Craft News

We’re in a great rhythm with craft as I enter my 3rd year with the students. Students are becoming familiar with the boundaries and expectations in Craft, which means we have more time to focus on projects and progression (and fun!) rather than classroom management. There are lots of new faces at school, including the new cohort of Class 1s, who are very excitable and enthusiastic learners in craft.

Class 1 have come with much eagerness and determination this year, equipped with many skills already from Cassia. They breezed through creating name tags for their bags, and many have picked up the skill of knitting very quickly and are able to work independently. Some students are working one-on-one with helpers from the older years to build the confidence to remember the steps and knit by themselves.

I love collaborating with teachers to develop projects that complement learning activities in class. Harry was interested in making ‘comets’ for counting and language activities, which would be used to throw to a partner across the room, so Class 2 and I set to work. We made large wet-felted balls out of wool scraps from last year and created felt fibre ‘clouds’ to wrap these scraps in. It was a lengthy process to create the balls, but the students were always enthusiastic to continue creating their balls each week (5 sessions in total!!). The students worked in groups to tie-dye their silk comet tails in the colours they chose, which turned out beautifully. A big thanks to Jo, Erin, and Harry for their help with hemming and attaching the comet tails. We can’t wait to share these with you at the Autumn Festival!

Class 3 started the term with an exciting “Sheep to Sweater” study, exploring the journey of wool from shearing to craft. The students actively participated in each step: washing, sorting, spinning, and dyeing the wool. They are now using their dyed wool to create crochet water bottle holders.

We’re really hitting our stride with crochet in Class 3. Goals, expectations, and boundaries have provided this class with a great structure to keep motivated and on task this term, and over half the class will have finished their water bottle holders before the end of term! Next term, we will begin with woodwork for a change of scene before jumping into the students’ crochet cushion covers. We are ahead of our anticipated timeline already, so I hope to engage in a weaving project later this year with the class as well.

We are nearly finished our shields ahead of the Autumn Festival next week, and Class 4 can’t wait to show you the product of all their hard work. I love running the shield project as there are so many components to it—symmetry and creating their designs, priming, translating their designs to a large surface, painting, copperwork, woodwork, leatherwork, and using power tools. There has been lots of effort put in before and after school, as well as at lunchtime to get this massive project completed. The shields this year are bright and bold and have a well-polished finish. Great work, Class 4!

We jumped straight into knitting socks in Class 5 to have them completed before the cooler months. As there is such an array of skills in the class—from never knitting before to advanced skills—we have four different patterns we are using this year, with either 2 or 4 needles to knit the socks. A group of students dyed their own wool at the beginning of term for their socks, which turned out beautifully and was an interesting process to learn about. Many are nearly finished their first sock, so chances are we’ll have a pair by winter.

In Class 6, we decided to create stitched dolls again this year. This is a special project where students get to create a doll that represents themselves and their journey through primary school. It’s a big project, and it’s taken nearly a term to stitch up their legs and body. Many students are now shaping their heads out of netting and stuffing, carefully using the warmth of their hands to sculpt a well-proportioned head and tying string around the head for the eyeline, neck, and chin. The students will have enough time to create clothes for their dolls before the end of the year, and we anticipate doing woodwork in the cooler months.

First up in Class 7, we worked on a fine art project focusing on the proportions of the human body, as well as the face and hands. This was in line with the Biology Main Lesson Katie taught at the beginning of the term. Students practised their proportions with moving bodies and produced some high-quality drawings through this project. 

In Week 6, we were lucky enough to have the Alice Springs Quilting Club visit us and showcase their beautiful quilting work to the students. Class 7 drew inspiration from the quilters to create their own medieval banners representing qualities of themselves. The Quilting Club has come back several times to work with the students, teaching them new techniques and handy tips when making their banners. Connecting skilled community members with the school is an excellent way for students to be inspired by those around them, and we are so grateful for the time they have spent with us. We will continue work on our banners into next term.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter break, and I look forward to a busy and fun Term 2!

Bindi