I don't know what the laws are in other states, but here in CO, we have to average four hours a day and 174 days a year. As I've said before, the four hours is easily taken by the core subjects, and we could easily settle for those classes and do nothing else. However, I believe there's so much more to do outside of those subjects, you should find a way to make time for electives. One way I try to insert some other education into my daughter's schedule is to teach Home Economics. After all, once she grows up these are skills she's going to need as much as she needs Math or English or Science. (And it's not just because she's female either. Guys need to know these things as well.)
From time to time, we do cooking projects. I am a big time cook--creating my own recipes and baking my brains out--so this particular aspect of Home Ec is the easiest for me. But to leave it just at cooking would be doing my student a disservice, so I try to expand into some of the other areas that would fall under Home Ec. For instance, I've been playing with the idea of teaching my daughter how to knit or crochet. We went with crochet. So, yesterday I checked a book on crocheting out of the library, bought a few skeins of yarn and a couple crochet hooks, and we began.
Which meant, of course, I had to teach myself first. The first thing I did was grab an old skein of yarn I had lying around the house (which I purchased years ago to make cat toys) and we set to work learning the basics together. It took her a while to catch on, but after some time yesterday and today, she's got the hang of the very basic crochet chains, and she managed to crochet something about half the size of a standard hotpad. So far, so good.
And the best part is: that little piece gave her enough confidence that she has embarked on making herself a crocheted bracelet, and once that's finished, I'm going to start her on making her own scarf.
And me? I'm in the first stages of what will either end up as a blanket or a sweater (I hope). If nothing else, I'll have a nice scarf. In the end though, it doesn't matter. The important task has already been accomplised. My daughter has acquired a new skill. =oD
If you're interested in learning to crochet, or in teaching your student(s) how, the best place I found online was How to Crochet over at MarthaStewart.com. Enjoy.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
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3 comments:
I think you guys will have one with this one. The list of basic crochet stitches is relatively short. And once you get the hang of a few of them, the rest are fairly straightforward, as most are variations on a theme.
For a fun and learning project, find a sampler afgan pattern. I'll see if I can find an online pointer to the one I have.
I made it years ago and it was neat because there were some 60 squares, and each square was a different kind of crochet stitch.
Duh... make that "fun with this one."
I haven't even reached the point where I know what I'm making. I'm just crocheting to relax. I have a piece now that's 20 stitches wide and about 16 inches long. Maybe it'll be a scarf, or a blanket... Depends on how much relaxing I need, I guess. LOL
The kid, on the other hand, made herself a nice trendy crocheted bracelet, and has started a scarf.
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