A Crafty Education.

We visited an Australian Steiner/Waldorf School Fair this morning and I busied myself gasping with amazement and snapping photos of all the incredible craft work!

It must feel like such an achievement for the children, to look upon their craft work over the years. They must feel so capable, so self sufficient , to be able to make such useful and beautiful things!

First was the Pre-school/ Kindergarten work! Plant dyed wool (except for the blue which was food dye) pom poms, oodles of finger knitting, stitching on loose hessian and Knitting Nancies.

Class 1 : more pom poms, first attempts at knitting, stitched recorder bags, knitted lambs(from squares).

 Class 2: Knitted animals, "starburst sticth" pillows, needles holder case, simple weavings.

 Class 3: cross stitch (see my post), bags with stitching and weaving, knitted beanies and toys...

 

 Class 4: the magnificent fair isle knitting! Bags, toys..., picture tapestries based on Norse mythology...

 

Class 5: the introduction of crochet, ponchos, hats, bags, toys and picture weavings

 Class 6: Dolls!!!!

in and out and in and out...

 "There are big waves and little waves,

green waves and blue,

Waves you can jump over,

Waves you dive through,

Waves that rise up like a great water wall,

Waves that swell softly and don't break at all,

Waves that can whisper,

Waves that can roar,

And tiny waves that run at you running on the shore"

Eleanor Farjeon

In my most splendid craft course we have been weaving!!
In Class One in Steiner schools here in Australia, the children start their first weaving on a flat loom, using an assortment of colours of the rainbow (but no greens or neutrals).
It is a task in finger dexterity, rhythmical (nurturing the child's physicality and life force), requires a degree of concentration and focus, and produces such a simple yet ever so useful and delicious little bag/purse! The children have already been running and playing these in and out movements in their circle work in the morning, and now in this little woven article, they bring these big wave movements into their fingers.
There is something so reassuring in doing a simple weaving. The rhythm holds you, the colours tantalise, the progress is steady and meditative.

In Class 2 the children move onto circular/cylindrical weaving, using a tube. This could become a recorder bag or a water bottle holder, or any other useful bag. Later in the years this cylindrical weaving can be scaled down to make tiny bags woven with a needle around a toilet roll!

A tiny little bag ready for a secret treasure!