Hooked

I’m a girl who enjoys her accessories. My favourite part of doing anything new is getting to keep the creations. This has not been any different when it comes to my crocheting. My next adventure is to buy more yarn in various colours to experiment with patterns, colours and designs. There are so many options out there besides wearable creations, I have been looking into ways to incorporate my new passion of crocheting into elementary classrooms.

Some ideas so far could be to create some cute creatures to add to a sensory bin or play bin. Another could be to make a puppet (thanks, Joanna for the idea!), and use the puppet to bring stories to life or engagement the littles. I have also seen some thread/yarn creations within the classroom. Using a wood plank with pegs on it, and wrapping/weaving the yarn to create a mini-project. This would be beneficial to students fine motor skills. This blog has weekly posts for crocheting in the classroom

Sensory Bins

Sensory bins are a great way to allow children to explore multiple senses at the same time in a fun way. This includes touch, smell, sight, and even sound. Learning to engage with and stimulate several senses at once in a healthy way is incredibly beneficial. This photo depicts some ideas of what could be made and incorporated in a sensory bin within the class. This could also lead into class discussions about habitats, life science, and so much more!

Puppets

The purpose of the puppet is to create interaction, fun dialogue and even an element of surprise into learning activities. A puppet can be used as the voice used to correct table manners or other social skills. The puppet becomes the instructor and children often enjoy listening to the puppet teaching them to be sociable. The use of a hand-crocheted puppet when reading a story will help students engagement and incorporate a visual portion which may aid comprehension.

Yarn Weaving

This last project may be better geared for older elementary but could work at any level. The younger grades would most likely need more assistance. This project could be used as a calming exercise, and it could be paired with a mindfulness activity. The fine movements of the fingers will aid with the development of fine motor skills. This could be done with just fingers or could be done with a crochet hook as well! The focus that is required will help students to focus on the work in front of them, perhaps when/if needing a break from other things around them. The ability to put down and pick up the activity at a later date makes it suitable for the classroom environment when alternating tasks consistently.