As human beings, we use our hands regularly in our daily lives. As Waldorf, the Handwork curriculum is broad and includes skills such as knitting, crocheting, hand sewing, embroidery, felting, paper crafts, pattern design, and machine sewing.
Many of the benefits of the Handwork program are obvious: hand-eye coordination; basic math skills such as counting, the four math processes, and basic geometry; the ability to understand and follow a process from concept to completion; and the ability to focus on a project for an extended period of time.
There are also more subtle rewards that complement these obvious benefits. Students must prepare and care for materials. Many of the created items have a practical use – a case for a flute, a needle book, a pair of socks. Design and color choice allow for individual creative expression. One of the most far-reaching benefits of Handwork class is the social aspect. While there are times when quiet is needed, such as when you are learning a new stitch, most of the time the atmosphere in the classroom is social and conversational, not unlike a quilting bee. Students learn to speak politely to one another. Throughout the process, respect is fostered.
At the Waldorf School of Atlanta all first graders learn how to knit. This basic skill uses both right and left hands, and brings a steady, calming rhythm to the younger child. Crocheting, which emphasizes the right or left hand, almost always follows in the second or third grade. Cross-stitch is paramount to fourth grade as the children begin crossing over from childhood to adolescence. In fifth grade, knitting in the round, used to make hats, mittens, and socks, is a three dimensional, mathematical activity leading up to critical thinking in the middle school. Long-term hand-sewing projects involving concepts, patterns, and mathematical computations are usually found in sixth or seventh grade. The eighth grade Handwork curriculum often involves machine sewing, which perfectly integrates the student's study of American History and the Industrial Revolution.
Our Handwork teacher is
Lisa Roggow.
Lisa Roggow
Lisa has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and Literature from New College in Sarasota, Florida. She worked in the book industry for several years after graduation, and came to the Waldorf School of Atlanta fifteen years ago when she enrolled her daughter, Ariel, in the preschool/kindergarten program. Lisa’s experience with handwork dates back to her childhood, when she would take her mother’s scraps and fashion them into doll clothing. In fact, one of her most treasured possessions is the red plastic crochet hook her mother taught her to crochet with when she was seven. After the birth of her son, Rowan (currently in the fourth grade), Lisa began teaching a parent handwork group at the school. Later she worked in the Handwork department, holding the assistant position for seven years. Lisa is currently in her second year as lead handwork teacher at WSA. When not engaged in a complex knitting project, she regularly rereads Jane Austen novels. She also enjoys Elizabethan History, and all aspects of camping.
