Finding Calm One Stitch at a Time

A few minutes after Tuesday’s morning break starts, Room 213 is already full of students pulling out yarn and needles. Mellow music plays in the background, and Ms. DiFilippo is on hand with extra knitting supplies and guidance for students who need them.

The club is one of Greenwood’s newer offerings, having started in 2017-2018, but it very quickly became popular with students of all ages. Today, more than 20 students are in attendance - most of them have knitting projects in progress, ranging from hats to scarves to blankets, while a few have tagged along with friends in the club for a quiet chat.

While knitting is, of course, a craft, it’s also a wonderful form of mindfulness meditation - and students are seeing (and feeling) the benefits.

“There’s a really chill vibe in here,” one student says. “It’s a great way to relax in between classes.”

“It’s a nice chance to socialize with kids in other grades, too,” says another.

Most students in the club were not knitters when they joined. However, that hasn’t stopped them. “Casting on can be confusing, but then it gets easier,” one student says. “It definitely takes some practice.”

Despite occasionally running into roadblocks like dropped stitches, students are game to press on, watching YouTube tutorials to learn how to fix their mistakes. This is another of knitting’s great lessons: it’s okay to make mistakes, as long as you learn from them.

As students pack up their supplies and head to period 2, they bring a sense of calm with them - and, hopefully, they’ll carry it with them throughout the day.