It's quite amazing after four years in my current school, I'm still finding a use for materials purchased ages ago. I won't bat an eyelid even if the materials are older than me! I'm trialling this lesson unit so that the graduating classes can pick up sewing and increase their dexterity. I mean their school shoes are tightened with velcro, not shoelace anymore. Something that I've taken for granted is the tying of knots, it is not a given for some twelve years old. Tying a double knot at the end of the yarn is the foundation and toughest for most of them as it requires the second knot to sit on the first one to prevent the yarn from pulling through the burlap. A single knot would be sufficient if the yarn is much thicker. Since I'm making do with what I have, it is good enough too.
I showed some published articles to the children about the claim that surgery students are losing dexterity to do stitching and this video even show how medical students in a Japanese hospital are put through origami making to recruit surgical students. You can view it here.
