7/8 Townsend 8 spent their Ag lessons in Term 1 learning about wool. This involved theory about the wool industry, how to select a good sheep, wool processing and of course, shearing. There were also many opportunities for students to get ‘hands on’ and learn some new skills. These included:
Shearing (well, nearly!!) We gave Lambert a bit of a trim with the hand shears.
Scouring – Great fun in the lab! We washed our wool with detergent then combed and dried the sample until it was fluffy and white.
Dyeing – Definitely an outdoor activity! What a variety of fabulous colours the students created using food dyes, vinegar, hot water and a lot of patience.
Spinning – Probably our most challenging task – it looks so easy on Youtube! We made our own spindle then tried to spin the wool we had already coloured.
Knitting – This was a real community event. We were very grateful to local ladies Mrs Crouch, Mrs Druwitt, Mrs Tiver and Mrs Sandercock, plus Miss Townsend’s mum who came up from Adelaide and Mrs Hasting and Mrs Breward who gave us a lesson. These expert knitters had us well on the way to creating a blanket in one short afternoon!