More hats!

Basic hats from 5th grade 4 needle knitting...each student hand dyed yarn with food coloring.

Sider web potholders, 8th

Fun little project, spider web potholders, is a hit and developes cutting, machine sewing skills.  They cut 22" strips, 1.5 " wide, sew together, cut 45 degree angle triangles, sew together, cut backing, filler, sew together, quilt around...and voila!  Even the least precise students gets fun results!

Michaelmas dragon head 2010

Well, it is time to look over the last 4 months of school.  This was the 6th grade dragon head that we made together this year!  We used mirrored balls for the eyes.  The jaw is not connected so that they had more flexablility with opening and closing the mouth manually...I think it turned out fantastic! 

Long time no see

Whoa, I forgot what my blog looked like!  I guess I have been ubber busy with my classes and my family...soooo, the year is sailing along.  Somehow I feel I am putting more work than ever into my classes, when I should be more or less settled after 5 years of teaching handwork.  Well, I always have to throw in a wrench, like making marionettes with my 30 seventh graders and then putting on a puppet play eventually...more on that later.  We have just begun.

So I'll have to bring this up to date in baby steps.  Here are some finished slippers we made with 7th grade out of felted sweaters.  We are focusing on recycling and reusing.

New school year

Oh my gosh, I have been so crazy busy with the start of school.  No matter how ready I think I am, as soon as classes begin I feel as though I am not ready at all!  My supplies are all a mess already...I don't have a handwork room, so everthing is always jumbled and spread out over different classrooms, I always seem to forget something, and it just leaves me scatter-brained too!

I do have an assistant this year to help me with my super-sized classes!  Whew, that is a help for sure, but it still leaves the basic problem of too many students in a handwork class.  I don't like having 3o plus students one bit.  I just can't spread myself that thinly...how do the students feel?  Well, I wish I knew, I can barely spend a minute with them individually...hopefully as the year goes on, I will be able to have more one on one time...in the meantime, I have to remember to breathe...

I am trying to decide whether to bring my personal life into this blog, not that anyone reads it...I was keeping it to just handwork, but I am feeling the need to include aspects of my life...for example, I have a 16, almost 17 year old son who after the first 2 weeks of school, in the midst of my busiest time, declares he wants to return to Waldorf education and the private waldorf high school...uh oh, just when we were almost getting a leg up on finances.....so, we check it out, there is room in the junior class, and now he is in his 3rd day of waldorf high school.  (a little background, he went to 9 years of waldorf, decided on regular high school, and after two years has returned)...his books are still in his old locker at the other school !  He is loving it, and that is what matters.  He is a wonderful boy/man, so talented....and sooooooo 16.  

Beginning 2010-2011

Crazy busy getting ready for classes to start!  Well, here's at least one class that is organized and ready to go!  6th grade pencil pouches.  First, we will be practicing stitches on scrap fabric, ie: running, whipstitch, blanket, and backstitch...plus threading and knotting a needle, which seems like you shouldn't have to teach that, but believe me, if you spend some time on this at the beginning, you will be glad!

The Sewing Machine (song)