Special Love for Special People

It was on a CCI group that I first got the idea to knit scarves for Special Olympics.
The project began a few years ago, specialolympicscarves, and people have donated thousands of scarves to Special Olympics participants, their coaches and their families. I do love to knit and I love to teach knitting. Knowing how receptive the fabulous 5th and 6th grade teachers at St. James Academy are to outreach projects, I approached them with the idea of teaching their students to knit or crochet. They graciously provided me time to spend with their students and here are some finished products!
I owe a debt of gratitude to Samira Salameh, Hannah's grandmother, for giving of her time and talents to help teach the children. She and her sister and daughter-in-law also contributed scarves. Hannah actually taught her mom to knit!
Others, like Andi Medley and Rose Garner, contributed yarn and scarves.
Last of all, great friends stepped up with numerous scarves. Patty Fuqua, Chris Harrell, Pam Scott and Pattie Urie, bless you for your gorgeous creations.
Part of the fun was being able to design your own pattern and design they did.
The kids were great sports and fabulous about helping each other. I actually think some will continue to refine their skills in the future. Knitting has been a life saver to my mental state many times and my hope was to give that gift to students I love.
I'll pack all the scarves up after they're blessed at mass on Ash Wednesday. They'll be off to grace the shoulders of recipients in Louisiana.
Here is their motto: "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt"
Hear hear!

Make a free picture slideshow

Knight Knitters

I'm happy to announce the inaugural meeting of the Knight Knitters.

This began when I saw a notice about knitting scarves for Special Olympics kids participating in the Winter Olympics.

scarves for special olympics

It began in 2009 when two gals put out a call for scarves. They ended up with 55,000 scarves.

That number has been far surpassed.

I thought it would be a great outreach project for two classes at St. James. With the go ahead from the teachers from the 5th and 6th grades I plan to teach the kids to knit and contribute.

I began with a small group today. The girls were patient and conscientious and 6 have a good start. It helped that 1 was already a pro and two others had some familiarity with knitting.

I can't wait to get the boys involved.

Here are some pictures from our effort and I hope to add more soon.

I'd like to thank the girls for their enthusiasm and the moms for their support.

I'm extending an invitation to any of you reading this to knit or crochet your contribution.

Email me with questions: adeakers2002@yahoo.com

Another gifted former student of mine

This is a speech written by Samantha Mueller

September 4, 2001 was the first day of kindergarten at St. James Academy. I remember seeing 28 new faces and a brand new place where I was going to be spending nine more years of my life. I know that the rest of us felt the same way, too. Now it’s June 11, 2010, and we are graduating from the school we have grown to know and love as a place of great memories and friendship after nine amazing years. This class is like a family. We all know each other like the back of our hand. We care for each other as we do our families. Our class is unique. We are talented musically and athletically. We are artistic and intelligent, but there’s something else not many classes have. We have a special bond that allows each one of us to get along with each other. We accept everyone and we include everyone. We treat everyone with respect and kindness. Here are the ABCs for the graduating class of 2010.
A is for affectionate. Each one of us shows an unconditional support and kindness to each other.
B is for benevolent dictator. Mr. Keeley taught us that you can help and teach in a kind and loving way.
C is for Christ-like. We are all made in God’s image and we all strive to act like it too.
D is for devotion. This class is devoted to God, each other, working hard to achieve our goals. We strive to do the best we can and to help others do the best they can.
E is for energetic. All of us are full of life and energy.
F is for family. We cry together and we laugh together. We sing and pray together. We always care for each other no matter what.
G is for generous. Everyone serves their community and donates to others. We give donations to organizations to help those who are in need. We always try to give what we can when others have nothing.
H is for human. We are all only human so we make mistakes. Our class learned to forgive each other and to move on.
I is for interesting. Our class has so many different personalities that when they are combined together, it creates the perfect place to be happy.
J is for Jesus. Through our many years at St. James, we have grown to know and learn more about our faith. We have all grown closer to Jesus, and we understand him more because we attended mass every Friday. We have learned about our faith in religion classes since kindergarten.
K is for kindness. I know that everyone is kind but this class shows it every day to everyone.
L is for laughter. This class will always remember the many good times we had together. Whether it was in class or at a party, we always found time to laugh and have a good time, but we also knew when it was time to work.
M is for mature. I think everybody has noticed how much we have matured since kindergarten. We have grown and learned together. We have grown closer to God and our friends. We also learned more about ourselves and others through the years. We learned how to treat people and how to treat ourselves. We learned how to communicate maturely and how to share.
N is for new people. Since our class is a kind and loving environment, we have always welcomed new people. On the first day they came to school, they would be a stranger, but after the first week of school, they would be our friends.
O is for optimistic. This class is excited for our future endeavor into high school. We all have great expectations for ourselves and each other.
P is for peaceful. When it is time to pray, we all settle down and talk to God.
Q is for quality. We all give it our best shot to achieve and prosper.
R is for respect. We all show the utmost respect for each other because we are like a family.
S is for social. I think our teachers agree that our class has great social skills that enable us to get along well with others.
T is for trust. We always can count on each other. Everyone is trustworthy and keeps to their word.
U is for unbelievable. Our class is unbelievably talented in all aspects of life.
V is for vivacious. We are all lively and animated.
W is for wonderful. This class is everything one could ask for and more. We go beyond expectations.
X is for extra memorable. I know we will always remember our class because we shared great memories that we will cherish forever, and I know that we all will keep in touch during our high school years.
Y is for young. We are still young and can’t wait to see what the future will bring.
And finally, Z is for zest. Everyone in this class is fun to be around. We all like to be together.

Now that our time here at St. James Academy has ended and we all will go our separate ways, I hope and think that we will all remember our time at St. James Academy. Most of us have spent the majority of our lives here. I think we can all say that it has been a very positive and uplifting experience because we have learned that we can always make good friends that love us for who we are; God is always there for us no matter what, and that this class in inseparable. We are together for life, and we will not forget each other. We will always remember our special class. Thank you

I'm in awe of her talent and wish her continued success in high school.

I consider it such a privilege that I was able to teach at a school that instills a love of God, family, and mankind and provides a place to practice each on a daily basis.