I have woven with my daughter's preschool classes for the last two springs, for a week at a time, and have absolutely loved it.  Last year we wove a cloth strip that I turned into a bag, now used to take home the class puppet every night.  This year we made a pillow (http://yarnlife.blogspot.com/2009/04/preschool-weaving.html).  Both times it was a great experience, and I was pleased to find that the kids who wove last year remembered it fondly.

My daughter will be in kindergarten next year, but I hope to keep weaving with the preschoolers -- I know the (private) school would love to have me.  I'd like to get involved with the public schools & older kids as well, so I'm hoping to find ideas here for how to do that.

Comments

astroweaver (not verified)

 Hi Cynthia,

I've done some spinning with 4th graders, with 25 kids it was a challenge.  I love tye dying with the kids.  I did it with my both of my daughters' 4th grade classes, I still see some of those shirts and the kids are juniors in high school now!  4H groups and girls scouts are great ways to reach kids.  Our school district has a community education program that offers classes that are taught by people with knowledge in the community.

I have a fiber 4H group, I've tried various projects some more successful than others.  Kumihimo was great, card weaving not so good!  I started with spinning with the girls.  We had a dye party for their first handspun and painted roving at the same time.  I then made card board looms for them to weave pouches and small purses.

I just got back from Black Sheep gathering today.  I went down with the idea of finding an inkle loom.  I've never used one but I think it's a cheaper way to get the girls into weaving.  I have a couple of multiple harness looms but I don't think they are quite ready for those yet.  I did find an inkle loom, I hope I can get it warped before our meeting on Monday.  

I've found that shorter duration projects seem to work the best with the girls.

 

 

Cynthia

"I've found that shorter duration projects seem to work the best with the girls."

What has been nice about working with the preschoolers over the course of a week is that each child weaves for only a few minutes at a time, and others watch or wander away, coming back when they're interested.  Some get hooked and weave every day, maybe more than once, while others give it a try and then move on.  Because I'm there for a whole week, kids who are a little shy at first have a chance to try later on.

Three and four year olds aren't very focused on the final result -- they like the weaving and are satisfied with a couple of finished inches; some of them like to find "their bit" on the pillow but most seem to think of the whole thing as "our project."  I think with older kids they would want to have a finished object in hand, and so shorter projects make more sense.

astroweaver (not verified)

My girls were ecstatic the other day when we took their knitted felted bags out of the washer.  The process of knitting wasn't something they seemed to really enjoy but when they opened up their pillow cases they all had big smiles on their faces.  I had set a deadline for their bags to be knitted and that seemed to work.  The end product was exciting for them.

 

 

astroweaver (not verified)

 Hi Cynthia,

I've done some spinning with 4th graders, with 25 kids it was a challenge.  I love tye dying with the kids.  I did it with my both of my daughters' 4th grade classes, I still see some of those shirts and the kids are juniors in high school now!  4H groups and girls scouts are great ways to reach kids.  Our school district has a community education program that offers classes that are taught by people with knowledge in the community.

I have a fiber 4H group, I've tried various projects some more successful than others.  Kumihimo was great, card weaving not so good!  I started with spinning with the girls.  We had a dye party for their first handspun and painted roving at the same time.  I then made card board looms for them to weave pouches and small purses.

I just got back from Black Sheep gathering today.  I went down with the idea of finding an inkle loom.  I've never used one but I think it's a cheaper way to get the girls into weaving.  I have a couple of multiple harness looms but I don't think they are quite ready for those yet.  I did find an inkle loom, I hope I can get it warped before our meeting on Monday.  

I've found that shorter duration projects seem to work the best with the girls.

 

 

Cynthia

"I've found that shorter duration projects seem to work the best with the girls."

What has been nice about working with the preschoolers over the course of a week is that each child weaves for only a few minutes at a time, and others watch or wander away, coming back when they're interested.  Some get hooked and weave every day, maybe more than once, while others give it a try and then move on.  Because I'm there for a whole week, kids who are a little shy at first have a chance to try later on.

Three and four year olds aren't very focused on the final result -- they like the weaving and are satisfied with a couple of finished inches; some of them like to find "their bit" on the pillow but most seem to think of the whole thing as "our project."  I think with older kids they would want to have a finished object in hand, and so shorter projects make more sense.

astroweaver (not verified)

My girls were ecstatic the other day when we took their knitted felted bags out of the washer.  The process of knitting wasn't something they seemed to really enjoy but when they opened up their pillow cases they all had big smiles on their faces.  I had set a deadline for their bags to be knitted and that seemed to work.  The end product was exciting for them.