First grade handwork ~ Satchkin Patchkin

This week my son brought home his Satchkin Patchkin.

It was a super proud moment for Max and for me. Because for the better part of this year, Max carefully and slowly knitted his Satchkin Patchkin doll.

Before the children started knitting, they were presented with their own beautiful wooden knitting needles. They then carefully used beeswax to buff them ready for knitting.

And during their two handwork classes each week, as they sat and knitted, their handwork teacher told them the story of Satchkin Patchkin.

In the telling of his story, and in his creation, Satchkin Patchkin took on a life of his own… almost like a Waldorf Pinocchio *grin*

For months I had heard tales of Max’ doll.

About his little hat, his little pocket (to hold treasures, of course!) and his adventures. How Max had sewn along the edges of his body to create his arms. How he had chosen purple for his pants.

So when he finally came home we all loved him already. Teddy even stole him away as soon as he had the chance!

I found a copy of Satchkin Patchkin too, just so I could read all about him *grin*

And how wonderful for the grade one children to have the joy and knowledge of creation! And as Judy Forster explained in her article about handwork on The Parenting Passageway, Steiner thought of thinking as a kind of ‘cosmic knitting’

When you take ideas and put them together to form more complicated thoughts, it is similar to the process of knitting where one thread is pulled up again and again to create a fabric.

Pretty special huh!

Blessings, Kelly