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What’s the best time of year to teach kids to knit?

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Children can pick up needles anytime of year and learn to knit. My kids knit in our homeschool every week. But what’s the best time of year to teach kids to knit? Here are my thoughts.

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What’s the best time of year to teach kids to knit? My answer might surprise you.

Some seasons in a child’s life are busier than others. Whether they are homeschooled or go to school outside of the house, each season looks different from each other.

Learning to knit for the first time needs a calm, slow environment. It needs time, patience, and a little bit of excitement. Teaching kids to knit in a busy season can result in frustrations, irregular knitting lessons, and burnout before they even fully know how to knit.

>> Why teaching kids to knit matters to me

When to teach kids to knit

There is a huge variation on when a child is ready to learn to knit. My girls learned when they were 5 and 7 years old. But some have trouble picking it up the first time, so it’s important to know your child. Sometimes you need to press pause for a few months, and sometimes you need to get kids excited about knitting in a different way before they pick up needles.

I enjoy teaching kids to knit when my kids enjoy learning to knit. And my kids enjoy learning to knit when I enjoy teaching them to knit. That’s the best time of year to teach kids to knit!

Teach kids to knit when you are ready, excited, and make time to teach them to knit. It’s that simple! Notice I didn’t say “have time”. Nobody ever has time to start something new. You have to create space to teach your kids to knit, and that means saying no to other things in your schedule.

If winter is busy for you, try teaching kids to knit on a slow summer afternoon on the porch.

If summer is hot and full of plans, choose a cozy morning during Christmas break to knit.

Kids pick up on our anxiety, so if you’re stressed and feeling over-scheduled then they aren’t going to enjoy sitting down to learn to knit with you.

Don’t plan to teach your kids to knit if you don’t have the margin or can’t follow through with lessons. Because once they’re really ready to learn, they’re going to want to knit everyday!

When do I teach my kids to knit?

When my girls learned to knit, it was at the start of a new homeschool year for us. We had all just come off a long summer break and I was excited to start teaching again. They were excited to learn.

Part of our new schooling plan included more handicrafts, including knitting and crocheting. I was able to add knitting lessons into our loop schedule while we were first learning, and then they moved onto knitting whenever they wanted to. I always keep an accessible basket of yarn and needles for when they’re ready to cast on a new project.

Another reason I taught my 5 year old to knit in the fall is because she was learning to read then, too. Learning to knit at the same time as learning to read is actually great timing! Knitting follows the same horizontal eye movements as reading, which helps strengthen both skills.

>>Learn to knit YouTube playlist!

When will I teach my younger kids to knit?

The question of what age can kids learn to knit is asked often. But, you really can’t put an age on it. All you can do is try with a few basic, fun, short lessons and see how they take it. If it’s too complicated, try to tailor it to your child (make it shorter, change the needles). But if it’s causing nothing but frustration, or your child doesn’t actually want to learn yet, I think trying again in 6 months is a great idea.

For my toddler and preschooler, they are around yarn all the time. They see their older sisters, mom, Grandma, and aunt knitting most days. The best thing you can do for your child who isn’t ready to knit yet is to get them excited about knitting. I wrote a whole article about our favorite children’s picture books about knitting that you can read here.

I hope this helps simplify teaching kids to knit for you!

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