The Wonderful World of Wonder Knitting

About a year ago, wanting to get my then 5 year old boys interested in knitting, and give them a quiet activity they could focus on, I bought them each a Wonder Knitter. They took to it immediately, and began churning out yards of i-cord, which then became bracelets, necklaces, etc (although, as with a lot of knitting, for them it's about the process, not the product). In Kindergarten this year, W's teacher was inspired, after I gave the teachers their handknit holiday scarves, to pick up crochet again after many years. We talked about doing something in the classroom, but since the spring was so crazy, I didn't get my act together until late. I bought 4 wonder knitters for the class, and she and I sat and taught the kids one-on-one, each picking it up and his or her own pace. Some kids were new to it, some had done it before with an older sib, but all really enjoyed it. I was away for a week on vacation, and when I came back, she had turned the yards of i-cord into a wall hanging for the classroom. It looked awesome and I was so proud of them! Next year, I'll definitely do it again, but plan a little better. I have a couple of books that show what you can make with i-cord, and I'll make some prototypes over the summer to give the kids some ideas. I thought it was a great way to introduce knitting to young kids before they have the fine motor skills to manage 2 needles.