Embracing Autumn

We've reached the time of year when the school heating is switched on, but this year it doesn't feel like such a big event. With our gorgeous new windows, we'd barely noticed as the chill crept in and though by this time of year we'd normally have been freezing our butts off for a couple of weeks, this year it's been fine. Getting through winter is going to be a lot easier, and it should be better for the books too.

So, what are we doing as the leaves start turning?

1. NaNoWriMo preparation.
This year our aim is that 50% of the young writers joining us on this amazing and ridiculous journey acheive their original word counts. The numbers becoming NaNo winners has fallen over the last couple of years to the point where last year, not a single person reached the 50,000 word goal. We're stepping up our support for writers this year, with after school writing sessions EVERY DAY even if there is no one at them, additional biscuits, and plenty of lunchtime sessions too. Our classroom kit is here, we're planning our stories and can't wait to get started.

2. Knitting ahoy.
Autumn is the time of year when knitting and crafting warm and cosy things becomes a focus for craft club! This year we're looking to make as many pairs of Twiddlemuffs as we can. My grandfather has Alzheimer's and is currently in hospital, and day by day he's less able to be active and interact with the world. He spends quite a lot of time just sitting, and unwilling to do anything at all, but I think he'd enjoy having something to fiddle with, something that feels nice and keeps his hands warm. I'll be asking craft club to undertake the creation of Twiddlemuffs at a count of one per person. Some people will do the knitting, and some the embellishment.

Got yarn? We need your scraps! And buttons, zips, ribbons, anything that could make a tactile little insert.

3. Reading, of course!
As the nights draw in and we're drawn more and more to the comfy nest of blankets and hotwater bottles that we've built to be our reading dens* we're very lucky that our lovely donors are continuing to buy us the books we need to keep our readers busy. We're asking everyone who goes on a book-buying spree to buy us one book, so if you could help us out, please do!


Currently reading: Furiously Happy, by Jenny Lawson.

*No? Just me then? Awesome.

Reading Blanket Relay!

As the passion for crafting and making seems to spread (wooo!) some of our knitters are moving on to crochet.  We're working on a Reading Blanket to live on the comfy seats in the library, so that chilly readers can snuggle up underneath.  It'll be built over the course of the next few weeks in a relay, with the aim being to have someone working on it all break and lunch time, every day.

This was our day 1 progress, expertly modeled by top knitter and crocheter, Louise.  

Let's see how long it takes to grow! 

Nerdfighter Projects

With Project Rollercoaster nearing completion, our Nerdfighters have started to think about what they'd like to do next.  The main area of interest seems to be craft related, so the knitters have taken off their work again.  They've been training up our new Year 7 library regulars and the knitting box is a horrific mess, I mean, productive and creative hotbed of activity.  Yeah.

Our more experienced knitters are launching a range of mittens, knitted in our new house colours, to be sold to students across the school.  They start at £4 but can be customised with buttons and crochet flowers (thank you to Nicole in Year 10 for teaching me how to make these) for an extra couple of pounds.  The original plan was to raise money for charity, but they took me quietly aside and asked if instead they might be allowed to fund an author visit, which we'd had to cancel plans for after budget restrictions were felt a little too tightly.  After a brief moment of eye dabbing and awwwing, I of course agreed and they're now working on raising money to have Patrick Ness come and visit later in the year.  They really enjoyed his Twitter chat with us during Carnegie, so they would love to have him come and speak about his work.  His name is scrawled on the money box and the double entry book-keeping sheets they're keeping (yes, they're really doing it properly) is titled accordingly.

So if anyone wants any mittens, I know where you can get some great ones.