I searched my computer for these first knitting photos I took of K and felt horrible when I found them in the end of the October 2012 folder. I can't believe I nearly let a month go by before posting this huge triumph in K's life.
K has been asking me to teach her how to knit for at least two years now, but her teachers would remind me to hold off until she was in first grade. She would play with my knitting needles and even taught herself how to cast on from watching me. I thought about forgetting those reminders from her teachers every now and then but then remembered the wisdom of Waldorf education and the purpose behind waiting until they are really ready. There is a reason Steiner chose the 6-7 age range for this skill, so we waited. K will be the first to tell you it was worth the wait. The very day knitting was taught by her handwork teachers she took off with it. It was as if she always knew how to knit. She came straight home and asked for some yarn and needles to show me her new skill. Her enthusiasm for knitting inspired C to sit and finger knit with her. Oh what a sight!
K hasn't stopped since then. She knits in the car as we drive, while we read in bed, during one of her recesses at school, while eating snacks... pretty much every chance she can get. She has even started knitting squares to sew together into a blanket for her eighth grade buddy. Her knitting skills are progressing so quickly I don't know if I will be able to keep up. I was quite amazed when she watched me bind off just one stitch on a project I was working on and then did it herself, completely binding off the square she was working on. She proclaims her love of knitting at least once a day and beams with such confidence and pride. I am so proud and so very happy for her.
And a nice bonus is that the art of knitting works with our hands and helps to calm us down - so I kindly suggest that she knits when she is having a hard time. She sits down, does a couple of rows and feels a lot better. (Boy, do I know that feeling!)
For Christmas this year, she requested a day for just the two of us to sit and knit by the fire sipping hot apple cider. That sounds like a slice of Heaven to me and I would be more than happy to oblige.
Congrats on this much anticipated accomplishment, my little Beanie!!
p.s - A First Book of Knitting for Children is an invaluable resource if you are looking to teach your little one how to knit. It's done in the Waldorf method with simple verses. I learned to knit by making an army of sheep from that book (no kidding!). K's class will be making the cats from that book later in the school year. The authors also have a follow up book Knitting for Children for when they have mastered everything in the first book.
