Embedded Files
Carriage House Dormancy Projects
The recent delightfully frosty winter temperatures have rolled in just in time for the Carriage House to say so long to Harvest season and welcome our yearly winter theme of Dormancy. We really love winter around here! (More snow for sledding please, Mother Nature! By the way, is it time to go skiing yet?) It’s such a fun time for these kinds of cold adventures and more. AND, we love cozying up for meaningful, nature-inspired indoor projects. We get the best of both worlds here at Randolph, that’s for sure!
This Dormancy season the Upper and Lower Carriage House teamed up once again to offer two different projects: Sewing a quilt for Grandmother Maple and bow making; like indigenous people from our area did to hunt in the winter. Students were split into two groups, with the plan of switching midway through, so that all students would have a chance to participate in both projects. Renée and Jackie are leading the quilt project, while Lewis and Angie lead the bow project. Read on to find out a little bit about how your children are engaging with the theme of Dormancy through hands-on, math and literacy rich work that doesn’t really feel like work, because it’s so engaging!
Sewing a Quilt For Grandmother Maple
For families who were with us last Winter Celebration, you may recall the absolutely precious part of the event when the Lower Carriage House kiddos ceremonially wrapped our beloved Grandmother Maple with a cozy, hand-knit scarf. The students who were involved in this experience last year hold fond memories of it, and were adamant we do something special to show care for Grandmother Maple during her dormancy again this year. The children in the Harvesting Color project group had the idea of using the napkins we dyed and used at Harvest Feast to make a quilt for Grandmother Maple this time around. It’s been an ambitious project, considering neither Renée or Jackie have made a quilt before! If you know us at all, you know that’s never stopped us before! (Chicken run project, anyone?)
So our first order of business was to call in an expert: Our very own Downstairs teacher extraordinaire and quilt-making guru, Katie. To kick off the project Katie brought in a big bin of some of the gorgeous quilts she’s made. She gave us a lesson on the anatomy of a quilt, talked about the process, and how she learned to make such beautiful quilts. We looked at different quilt block patterns and she told us the names of some of the common blocks quilters make. We also learned a bit about the tools we would be using to create Grandmother Maple’s quilt.
Katie showing us her beautiful work and explaining the anatomy of a quilt
Learning about all the different types of quilt block patterns
Once we had an understanding of the basics of quilt making, we started designing our individual quilt blocks that would eventually be pieced together to form the whole community quilt. Kids used paper cut into triangles, rectangles, and squares and played around with design ideas. Once they landed on their final design, they glued the paper down. This became their quilt square pattern.
Using paper shapes to lay out and plan their quilt block
Using graph paper to draw and design their quilt block
Next, they made their fabric choices from the kid-made natural dyed napkins. After their fabric was chosen there was a lot of measurement and geometry work to sort out before starting to cut the fabric. We learned how to use a quilter’s ruler to measure and a rotary cutter on the cutting mat to cut the correct size pieces of fabric, keeping in mind the need for a seam allowance AND being super careful not to get our fingers too close to the blade. No bandaids needed so far! We even learned a cool technique for how to make “half-square triangle” pieces two and four at a time to save time. Because we were limited in how many students could work on the quilt at one time, while they were waiting for their turn, students read different books that had the theme of quilts or worked on math packets that involved geometry. They learned about geometric shapes, as well as the different types of angles and lines; all of which were beneficial when it was their turn to design and cut their quilt pieces. In addition, some of our Beak Jr. writers decided to create a Winter edition and keep their creative writing-juices flowing which includes a “How to Sew a Quilt” tutorial and an interview with Katie. We cannot wait to read the next edition of The Beak Jr.!
After their pieces were cut, the kids laid the fabric out to match their pattern. They learned about putting fabric right sides together and pinning it in place before heading over to the sewing machine. They got a mini “anatomy of a sewing machine” lesson and a tutorial on how to use it safely. The big takeaways: keep those fingers away from the needle and your foot light on the pedal!
In between sewing pieces, the seams needed to be pressed with an iron. The quilters learned how to “finger press” first to open the seam and then hold the iron on the seam for a few seconds to set it. After all the pieces on their block were sewn together, it was given a final press. So far, the finished blocks have turned out absolutely stunning! Clearly, the kids are proud of their hard work. Just look at the smiles on their faces as they got their photo taken showing their piece of the quilt!
In the time we have to finish up the quilt before we present it to Grandmother Maple at Winter Celebration, we’ll lay the blocks out and decide together how we want to arrange them. Then we’ll get them sewn together to form the quilt top (AKA flimsy). We may end up having just a flimsy to ceremonially wrap our beloved tree, rather than a completed quilt, but the sentiment is just the same: We’ve worked as a community to make something with our hands that is a physical manifestation of the love and appreciation we have and the care we give to all of the maple trees on our campus!
Bow and String Making
To segway from the previous indigenous dwellings harvest project in which students were building a wigwam, we are now going “into the wigwam”, to hunker down for a dormancy season of building and repairing bows. This process is in historical alignment with what northeastern indigenous folks would have been doing thousands of years ago. After an autumn of hunting, harvesting, and building up their shelter, the winter season was a time to build and repair tools around their indoor fire so they could continue to hunt for food throughout the winter. Students are aware of this history, and are equally aware that people of the present day still use bows and arrows to hunt for food.
Students have a few different options for engaging with this project: making the bow, making the string, or making a comic that describes the process of bow making “Then and Now”, highlighting the differences in tools, materials, and methods. Before diving into the hands-on work, each kid spent time doing research using video resources on the particular topic they are interested in.
Many of our seasoned bow-making veterans have opted to do the difficult yet precise labor of shaping the hard hickory and (softer) maple wood, using hand tools and simple machines such as a drawknife, rasps, and scrapers. Kids used the notes that they previously took during their research time to guide themselves in this work, as well as our finished models from last year.
Meanwhile, some students pioneered our first string building operation. After doing the research on flemish twist bow strings and practicing their knot tying skills, they began constructing the bow strings using artificial sinew. Through trial and error and lots of patience and precision, this crew has not only learned to make a bowstring, but to be resilient in the learning process of doing so. The first couple of strings were made too short, but were able to be put to good use to repair some old bows that were sitting in the shed. Now with all that practice behind them and equipped with new insight, they are ready to make the appropriate adjustments to their process and turn out a couple of strings for the final bows.
Our most artistically adept and creative kids have been diligently turning out scenes for the “Bow Making: Then and Now” comic strip. This comic will be featured in our next edition of the Beak Jr., which will be a 100% student led and organized product. The comic crew is our jack-of-all-trades: they are knowledgeable on all steps of the bow building process – in two time periods! Through diligent research and by watching the other kids building bows and strings in the classroom, students are able to accurately represent the process. The comic crew has been able to identify what steps need to be illustrated, make a draft, do self and peer critiques, and will soon be turning out final copies that adhere to a simple rubric for consistency.
Page updated
Report abuse