playground knitting

Before the school year began, I read an article (part of this series) on playground supervision. This teacher found that if she had something to work on, rather than simply "patrol" across the playground children were more likely to engage in their play and came less often complaining about one thing or another.

I was inspired and while I didn't want to carve as a spoon, like the author of the article had done, I wanted do have a project that is meaningful to me and is something I love to do.

After some thought, I decided to stick with something I was already familiar, such as knitting. Not wanting to carry a big piece around with me, I decided to knit little squares and later sew them together into a quilt. But, psst, nobody on the playground knows this yet. The outcome of this project is not unveiled.

When children ask me what I am doing, as I let them wonder about it. I might look at it, and ask them, what it could be? What could it be that I am knitting? I leave them with the wondering, saying things like "We will just have to see, what it is going to be!"

Usually the child will smile and run off. Sometimes a child will continue to watch me and after a while say, "Oh, I know it is going to be a scarf for tiny babies".

While I believe our school already fosters children to feel safe and responsible on the playground, my mysterious knitting helps me to focus on something constructive and keep the energy happy and engaged. I feel good when I knit, the activity relaxes me and brings me enjoyment. If I can practice happiness and enjoy myself, I have accomplished a major task as a teacher, modeling what I would like them to learn.

Just alone for that purpose, I am glad to have taken on this project.

I hope to show you the end result by the end of this school year. But honestly, it is the process that I am fascinated with right now!