Scouting for Knitters

Sometimes I forget how much jumpin' juice I get from being around young people. Given that, it's a good thing I volunteered to teach a local Girl Scout troop to knit. They weren't sure they even wanted to mess around with yarn and needles but with each success: slip knot, casting on, knit stitch, they have gotten more hooked. We had a problem at first, over how to get them here after school with their work. It seems the school considers knitting needles to be weapons. That seems strange to me considering that a number of teachers across the country are having a lot of success with getting their students to listen with greater focus while doing something quiet with their hands, including knitting. The problem resolved itself from our end when I showed the girls how to make their own needles from chopsticks and their leader brought some large stitch holders. Now they have an extra set of needles here at my house (along with the satisfaction of learning to make their own tools) and they can transfer their fabric to their stitch holders to carry it home and put it on a set of needles there. I will add that the juice this week came not only from knitting but also from finding out that these kids love old silly songs. Think Purple People Eater!