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For about as long as she can remember, my daughter has watched me crochet. She still calls it “yarning” like she did when she was 3. Now that she’s 6 I feel an obligation to pass on the skill of crochet and the love of crafting.
She is physically capable of doing a single crochet stitch all by herself (although at this point I’d have to remind her how). She can hold the yarn, maneuver the hook, etc, but she doesn’t have the patience to do more than a half a row. She’s only 6. Patience generally isn’t a hallmark of that age; I know it will take time before she is ready to sit still and work.
In the meantime, I’ve purchased her a little knitting machine. You turn the handle and it cranks out a little piece of stockinette stitch fabric. I let her try out one first, and she made a little yarn bag. She seemed so pleased with it, so I ordered her the machine (it’s only around $20). It’s easier for her to make tubes than rectangles on it, so she’s been pumping out arm and leg warmers.
I like the knitting machine because I think it will give her something to do that is productive and provides a sense of accomplishment. It’ll start her on the path of yarn crafting, and she can learn more when she is ready. But, I’ve got mixed feelings about it. I’m a little sad because I realize that I don’t know how to teach her patience. Heck, I’m not even sure that it can be taught. I don’t want to force her to sit still, because I don’t want her to have a negative association with crafting.
For now I think I’ll just sit back and wait and hope that a bit of natural maturity will kick in and we can take it from there.
