca wool. They knitted
scarves, made heat packs using
sewing machines, and wove
bookmarks. The craft side of this
topic was done over several
weeks, again with many parent
helpers.
Inspiration and
encouragement was given
through storybooks, eg. Mr Nick’s
Knitting - about a grandpa who
knits while travelling on the train.
Teaching Mr McLean (one of the
grade teachers) to knit then
inspired the knitting of footy
scarves. The students enjoyed the
challenge of learning the skill of
knitting, and it became a popular
activity even after the allocated
time-slot with many children
continuing to knit as they
discovered many new and
exciting knitting yarns. Some
finished projects became gifts for
friends.
These craft topics have been of
great benefit to our students not
only for the enjoyment they
experienced and the new skills
they acquired, but also because
these activities helped with hand
co-ordination and concentration.
Maureen Hurley
Parent
Kalinda Primary School
8 Zart Extra_Term 2 2004