Hello Philippines and hello world! This is my first ever blog and I am taking the opportunity to finally write and publish my blog. I knew about steemit through my friend Crislyn. She is also a crocheter like me but we haven’t met personally. We knew each other online and help one another when it comes to crochet crisis and some personal stuff, I am grateful for this generation’s technology that I am able to meet good people and make some of them as my friends, also I will be able to share my knowledge and wisdom to you and soooooo drum roll please.... For today’s blog, I will tell you my experience in having my first ever crochet class tutorial in a public school here in the Philippines and I will share some tips and guide in having a successful symposium or class tutorial. But first, I will introduce myself, I am Pamela Latigar and you can call me Pam. I am 23 years of age, graduated Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management in a private University here in the Philippines. As of now, I am a full time crocheter and online seller of yarns and some planner stuff. I knew crochet when I was in High School or Grade 8 but I never truly learned until last October of 2016. Though I cannot say that I am expert in crocheting, I did my best to educate and encourage the students in my demo to crochet. Here are the tips and guide when having a crochet tutorial or demo in a public school.
- BRING CROCHET ITEMS AS MUCH AS YOU CAN
Borrow some crochet items from a fellow crocheter and show how passionate you both are through your handmade products. I was invited by one of my clients who is a public teacher major in AP(Araling Panlipunan) in English that is the subject about arts and crafts, to give a crochet tutorial in one of her class. I borrowed shawls, baby diaper cover, baby beanie and baby crochet shoes from my aunt. I was encouraged to crochet because of my aunt by the way. I also brought my crochet animated bag, some scarves, halter tops and beanies. And as I said, bring crochet items as much as you can because students at their age are easily persuade to learn if they can already see the finish product since crocheting takes a lot of patience. The handmade items will help you in showing your enthusiasm in crocheting. These are the handmade crochets I brought.
- MAKE A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION BEFOREHAND
If you don’t have those Instagrammable photos, at least make a compilation of the finish products you made. Every circumstance can be a training ground for you to improve yourself so make those money shots. Practice in playing with the filters, go sideways, upward and downward in taking the shots because it will show you different angle which you can choose what’s the best one for your subject. These will also encourage the students to crochet. My Powerpoint presentation includes introducing myself, my page, the handmade crochet products I made(please do citations if borrowing photos) and if you can, make a video tutorial for doing the basic stitches(single crochet , half double crochet, double crochet, treble crochet and slip stitch ONLY) this is to avoid confusion for our students/audience. If you don’t have enough time to make your own video, you can download from Youtube, there are lots of video tutorial where I also learned some pattern. This is also a platform for you to learn how to be creative in taking photos and shots of your crochet item. As a crocheter, this skill can help you in marketing your handmade product. Here are some slides from my PPT(PowerPoint presentation).
- BRING AN EXTRA SET OF CROCHET HOOKS AND LOTS OF SCRAP YARN
I totally forgot that Philippines is a third world country and I am teaching public school students, they didn’t bring crochet hooks and yarns which is very frustrating when having a tutorial but of course, you have to keep your composure. Bring an extra set of crochet hooks or as many as you can but bring only the ones you can lend to a beginner, I know that most of us crocheter have those precious crochet hooks that cannot be used by other people so I am suggesting to bring those generic crochet hooks of yours and same goes with the yarn cos you might end up giving those hooks and yarns to them as starting kits. In my case, I brought my hook set but only brought a cake of yarn leaving us having 4 students using them cos they are not bringing anything.
- MAKE A SIMPLE CROCHET ITEM OR TWO AHEAD OF TIME
I have a crochet halter top for a client but she snobs my messages about her order so instead of leaving the halter top in my cabinet unloved, I decided to bring it to my class tutorial and make a draw lots raffle to spice things up. The girls are so happy that it melts my heart. But of course, I gave away a beanie for the boys! This can also be a part of marketing your products, some students were swayed to order coin purse. The teacher who invited me was so grateful for bringing a lively crochet tutorial for her students. I am pretty sure that it would not hurt if you make a simple coin purse, barefoot sandals or headband which can be a token for the students or for your audience. Look at those giddy smiles they have after receiving their prizes.
- DO A ONE-ON-ONE TUTORIAL
At least for 5 students or more, do a one-on-one tutorial because I am pretty sure that you can fully teach them how to crochet if you will lead them by hand. This will only be possible of course if they have their own crochet hook and yarn or you have enough to lend for those who don’t have. Another technique in maximizing your time is to have the others watch the video tutorial you downloaded while you teach a student. Note that, teach him/her the basic, at least make her do the chains first until almost all of them can confidently crochet chains on her own. My class tutorial lasted for 2 hours and it is enough time for us to go until single crochet, they can learn the other stitches for their next class, don’t worry if they haven’t finish any crochet item during your demo because crochet is learned by hardwork and patience.
- TAKE A LOT OF PHOTOS OR HAVE SOMEONE WHO WILL SUPPORT YOU AND TAKE PHOTOS OF YOU
You don’t need to be a one-man team, you can bring someone to assists you while you are having the demo and he/she can also take photos of your tutorial. It can be a candid shot or the tiny details you have. It can be used for future preferences especially for bringing up another milestone for your crochet career. The teachers here in the Philippines are also documenting such events for their portfolio so the photos are really necessary. In my case, I had my mom who is also a teacher in the same school I am having my demo. Hoping I helped you and best of luck on your crochet career! See you in my next blog! Don't forget to send some love!
