Zippered Cases in Design & Craft

English Class fourth graders designed and crafted cases for themselves under the supervision of Ms. Virpi. They drew their plans, created a pattern, cut the fabric pieces, sewed on a zipper, stitched the pieces together and finally added the eyes.

Of course the final step of any craft project is filling out the self-evaluation form. -Was I able to carry out my plan? -Did I take responsibility for putting materials away? -Is my project made neatly and with care? These and other questions need to be answered thoughtfully. In general the fourth graders were very pleased with their own work. Imagine the joy when a couple of pupils figured out that their cases could double as puppets! Watch the short video clip below!

Fabric Frisbees in Design & Craft

In their design & craft lessons English Class fifth and sixth graders have been busy making their own fabric frisbees under the guidance of Ms. Virpi. A fabric frisbee lends itself to indoor play more easily than a traditional plastic frisbee because it is soft and relatively easy to catch.

After cutting out their frisbees and sewing them, the fifth and sixth graders made templates for dabbing textile paint in order to create unique designs on their frisbees. They put rice in the tube forming the outer edge for weight.

There was a great sense of satisfaction when the pupils completed their frisbees, but even a greater sense of satisfaction resulted in testing the one-of-a-kind fabric frisbees out.

They worked! With style and prowess the pupils flung the fabric frisbees back and forth in the downstairs foyer. When they were all done testing the frisbees they were hung up on a line for other classes to admire.

As seen in the lower left hand corner of the picture collage above, the last step of the process was to fill out a self-evaluation form on the fabric frisbee project. Then it was on to other designs and projects!

Crochet Chain-stitched Owls

English Class second graders have been learning how to crochet the chain stitch with a crochet hook. Their goal is to create owls that resemble the owls they designed on paper before learning to crochet. The body of each pupil’s owl will consist of spiraled chain stitch in a yarn color that matches his/her original design. The second graders took to crocheting like ducks to water. In no time at all many of them had crocheted a full metre of chained yarn in only one design and craft lesson. Even left-handed pupils got the hang of crocheting after watching a video on their tablets.

After crocheting a total of 3 metres of chain stitch, the pupils spread glue on a piece of cardboard and then started creating a round body for the owl. Felt details like eyes, beaks and wings were glued on afterward to match their original designs. The owls* are now hanging on the tree in their classroom.

*Just as a note of interest, a group of owls is not called a flock, but rather is called a parliament of owls!  So the second graders have a colourful parliament of owls in their classroom!

Design and Craft Textile Studies

In accordance with Finland’s newest curriculum all primary school pupils learn design and craft. Half of the English Class sixth grade class have been learning textile studies skills while the other half have been learning woodworking skills . Now, after Christmas, the groups will change over. The sixth graders shown in the photo collages in this post sewed mittens from fleece material. Then they learned basic knitting so they could knit cuffs for their mittens using the garter stitch.

It didn’t take very long for the pupils to master the new skill of knitting. They sewed the cuffs to the mittens by hand and voilá, the mittens were ready for use.

Since today was the last lesson for these sixth graders in the textile studies room, pupils purposefully finished up projects that needed to be completed. The new year will begin with learning brand new skills.

Mushroom Wall Hangings

English Class second graders completed an impressive array of mushrooms in their design and craft lessons. They began by studying the appearance of fly agaric and bolete mushrooms. This mushroom handcraft project compliments a forest theme that has been ongoing in this class since last year. The children cut pieces of felt to match the mushrooms they had seen and drawn. The pupils then glued the felt mushrooms onto a background of hessian (burlap) cloth. They used the rya knot technique and green yarn to create the effect of grass. Blueberry shrubs were added using a running stitch and blue wooden beads. To finish their projects, the second graders sewed a running stitch around the outside of their work and folded over the top to create a heading. The completed works hang outside the door of their second grade classroom, looking very fine indeed.

Designing and Crafting in Third Grade

English Class third graders put their skills at using a sewing machine to the test when they created unique parrots in their design and craft class. Initially each pupil had to design his or her own colorful parrot on paper. Then they cut out pieces of felt to correspond with their design. These pieces were laid out carefully on a rectangular piece of tarlatan.

Once the parrot was laid out carefully on the tarlatan, another rectangular piece of tarlatan was laid over the top. On a sewing machine each pupil sewed the bars of the parrot’s cage, beginning with the center bar. After sewing all of the bars of the cage, the pupils finally cut out the outline of the cage. The final step was to create a loop from which to hang the cage. This was accomplished by twisting cotton thread and knotting it. The pupils sewed the loops onto the cages by hand.

The new Finnish National Core Curriculum for Basic Education 2014 defines craft education as follows: “Doing crafts is an exploratory, inventive and experimental activity in which different visual and technical solutions, as well different materials and production methods are used creatively.” (Finnish National Board of Education, 2014). This craft project fits that description to a T. It goes without saying that the third graders are proud of themselves and their handiwork!

 

Learning to Sew in Third Grade

In their second design & craft class this week English Class third graders are learning to use a sewing machine. Of course they first learned about safety procedures, one very important one being to never put one’s fingers on top of the presser foot or under the needle in any way.

The third graders practiced sewing on paper without thread. They learned to sew straight lines and how to back-stitch at the beginning and end of each line. They also learned how to turn corners or pivot by putting their needles down, lifting the presser foot,  turning the paper to get things realigned and then once again lowering the presser foot before continuing to sew. They also practiced sewing curves.

The class picked up the basics of using a sewing machine very quickly. In fact, a few pupils have already completed their sewing machine driver’s license successfully. That means that next week they will begin work on their very first project! It will be fun to discover later this autumn what the third graders design and create using their new-found skills!

 

 

 

 

Design & Craft in First and Second Grades

Using their iPads with which to find inspiration, English Class first graders each drew a plan of an Angry Bird character. They used these plans then to create felt cushions of the given Angry Bird character using the blanket stitch.  Above you can see how well the drawings match the completed cushions of Red Bird the cardinal and Chuck the canary!

Second graders have been perfecting the art of crochet in their craft classes. They coiled long strands of chain stitched fabric tube strips to cover Kalevala birds and to create the legs. In the lower right hand corner first graders are making a surprise in woodcraft.

Design and Craft Felt Puppets

It is amazing how many unique puppets can be created using the same basic hand puppet pattern! English Class first graders carefully designed their own puppets. Their teacher, Ms. Kati, was particularly pleased that each pupil used his or her own ideas to create something truly original.

Each puppet creature is a one-off and more detailed than the next! There are a seal pup, a spotted tabby cat, a penguin, an owl, a bear, a chick and lots, lots more! The careful stitchery and attention to detail is absolutely amazing, especially considering that these puppets are made by first graders!

Design and Craft in Second Grade

English Class second graders and their teacher, Ms Anu, are putting the new Finnish curriculum into practice in their craft classes, as well as in all of their other classes. The second graders designed their own puppets on paper and then set to work to create their puppets out of felt.

Their work isn’t complete yet, but it is easy to see that they are following their designs very nicely.