In December fifth-grade teacher Emma Monson ’22 asked her class at Red Rock Elementary in Woodbury to design their own winter hats – on paper. The students had no idea that within a few weeks, she’d show up with a tote full of cold-weather gear, knitted to their precise specifications.
“They were all shocked,” Monson said. “It was really cool to see the impact.”
Before winter break, students were asked to participate in a “direction-following activity.” After being presented with an outline of a hat, they were prompted to color in the different areas. The rules were simple: no designs and only solid colors.
All the students passed with flying (solid) colors. As quickly as their activity faded from view, Monson and a small crew of knitters got to work.
Monson had help knitting the 29 hats from her mother, Dr. Debbie Monson, a professor at the University of St. Thomas. The elder Monson chairs the Teacher Education Department at the School of Education and teaches mathematics methods courses to undergraduate and graduate students. The younger Monson received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and STEM education at St. Thomas.
Both Monsons share a love of knitting.
“Perhaps this is the secret about the project we shouldn’t tell people, but it means we sit around on the couch a lot, or in the car if we’re traveling somewhere, and we just knit,” Debbie Monson said. “It ends up being pretty relaxing and it’s relatively easy to do.”
The Monsons admit they will disagree, on occasion, about yarn color choice as they endeavor to match each student’s design. But they know, in the end, their work is less about color perfection and more about the small gesture they’re offering students.
The hats certainly left an impression on the students when they were surprised with their personalized creations in February. Both Emma and Debbie were on hand in the classroom for the big reveal.
“It’s small to us, but it was really big to the kids,” Debbie Monson said. “You really get to see the difference that small things can make.”
Now in its second year, the hat knitting has become a tradition for the Monson family. In fact, the idea came from Debbie’s oldest daughter Samantha ’21 MA, another Tommie educator, who first wanted to knit hats for her class at Battle Creek Middle School in St. Paul.
“It makes me so proud of my daughters, to watch them give everything they have as educators, doing these kinds of projects,” Debbie Monson said. “My kids are people who could have done so many things, but teaching is their passion. We have so many great St. Thomas teachers out there, and, together, they can really make a significant impact.”
For Emma, whose students now rarely show up to class without their new hats, the hours spent knitting away proved more than worth it.
“They were really appreciative,” she said. “It’s really fun to see the kids know that I care about them, and not just in an academic setting.”
