Wool
is such a wonderful textile material.
When manipulated it can
take shapes and can responds to different uses.
Wool is a very old element.
Nature offers us wool through some wonderful creatures that share the existence on Planet Earth with us. It grows in sheep, camels and llamas, for example. It is a delicate material that retains heat and muffles the sound.
Some tribes used it in the construction of their small and modest houses.
Working with wool in the kindergarten allows the pedagogues and the children to create marvelous storytellers carpets, fantastic tents, pillows for when the group goes to the woods, dolls, props for the play house, gifts for their families, etc.
Nature offers us wool through some wonderful creatures that share the existence on Planet Earth with us. It grows in sheep, camels and llamas, for example. It is a delicate material that retains heat and muffles the sound.
Some tribes used it in the construction of their small and modest houses.
Working with wool in the kindergarten allows the pedagogues and the children to create marvelous storytellers carpets, fantastic tents, pillows for when the group goes to the woods, dolls, props for the play house, gifts for their families, etc.
In this workshop we were challenged.
In the first part of the class we created a small-decorated wool
carpet with elements from the fantastic world or abstract forms that were
resting in our minds.
In the second part of the class we moulded a wool figure.
A bird, an apple, an elephant ... whatever we wanted to devise.
A carpets creation:
I. Material
Wool, detergent (preferably a neutral product because of the allergies), warm water, bubble plastic, plastic bag and a dry towel.
II. Step by step
1. Take a good fleece of wool and place it in an open plastic bag. Each layer should be as thinner as possible. To understand if the carpet has reached the desired consistency we should close our eyes and touch in the wool. The eyes closed will highlight tact as the main rudder.
2. Place the plastic bag in the floor. Fill a small jar with warm water and detergent (+/- 1 tablespoon) and mixture it. With hands forming a shell, soak the carpets edges.
In this process water is never too much!
3. After the mat being properly wet, cover it up with the other half of the bag and pressure the material with the feet. This can be joyful while listening music. The rhythm and sounds will release the movements from the feet.
4. On the top of the carpet place the bubble plastic. The bubbles should be face down!
5. Place the mat in a towel carefully. Without the plastic bag, rolls up the mat and the bubble plastic in a towel.
(The towel will extract the excessive amount of water absorbed by the wool)
6. Give it a knot in the towel edges.
7. Two members of the group should roll the towel with their feet for about two minutes.
8. With some warm water and soap massages the dry parts of the carpet.
9. Once the wool is ready, we go to the ornamentations part of the process. The wool´s elements should pass through the same process. The small pieces of fabric need warm water and being massaged.
10. Roll up the mat (again) with another partner for about 5 minutes.
11. Place the fantastic mat in an area where can dry by it self.
In the second part of the class we moulded a wool figure.
A bird, an apple, an elephant ... whatever we wanted to devise.
A carpets creation:
I. Material
Wool, detergent (preferably a neutral product because of the allergies), warm water, bubble plastic, plastic bag and a dry towel.
II. Step by step
1. Take a good fleece of wool and place it in an open plastic bag. Each layer should be as thinner as possible. To understand if the carpet has reached the desired consistency we should close our eyes and touch in the wool. The eyes closed will highlight tact as the main rudder.
2. Place the plastic bag in the floor. Fill a small jar with warm water and detergent (+/- 1 tablespoon) and mixture it. With hands forming a shell, soak the carpets edges.
In this process water is never too much!
3. After the mat being properly wet, cover it up with the other half of the bag and pressure the material with the feet. This can be joyful while listening music. The rhythm and sounds will release the movements from the feet.
4. On the top of the carpet place the bubble plastic. The bubbles should be face down!
5. Place the mat in a towel carefully. Without the plastic bag, rolls up the mat and the bubble plastic in a towel.
(The towel will extract the excessive amount of water absorbed by the wool)
6. Give it a knot in the towel edges.
7. Two members of the group should roll the towel with their feet for about two minutes.
8. With some warm water and soap massages the dry parts of the carpet.
9. Once the wool is ready, we go to the ornamentations part of the process. The wool´s elements should pass through the same process. The small pieces of fabric need warm water and being massaged.
10. Roll up the mat (again) with another partner for about 5 minutes.
11. Place the fantastic mat in an area where can dry by it self.
CAUTION:
It is important to perforate the small wool details so do not run the risk of falling!
