One of the projects I do with students is loom knitting.  Students are able to knit before school, during their lunch break, and after school.  Students use it as a way to relax, connect with others, and give back to the community.  I started loom knitting last year after being taught by a friends 10yr old daughter.  Our students make hats and scarves for people in need then they can make something for themselves or a family member.

 Knitting is a wonderful way to connect with students and get them to open up.  It is also a skill that can be used to calm children who struggle with their behavior and to help students with special needs connect with their peers.  Knitting and crocheting is also a wonderful way to connect generations and cultures.

    Amazingly, I have found that the boys in my school enjoy knitting as much or maybe even more then the girls.  The boys are very good at focusing on the patterns and tension of the stitches.  Some of the young men have even taught our older male teachers and administrators.  This even included a student who struggled to meet regular classroom behavior expectations teaching our principal and athletic director to make a hat for a baby.

The popularity of this craft is such that I am fortunate to work on it with two other teachers.  We have been requested to teach classes and have been working on curriculum that includes knitting.  There are several curriculum correlations including math, social studies, and reading.  Working with yarn can also be a great stress reliever for students and staff after standardized testing.

This weekend I have been working on some new designs to teach the students.  These new designs include using two pieces of yarn at one time and making cowls.  The best thing about working with yarn is that if you mess up you can start over without any loss of materials.  As happened this weekend when I made one cowl to short and wide.  It is a great lesson in making errors and beginning again.

The above pictures are from websites I have used for patterns and instructions:  http://dayliliescreative.wordpress.com/2010/01/20/learn-along-1-casting-on-learning-loom-knitting/

http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/loomed-patterns.html

You can find more on my Pintrest site:
http://pinterest.com/kellylibrarian/

It has been awhile since my last post.  I have been working on several things including opening the library for the school year.  My school district libraries now has LibGuides which is an awesome program for creating web content.  I have had one author visit so far this year and have three more scheduled over the next couple of months and I am collaborating with two teachers on Service Learning projects for our students.  I wanted to revamp my library program and I have done just that.  It hasn't gone as smoothly as I would have liked, but I think the changes/ updates have been good.  I best thing is that it has given me a new enthusiasm about school.

For some crafting projects check my pintrest page at

http://pinterest.com/kellylibrarian/