Ningbo, a highly urbanized and developed city in Zhejiang province, China, has maintained many traditional Chinese arts in daily life. One example is knitting: it has been ubiquitous in Ningbo for hundreds of years.... [ view full abstract ]
Ningbo, a highly urbanized and developed city in Zhejiang province, China, has maintained many traditional Chinese arts in daily life. One example is knitting: it has been ubiquitous in Ningbo for hundreds of years. Today, it remains popular as a favored pastime and an essential economic activity for many reasons: it is a pleasurable and social activity; the materials involved are simple and inexpensive; there are many different techniques involved; and knit-work products are as diverse and interesting as the people who make them.
Pre-school children in Ningbo often have access to different woven items in their daily life, such as knitted clothing items, woven fabrics and fishing nets. They will also visit weaving shops and knitting shops throughout their childhood and are exposed to different techniques in their homes. Thus, knitting forms an important role in the lives of thousands of children across the region.
According to the theoretical concept of “open, orderly, and linking"we should make full use of the resources of the kindergarten and it’s ecology to advance early childhood education. On the basis of the characteristics of Chinese knitting art, and pre-school children’s interest and need for knitting as a cultural custom, we have established a knitting curriculum during 4 years of practice. This practice is loved by the pre-school children and will play an important role in helping them reach their developmental milestones.
Some effective strategies used to support Pre-school children’s knitting activity:
- To extend the knitting masters’ archival brochures; set-up a 500 meters knitting resources network diagram.
- Optimization strategy: optimizing knitting guidance strategy; children’s song sensei strategy; Assistant for strategy; color adjustment strategy; Material development strategy; Interesting teaching strategy;
- Establish knitting culture foundation; immersion experience; achievement experience;.
The knitting curriculum has been promoted in more than 20 kindergartens in Ningbo area now.
