Math through knitting class.

The school district I work for is the 20th largest district in the state. There are approximately 1200 students K -8. We are in three separate buildings and the primary, intermediate and middle school teachers seldom see each other. For the last four Tuesdays a delightful assortment of eight teachers have been meeting in my room for a math/knitting class. My student/teachers have been so enthusiastic! They have spent time learning to knit and using that skill to practice: skip count, estimate, average, find area and perimeter, patterning, mass, and figure cost of a project.

They've learned so much and we've had a great time...

It's been a great reminder to us -"This is such a good lesson. I think I feel just like the kids when they learn a new skill and are having to work through their frustrations and then persevering until they succeed."

Great application - "I can't even count and keep the number of stitches I need on the needle!"

A new appreciation - "We've loved the gifts you've made us but now we understand the amount of work and talent you put into each one."

A sense of accomplishment  and pride - "Maybe I will make another bootie!" "I'm going to take a picture of the bootie I made, my sisters just won't believe that I made this!"

And comaraderie - "Carol and I were on morning duty together this week and we decided the group should meet every so often to knit."

It appears the district will be around a million dollars in the red next year. Over the the last three years there has been a lot of cutting back: we have ordered very few or no supplies or workbooks, copies are at a minimum, and ten teacher contracts will not be renewed next year. With times getting tougher in the district it has been comforting for the group to get together and relax, and refreshing to have a group of teachers get together and not talk school.