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<h2>Teaching Children</h2>
We love to hear stories about children learning lace so to start this section, we are sharing a couple of stories with you. We hope this will inspire you to introduce your daughter, granddaughter, niece to try this wondeful old art. If you have any stories you would love to share, please contact me via the contact page.  <br><br>
    

<h3>Bobbin Lace With Children by Maria Cremona-Donoghu</h3>

<p>My daughter Elizabeth, now 15 years old, and I, joined the Illawarra Lace Group in New South Wales in October 2012, soon after returning from a trip to Malta.  
While we were holidaying in Gozo, Malta, a family friend invited us to a School Expo in my family town of Xaghra.  
Elizabeth who was 11 years old at the time, was fascinated by a lady who was demonstrating Bobbin Lace on an upright pillow.  
Elizabeth expressed the desire of learning how to make that Lace, so we were provided with the Island’s Tutor in Bobbin Lace and I 
organised summer holiday lessons for my daughter and I.  I was thrilled at the opportunity, as it was a craft that I always wanted to learn 
but when I was a teenager living in Gozo, Bobbin Lace was a dying craft and no one was teaching it.  Now the Mediterranean Island of Gozo has a Craft School 
and the government employs a part-time teacher to teach Bobbin Lace to anyone who is interested during the school year.</p>

<p>After learning some basics in Bobbin Lace, from our young and enthusiastic teacher, Marianne Buttigieg, we had to remove our lace work from the Maltese pillows 
(as they were made from straw) and attached them to a cushion in the hope that we would be able to continue Bobbin Lace once we return to Australia.</p>

<p>You can imagine how delighted we were when we discovered that there was a Lace Group close to Kiama located at Dapto.  
The Australian Lace Guild put me in touch with Margaret Jaggar, the leader of the Illawarra Lace Group, and Elizabeth and I turned up at the Horsley Community Centre 
with our Lace attached to a cushion and we were able to purchase Lace kits and transfer our lace work on to flat pillows.  Elizabeth was so impressed with the flat pillow 
as she was finding the upright pillow a little challenging.  The Illawarra Lace Group meet every Friday during school term from 10am to 2pm.  
It was perfect for us, as Elizabeth is Home-Schooled and she enjoys the very friendly group of ladies who are mostly grandmothers and are always very helpful and 
encouraging to us to try different patterns and lace.  Initially, Elizabeth enjoyed all the attention and rewards and even being the only participant at Nimble Fingers in 2013.  
Soon Elizabeth was yearning to share the love of Bobbin-Lace with other children.  </p>

<p>With the support of Margaret Jaggar, Emmy Keys and other ladies from the Illawarra Lace Group, I advertised through the Illawarra Home Schoolers Yahoo Group, 
a 10 week Bobbin Lace sessions for two hours at Horsley Community Centre and at Kiama Parish Meeting Room for the 2nd Term of 2015.  
From that advertisement we had a very good response.  We had a group of three young ladies who came to try and from the three, 
two became regulars at Horsley and instead of the Kiama Group, it turned into a Berry Group as we had another 4 children and two mothers who were interested from there.  
So the Berry Group commenced and it is led by Elizabeth and myself at the home of one of the mothers.  
The Berry Group has been a very successful group and we have introduced Bobbin Lace to a great number of home-schooled children who have come to see and try Bobbin Lace.  
This project has been a success story for us, as Elizabeth has made wonderful friends through both these groups who enjoy Bobbin lace like herself.  
Elizabeth enjoys teaching children Bobbin Lace and she has also been willing to demonstrate Bobbin Lace at the Kiama Show for the last three years and at the 
Gerringong Wool Muster on two occasions.  Elizabeth has entered her lace at various Agricultural Shows and competitions and it has given her so much joy, satisfaction, 
reward and lots of friendships.  </p>

<p> We highly recommend leaders of all groups around the country to seek out the Home-Schooling Groups, they are located everywhere.  
You may be very surprised at the interest it may generate in your area. </p>

<p> In last years Nimble Fingers, Maria organised 8 entries of Lace from Children in both categories. 
Below are three of the under 12 entries and you can find the under 12 winner on the Nimble Fingers page. </p>
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        <img src="junior/nimble20161.jpg">

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        <img src="junior/nimble20162.jpg">

    </figure> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
   <figure>
        <img src="junior/nimble20163.jpg">

    </figure>

</center>

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<!-- <h3>Teaching Children by Laura DeBruyn</h3>

<p>In June 2006, I learnt to tat and in October 2006 I began bobbin lace making. A lifelong dream was being fulfilled at last. OK. . . so I was a little enthusiastic. 
Gradually, not only did I have some tatting in my pocket whereever I went, but also lace adorned my clothing, accesories and life. Working as a relief teacher I encountered 
many questions about the lace collars I was wearing and often the children would voice their wish to learn lace. As a relief teacher at Port Dalrymple in August 2008, I discovered 
that the class teacher had told the children that I would do "lots of craft". One lad made so many requests that I teach him how to make lace, I then approached senior staff.</p>
<p> The following day, armed with 3 of my 4 lace pillows, 3 Christine Springett snake patterns, pins and 21 of my 53 pairs of Bobbins, I started a snowball that turned into an
avalanche! 23 of the 24 students enetered their names in a draw to give up 2 weeks of lunchtimes to make lace. The second day, I was confronted by an angry father objecting to teaching 
his son to make lace ~ but by the start of the second week, the same father realised that while the lad was occupied with lacemaking, he wasn't getting into trouble at school, 
so his revised his Opion of Laura's teaching ability.</p>

<p> 9 children completed a snake in the 4 weeks and I managed to get 6 pillows operational during that time.</p>

<p>The next term, I was invited to take on a tutoring role under a new Federal Government scheme, so I requested permission and space to continue the lace lessons. 
A table in the time out room was supplied. This very public room led to an explosion of interest in the junior population, with children from all clasess putting their name down to try. 
Children who had completed a snake came in to offer support, advice and knowledge, eagerly mentoring their peers, where normally they were the ones in need of help. There was obvious 
improvement in social and acedemic skills, including writing and confidence and a new strange "can-do" attitude was building in some of these children.</p>

<p>By Mid Term, I was invited by a grade 8 teacher to introduce lace to a few of her classes - including  a young lass I was tutoring. That girl became the rock of her  
class, helping 6 other students complete a snake, keyring or heart by the end of the year. In 2009-2010 she became an extra pair of hands in the junior program on days when she was not 
at the school. She became an ambassador for lace making at the school, speaking eloquently to a group of visiting principals, confronting a doubting vice principal about the benefits 
of lace making and providing the push to display the school lace out in the commubity.</p>

<p> The (tutor designed) fan the young lass entered in the 2010 Nimble Fingers competition was the culmination of 10 months of hard work, including 3 school magazine articles, several assembly presentations,
 and many hours of working through her lace project. Her confidence soared, and her growing list of of accomplishments was astounding everyone around her. Assembly, her school efforts were 
 acknowledged a dozen times, clearly showing the depth of her developement.</p>
 
 <p>When the program ended in March 2010, a total of 50 students had completed 75 projects. There were 14 pillows constantly in demand. The list of students wanting to have a go 
 was as long as ever, but unfortuneately paid work in the school had evaporated. The benefit to students were clearly evident, but my own lace making skills were pushed beyond my expecations 
 and I was able to meet my own lace challenges head on, knowing that the students were so interested. The best bit was seeing children make "little wins" and turn them into bigger gains. 
 My enthusiasm for lace still attracts a group of eager students each week, but they are mostly adults now.</p> -->


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