crochet teachers

Dea and Leaf put their heads together on the very first day of crochet.

Brigette analyzing a granny square with Linnea .

Above: Elizabeth working with Gillian on the double crochet stitch.

Below: Sarah helping both Henry and Olive with baby Liza on her lap. Amazing concentration.

At the beginning of the year I asked the kids what they wanted to learn in art club. I taught them to knit last year, and many of them wanted to keep learning finger skills. They asked about crochet. One problem -- I don't know how to crochet. People have tried to teach me over the years, but it's just not something I've ever really embraced. So, needless to say, I was overwhelmed with the idea of teaching ten nine year olds a craft I could not get my own head and fingers to embrace.

I needed to ask for help. First I asked every parent from the art club, and not a one knew how to crochet. Luckily, a new art club has started in the neighborhood run by two parents -- Dea and Brigette (both of whom are granny square masters). We decided to get the two art clubs together this spring and coordinate some crochet lessons taught by them and a few other crochet enthusiasts from the neighborhood. We tried to have one teacher for every two or three young students, so over the past few weeks these teachers have given a great deal of time and effort to the cause. Thank you.

When I talk about wanting new art clubs to start, I am thinking about the opportunities as a teacher to share skills and resources with other parents. I don't think anyone starting an art club has infinite art ideas about what they are going to teach, but the potential for a group of parents working together and sharing inspiration is super exciting. Next fall Dea, Brigette, and I plan on combining art clubs again for a sock monkey session or two (sock monkeys are one of my special skills). I look forward to it.

I keep hoping to hear from other parents who want to start art clubs and share ideas and fun. If you are interested, please email me and I will invite you to a Monday afternoon at the art club. One of our recent crochet teachers, Elizabeth, said that she liked art club so much she is starting one with a friend next year. Hooray.