Over the past couple of years, Barnum Elementary sixth grade teacher Heather Carlson taught her students to crochet and knit during the Christmas season. At first, Carlson's intent in teaching her students this skill was to create a gift for their parents they made themselves. This year, she thought she'd take a little different route by having her students knit scarves and donate them to the Salvation Army in Cloquet.
"Every other day, we either have music or gym, but never at the same time," said Carlson. "So on 'music days,' the last half-hour of the day was kind of a study time. I figured we'd use that time to learn something different - so I thought we'd crochet."
Carlson claims the students in her classes over the past three years have really enjoyed crocheting, and were even more motivated by donating them to charity this year. When they started in early November, she set a goal for her class - 25 scarves (each student and Carlson would make one scarf) by Christmas and then she'd donate them on behalf of the hard-working students.
Turns out her students we're VERY hard working.
"Our classroom ended up making 39 scarves, 16 hats, two pairs of mittens and seven headbands," said Carlson. "These kids worked so hard, and their work is going to such a nice cause. I'm really proud of them!"
ADVERTISEMENT
At about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 20, Carlson's class was wrapping up their last day of crocheting. The room was almost completely silent with the exception of a couple of students quietly discussing their after-school plans. They were happy to be plugging away at their homemade charitable gifts, according to one student named Jesse.
"I've never crocheted before. It's fun," said Jesse, who methodically wove her yarn. "Right now I'm making a scarfy-type thing for my mom. I've already made two scarves and one hat, so my mom's getting this one."
Another student named Jared was in the early stages of his creation. The yarn he chose was purple and gold - a Vikings fan, perhaps?
"Yes, these colors are for the Vikings," said Jared, "and it's going to be a head band. I've also never crocheted before. It was a little bit harder when I was starting out, but when I figured it out, it was pretty easy."
No matter how simple or difficult crocheting is, Carlson's glad her students made the easy choice of helping those in need stay warm this winter.
"It means a lot to them to help people," said Carlson. "And they've worked hard at it. I'm really impressed by the kids."
Pine Journal Editor Mat Gilderman can be contacted at: mgilderman@pinejournal.com .
