We have had some really engaging learning experiences pertaining to our current unit of inquiry lately. I will talk about more of them in a later post, but first I want to highlight one that was a bit hit.
We had the wonderful opportunity of going to Sabahar this week. Sabahar is a company that makes handmade Ethiopian textiles. These textiles are handmade with natural fibers, including cotton and silk. You can learn more about Sabahar by clicking here.
We then had the opportunity to help weavers in their work to produce scarves, rugs and table runners. In class we had learned about the warp and woof involved in weaving, and we even tried weaving ourselves on small cardboard squares, but our field trip provided the opportunity to help make a real product! We also helped spin thread and learned that traditionally in Ethiopia, woman do the spinning while men do the weaving.
Sophie told us how the silkworms eat leaves for nearly 45 days, getting bigger and bigger until they are ready to metamorphoses. To do so, they produce silk that comes out from their bottom lip, which they then spin around themselves until they are completely covered. They stay in their cocoons for two weeks before emerging as moths.
We had the wonderful opportunity of going to Sabahar this week. Sabahar is a company that makes handmade Ethiopian textiles. These textiles are handmade with natural fibers, including cotton and silk. You can learn more about Sabahar by clicking here.
Our field trip began with a great presentation focused on different fabrics. Sophie, from Sabahar, showed us examples of clothing made from cotton, wool, leather, silk, and polymers (oil & plastic). This gave us a bit more background on the variety of sources from which fabrics are made, and helped us to think a bit more about what makes each fabric source unique.
We then had the opportunity to help weavers in their work to produce scarves, rugs and table runners. In class we had learned about the warp and woof involved in weaving, and we even tried weaving ourselves on small cardboard squares, but our field trip provided the opportunity to help make a real product! We also helped spin thread and learned that traditionally in Ethiopia, woman do the spinning while men do the weaving.
After spending some time in the weaving and spinning room, we were taken outside where we learned more about the dying process. It was amazing to find out that the colors on our clothes come from natural sources such as coffee, cactus buds, flowers, and even onion skins.
We were each given a square of fabric and had the opportunity to dye our fabric.
Next, we learned how silk is made. We learned about the life cycle of a silk worm, beginning with the egg:
Giggles and squeals then filled the air as we had the opportunity to hold silkworms (which we learned are actually caterpillars). Many of us were a bit scared, but we decided to be courageous and of course were so glad we were! We found the silkworms to be sticky and learned that they stick to the bottom of leaves to protect themselves from predators.
Sophie told us how the silkworms eat leaves for nearly 45 days, getting bigger and bigger until they are ready to metamorphoses. To do so, they produce silk that comes out from their bottom lip, which they then spin around themselves until they are completely covered. They stay in their cocoons for two weeks before emerging as moths.
The silk we use to make fabric comes from the cocoons, which are boiled and then unwound. It was interesting to learn that while silk seems like it would be very delicate, silk threads are actually very strong!
We ended our visit by comparing silk to cotton, and even had a chance to examine the two together.
We have already taken so much of what we have learned from our field trip to Sabahar and applied it to our classroom learning. I captured some wonderful photos of this experience, so please do take the time to click on this link and view more of our photos.
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