Sacrifices in wartime aren’t just made by soldiers, and Peeples Elementary learned about those back home who played a major role in the American Revolution. Learning to crochet showed 4th graders how hard it was to create homespun items.
As part of their American Revolution unit, the students studied The Daughters of Liberty. The Daughters of Liberty manufactured goods in order to boycott British imports, spinning wool into yarn, weaving the yarn into cloth, and using the cloth to make clothing.
“Today, students are fortunate enough to simply purchase basic articles of clothing. The time, skill, hard work, and dedication necessary to produce clothing during the 1700s is hard for our students to understand or imagine,” said teacher Andi McPeak. “We wanted to give a brief look into the experience by teaching them to crochet a simple chain.”
Every 4th grade class participated, along with Shaylen Dixon’s enrichment groups, and the response from the students was rewarding.
“The students left the experience bewildered about how it was possible for these women to accomplish all that they did,” said McPeak. “We, as teachers, were thrilled by the fact that so many students begged all five of our 4th grade teachers to include yarn and crochet needles in our classroom for days when we have indoor recess. The students truly enjoyed the experience, and our goal of ensuring that they understood the magnitude of dedication given by The Daughters of Liberty was accomplished.”
