By Jen Mason Stott, Librarian
First graders studied the author/illustrator team, Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen. We read
Extra Yarn, a story about a girl knitting sweaters for her whole town, bringing color to her community. We wondered: Could we do that for King Open? We found out about yarn-bombing: covering an outdoor object with yarn. We could yarn-bomb part of the recess yard! Jen brought in loads of sticks. Liza (SLC teacher) brought bags of colorful yarn, and Brendan, Diana, and Liz helped us. First graders got to work, wrapping sticks with yarn for several weeks. We drew what the fence would look like. Then Jen attached the yarn sticks to the fence along Broadway for all to see.
It was TOP SECRET! We agreed to tell NO ONE but parents and guardians. We even kept the secret from Principal Williams!
A cozy calm settled over the library as we worked on our secret gift to the King Open community. Children loved comparing and selecting yarns and handling rough natural objects, honing fine motor skills and working together. “Yarn sticks” is still a popular choice during first grade library time!