K is for Knitting

I've posted a few times in the past about knitting. I nearly always have at least one knitting or crochet project lying around the house or tucked into a tote bag to take with me to appointments. Right now, I have a knit shawl in my downstairs project basket and a crochet Fisherman's afghan lying beside Lauren's school table upstairs.

Last year I shared step-by-step directions for how I taught Lauren to knit when she was only five years old -- Yes, She Can Knit. I know that she has a baby blanket that she's working on right now, but I think it's a crochet project. I'm pretty sure I saw her grab some knitting needles and a skein of bright orange yarn when we left for a long outing this morning. Lauren nearly always has a project that she carries with us when we're going to be in the car for a while or when we might have to wait somewhere.

Earlier this week, I thought about how much I appreciate having some sort of knitting project to grab when I'm doing schoolwork with one of the kids or watching a movie. I often have trouble paying attention and/or staying awake when I'm just sitting still. Knitting takes up just enough of my attention that I don't start daydreaming. As counterintuitive as it seems, when I'm knitting, I'm able to pay more attention to Lauren reading a book to me or Brennan telling me details about what makes one specific brand of headphones better than another.

As I thought about how I pay attention better when I'm knitting, I wondered if I could find Brennan something to do while I read aloud to him in the afternoons. In the past he's sometimes made survival bracelets out of parachute cord or colored geometric designs. On a whim, I asked him if I could teach him to knit while I read to him so that he could make me some more dish clothes. He agreed to learn, but I didn't press my luck by asking him to let me take a picture. I think it's a bit too early to tell if it will help during our read aloud times, but I look forward to seeing if it makes a difference in terms of how much he's able to remember. If nothing else, perhaps I'll get a few new dishcloths out of the deal.

My knitting tales are linked up with others that are Blogging through the Alphabet. This week Kelli at Adventurez In Child Rearing is hosting the link-up; be sure to stop by and see what some of my other friends found to share about.