A source of inspiration: Felting children
http://rosiepink.typepad.co.uk/rosiepink/how-to-make-felt-with-chi.html
http://rosiepink.typepad.co.uk/rosiepink/how-to-make-felt-with-chi.html
All this
work led me thing.
Wool has no hurry. It needs time and patience until shape our wills.
The wool does not bow down towards the relentless pressure caused by the rhythm of our daily life.
In a world where time flies is important to create moments that breaks with the crazy dynamic that we live on. Those moments teach us how to have patient and educate us to be capable of waiting.
Waiting is so important. The best things in life come in long waiting moments. We have to be there to receive them. When a child takes care of the wool it needs to be patient and give some time to the material take the desired shape. The engagement with the wool makes the world slower down. The child enjoys the present moment and live in the now.
Every time the human being has the opportunity to participate and to collaborate in the genesis of something the final product becomes much more meaningful. The capacity to appreciate the objects from our daily life it becomes much higher. The human becomes able to analyze the effort that stays behind the trivial things and take its vision much further than what the eyes can see. This process is sensory rich. It is important to highlight the senses during the session. Tact remains in the spotlight from all the others senses. Wool communicates through the touch. The child has to read the signs giving by the textile. The fingers tips need to be awake.
The educator will help the child paying attention to the water temperature, to the density of the wool layers, to the amount of soap and to the various states that wool takes on during the process.
Mathematics is present throughout the process. The time, the order of the steps, the organization of the ornaments over the space, shaping the wool… all this is mathematic!
The hot water, the soap in the hands, the softness and lightness of the dry wool and the texture pull the child into the feelings network.
During the ornamentation, the child will explore colors and forms. The teacher can give a guideline to the group or let them create spontaneously.
Wool is crafted by hand and takes new forms when manipulated. The whole process trains fine motor skills.
The group members needs to relate cooperatively with each other. Everyone wants to help during the labour and everyone wants to be part of the carpet. Each member is working for the same cause.
This wonderful time with wool is also a moment rich in language. The child “talks” through its creations. During the process the educator guides the group using the voice and the language as a support. The orality will highlighting the important points of this experience.
The child will have freedom to create with wool. These kinds of activities will awake the youngest generations to different possibilities of the material and open their minds to new forms of art.
The final work may be exposed on the walls of the classroom. When the works of the children are exposed the pedagogue shows value for their ideas and creations. When this happens a sense of pride is shared by all.
The wool does not bow down towards the relentless pressure caused by the rhythm of our daily life.
In a world where time flies is important to create moments that breaks with the crazy dynamic that we live on. Those moments teach us how to have patient and educate us to be capable of waiting.
Waiting is so important. The best things in life come in long waiting moments. We have to be there to receive them. When a child takes care of the wool it needs to be patient and give some time to the material take the desired shape. The engagement with the wool makes the world slower down. The child enjoys the present moment and live in the now.
Every time the human being has the opportunity to participate and to collaborate in the genesis of something the final product becomes much more meaningful. The capacity to appreciate the objects from our daily life it becomes much higher. The human becomes able to analyze the effort that stays behind the trivial things and take its vision much further than what the eyes can see. This process is sensory rich. It is important to highlight the senses during the session. Tact remains in the spotlight from all the others senses. Wool communicates through the touch. The child has to read the signs giving by the textile. The fingers tips need to be awake.
The educator will help the child paying attention to the water temperature, to the density of the wool layers, to the amount of soap and to the various states that wool takes on during the process.
Mathematics is present throughout the process. The time, the order of the steps, the organization of the ornaments over the space, shaping the wool… all this is mathematic!
The hot water, the soap in the hands, the softness and lightness of the dry wool and the texture pull the child into the feelings network.
During the ornamentation, the child will explore colors and forms. The teacher can give a guideline to the group or let them create spontaneously.
Wool is crafted by hand and takes new forms when manipulated. The whole process trains fine motor skills.
The group members needs to relate cooperatively with each other. Everyone wants to help during the labour and everyone wants to be part of the carpet. Each member is working for the same cause.
This wonderful time with wool is also a moment rich in language. The child “talks” through its creations. During the process the educator guides the group using the voice and the language as a support. The orality will highlighting the important points of this experience.
The child will have freedom to create with wool. These kinds of activities will awake the youngest generations to different possibilities of the material and open their minds to new forms of art.
The final work may be exposed on the walls of the classroom. When the works of the children are exposed the pedagogue shows value for their ideas and creations. When this happens a sense of pride is shared by all.
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