Teacher Quilts

With yet another end of the school year approaching, I thought it would be fun to do a post on teacher quilts. I've made lots of teacher quilts over the years. The end of a school year is a right of passage and the bond between child and teacher is often close enough to warrant a special thank you.

Ironically, this quilt marked the year that my husband and I decided to pull our kids out of school and try home schooling. At the time our eldest was 7 and our twins were 5. I'd been a primary school teacher in my other life and it seemed that all my friends back home were beginning to homeschool. My husband and I were inspired by a book about the English educational philosopher Charlotte Mason. The book was For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay. It's one of the books that inspired the American homeschooling movement.

Anyway, I wanted a graceful leaving and I wanted the teachers to know that I did appreciate them. So I made this quilt as a goodbye. The black centre with the 'wood' border was meant to look like an old Victorian slate board. We used fabric paint like chalk to write the message. Most English schools have gingham summer uniforms often in blue. This is the reason behind the blue and white checkerboard border. The hearts and apples in the corners just seemed fitting.

We did spend the next 5 years homeschooling. It was rewarding and challenging. I'm glad we did it. Katie has graduated and Emily and Ben are now in Sixth Form at local High Schools but they do have happy memories from those homeschool years.