I am working in a school for behavior disordered children and I would love to teach them either knitting or crocheting or ? These children have attention disorders along with some serious psychological issues. However, they are very interested in watching me crochet/knit and I have been asked many times to teach them.
I would appreciate any suggestions on how to approach this with them. Do I use a DVD instruction program or what? Is it easier to learn crocheting or knitting? I learned crocheting first and it seems a whole lot easier to me, but that is my experience.
Any of you have experience teaching children in a group of say 5 kids or so? Any suggestions on books, video, class structure, size of needles, yarn, patterns or whatever would be greatly appreciated.
On 10 Oct 2006 15:28:12 -0700, Padishar Creel spun a fine yarn
IMEx, knitting was first, then crocheting, grin. I have taught 15 girls and boys at a time, BUT they were not special needs/special ed kids, so can't really help you there. I use an overhead projector, posters and slides, along with personal interaction with each student. Good luck and bless you for working with these very special kids! HTH, Noreen
"Padishar Creel" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
how old are they & do they have any other disabilities besides behavioral/attention? my son is 6 & he's made hats on the Knifty Knitter frames for a year now. they're really good for working on fine motor skills. he wants to learn knitting on needles now, but his coordination isn't quite up to that yet.
well, are they visual learners? if so, a DVD might work, but one on one would probably work better. i'd go with crochet first, too. you can start with finger crochet, then go to using a hook. (i learned to knit first & my crochet abilities aren't so hot. i make cat toys)
i'd suggest starting with something faster to finish than a scarf, like a hat or a potholder. scarves take *way* too long to get to the FO gratification stage, especially for kids. i'd go for medium needles (everyone suggests kids start with US 15 or 17 needles, but they're too fat for little hands to hold comfortably) & a soft, washable yarn. big help, huh? lee
I learned to crochet first, and I still feel working 1 hook compared to 2 or more needles easier. But, if you use knitting looms, you can show 1-2 kids how to use them at a time, while the others watch and learn, and then they can have their turn. I agree with smaller projects to keep their interest and give the satisfaction of finishing an item in a short amount of time. Scarves may be simple to make, but they can be quite time consuming!
I don't know what advice to give about DVD versus books or diagrams off the net, but if you go with diagrams off the net, the Craft Yarn Council has a learn how section with diagrams you can print off, which is helpful if you need schematics to teach left-handed crafters.
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only other thing I can offer is to make sure that you give themall a light colored yarn to start with. Dark colors are more "hip",but I think all beginners need light colored yarn so they can see whatthey're doing, and when people I teach protest the color choice, Iexplain it's to make it easier for them to learn, and they can switchto darker yarns once they know where the hooks or needles go. Also,it would be wise to avoid all fancy yarns, i.e. no eyelash, slubbed,or nubbed yarns. I'd even avoid Lion Brand Homespun because of itstexture, again for the same reason, it's harder to see where a hook orneedle will go.
If you were really ambitious about the project, you could teach them how to make their own knitting needles out of hardwood dowel rods, inexpensive to get from the hardware store. Other items needed are: Hacksaw, sandpaper in varying grits, say 60, 100, and 150 grits, small bottle of linseed oil, shop towels, and a piece of 100% paraffin wax candle that is white and unscented, as oils and dyes used to scent and color candles can stain your yarn. Also helpful is a hand crank pencil sharpener, found in most classrooms. Measure out the length of the needles on the dowel and mark a pencil line all the way around. Saw with the hacksaw by going partway through on one side, then turning and repeating for a more even cut. Once the needle blanks are cut, stick them in the pencil sharpener and grind them down to almost pencil points, but leave them still a little square on the tip. Get the roughest sandpaper and finish shaping the tip and sand the rest of the needle with rougher to finer sandpaper until it's as smooth as you want it. When both needles are done this way, blow off any sawdust, then take a SMALL amount of linseed oil on a shop towel and rub the length of the needle. Let the needles sit overnight, so they absorb the linseed oil. Wipe them again the next day if they are still a little damp from overuse of oil. The oil polishes them, bringing out the color of the hardwood and also helps smooth the wood. My red oak hooks and needles took on a much more reddish sheen after applying oil. My last step before knitting was to take the candle and rub it on the tip of the needle and partly down the shaft so the yarn won't catch on any leftover rough spots, and I had a pair of knitting needles in about an hour total time, not counting letting them soak in the oil overnight. It could make learning to knit more fun for them if they made their own needles, and it won't cost you an arm and a leg to outfit each of them with a set of needles. I used a 1/4 inch dowel and got about a size 10.5 needle according to my needle sizer.
Crochet hooks are much harder to hand carve, so I wouldn't recommend trying to teach the kids to make their own hooks if you decide to teach them to crochet. Susan Bates Luxite hooks are really cheap, but catch on the yarn. You'll probably need an emery board (nail file) for them. There are mold marks near the tips that catch the yarn, so use the orange side of the emery board to smooth those down first, then the fine white side of the emery to finish smoothing.
I don't have much to add except, you may find that some of the kids that age catch on more quickly thatn others, and they may then be able to help some other kids. I remember when I was in 5th grade, my teacher taught the whole class how to crochet. I already knew how, and there were a couple of kids who caught on quickly, so we were able to help the teacher help the others. I don't know if this is feasible with the behavioral problems you mentioned, but it might actually help them to focus and settle down.
Good luck! It's a great thing to pass on your knowledge to younger people!
I have no experience, but... crochet is easiest, because there's only one stitch to drop, one tool to handle, and you get results really fast. Also, almost anything you do qualifies as some kind of crochet, so it's really hard to do it "wrong"!
One traditional teaching thing is to make the two needles of different colors or at least different color tips. Some people find that helps them keep track of which needle they were using to knit with. (I'm not sure that's such a good thing, because if they depend on the needle color they might not learn to look at where the yarn end is coming from.)
A good DVD might be helpful because it could be repeated frequently, but you can't ask a DVD questions.
With only about 5 kids, of high school age, I think a good first project might be fingerless mitts. They're fast in either knit or crochet, and the most basic are just a tube with a hole for the thumb. Increasing a little for the base of the thumb is good but not necessary. They can be as fancy or as simple as anyone likes, decoration can be added later, the length can be according to patience or amount of yarn - short for the ones who are bored, long for the ones who get into it - either way it's a finished project. They can be done in the flat, too - just sew them together afterward. If they only get one done, that's okay too. And they can be made with single skeins.
Another option would be the headbands that cover the ears - not a complete hat, but it does use some increases and decreases, and it's another one-skein project.
Of course, the ideal would be to bring in the available materials in various colors and let them choose. I'd bring in worsted weight, some wool blends and some better-quality acrylic (some kids have allergies), but no cotton (frustratingly non-stretchy), no microfiber (too splitty), and no boucles or other tricky textures.
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