Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Teacher Appreciation

Last Thursday was Teacher Appreciation Day at N's school. I love our special day honoring our faculty. Each child brings a flower for the teacher which is then placed in a vase for a special arrangement for the day. The parents bring food for a special luncheon for the teachers and this year, one parent even serenaded the faculty with a song. It is very simple and sweet and N just loves picking the flowers from the garden for her dear Miss Lisa.

In Waldorf Education, the first grade teacher follows with the student until grade eight. A deep, important, trusting relationship is forged between the student and the teacher that, I believe, allows the student the stability to take the risks needed for true learning.

N is finishing up her first grade year and we are so thrilled that Miss Lisa will be her guide, mentor, and teacher for the next seven years. She is compassionate and kind. Structured and firm yet light-hearted and playful. She challenges the children while providing for them comfort and security. I am so grateful to have such a balanced, gifted teacher in my daughter's life.

I wanted to give N's teacher a flower that would last for more than a few days. So I picked up the Felted Iris kit that was sitting in the back of the stash.


Pattern and Yarn: Iris, Iris Germanica Pickupsticksicus, Felted by Pick Up Sticks
Needles: US 10s dpn
Notes: This is quite easy knitting. The only tricky part for me was that the yarn was not strong enough to retain the gathering during felting and I had to do some emergency sewing during the felting process. You have to shape (by sewing with the yarn) before the felting and after (using a wire for structure). It had more steps than I initially realized, but was fun! I bought the kit at Ben Franklin.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments about the Spartan! I'm sorry that I have been way too busy to respond, I appreciated all the kind words (and the BackBou loved the compliments too!).

6 comments:

Bridget said...

I love the flower! What a good idea for the teacher.

Cute little girl too. :-)

Liz K. said...

What a lovely idea! I've never seen a felted iris before. I wish I had received something like that when I was a teacher. Come to think of it, I wish I received ANYTHING when I was a teacher besides a bad case of anxiety!

Christie said...

That was such a great idea!

Anonymous said...

how sweet! what a wonderful way to work with the tradition but make it even more lasting. nice job! N is adorable, too.

Anonymous said...

That's a beautiful flower! I love that your daughter will have a fantastic teacher for her first years in education. You can't get better than a teacher that will know your daughter and care for your daughter's well being and education!

knitnzu said...

What a great flower!