Try it with the Kids: Finger Knitting

With summer coming on fast, parents who read this may have kids home from school more soon, or teachers who have a class in the summer may be looking for more crafty things to do with some of their time over the summer. I’m planning to share some general craft ideas and skills you can learn along with the kids if you don’t already know them so you can all make together this year.

First up: finger knitting. Kids love finger knitting (especially in late elementary school, but I think teens would love this too as a throwback) and it’s super easy to learn.

The only supply you need is yarn. I have a tutorial over at Our Daily Craft you can try, which shows you how to make a chunky bracelet, or check out this video from Red Ted Art that shows you how to make a finger knitting butterfly.

What else can you make with finger knitting? There are actually whole books on the topic, but here are some other ideas to get you started.

A finger knit snake is a classic, and this pattern from Vickie Howell (who also wrote the book mentioned above) is fun and easy.

Red Ted Art also has a cute bunny made with finger knitting. Imagine Childhood has a darling little finger knit basket.

Kids might enjoy making this finger knit garland from Sisters What to decorate their rooms. Or for a bigger project they can make a rug like this one from Meet Me at Mikes.

This finger knit ear warmer from Simply Maggie could be made into a headband by just working a single strip of knitting. You can also finger knit a hat with these instructions from Bean Creative (shared at Red Ted Art).

Or you can just make a long strand and turn it into a necklace, or sew strips together into a scarf. Hello Glow has a single strand infinity scarf project. Once you get kids started they are sure to think up their own ways to use the strips of finger knitting, too.

Do you know how to finger knit? I’d love to know what you or your kids do with your knitting!

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Fun End of the School Year Activities for the Classroom

It might seem weird to feature a book about protest movements around the Fourth of July, but as Rise Up! Powerful Protests in American History reminds us, protest is patriotic and part of the very fabric of American life from the beginning.

This picture book, written by history teacher Rachel C. Katz and illustrated by Sophie Bass, tells a rhyming story of how Americans have stood up throughout the nation’s history to protest and spread the word about injustice and unsafe conditions. From the Boston Tea Party to modern movements like the Standing Rock pipeline protests and the Obergefell case, it touches on women’s rights, environmental activism, civil rights, Pride, access for disabled people and more.

The illustrations, often based on historic protest signs and artwork, help tell the stories, while a timeline, map, and overview of each event for further discussion. Readers will learn about Silent Spring and The Jungle, the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike, the Seneca Falls convention, Robert Smalls, the Delano Grape Strike and the movement to un-dam the Klamath River, to name a few.

Each event includes a few bullet points to provide context about what happened, why and what the result was. The book reminds readers that protests are not always effective, or don’t always get the people involved what they want right away (since it took women 72 years to get the right to vote after Seneca Falls, for example).

This book is a great way to introduce kids to the long and proud history of protest movements in the United States and could prompt discussions about current events and things happening that they might want to see changed. It could also be used to start kids researching different protests discussed in the book for further learning. You can talk about how art can educate people and encourage kids to make their own art pieces to educate others about something important to them.

Rise Up! is a great starting point for learning about the history of protest and the effects it has had on American history. The publisher’s website has more resources for teaching with this book at the link below.

About the book: 48 pages, hardcover. Published 2025 by Barefoot Books. Suggested retail price $17.99.

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Have you read?

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