November Knitting!

I tell a story similar to this as I teach the children to knit:
Once there was a shepherd who cared for a small flock of sheep. The sheep would run to and fro, up and around the hills all day long, but when it was time to come back home they just wouldn't follow. The old shepherd had an idea. He would make a little gate and he would guide she sheep through, and in one long line they would go down the mountain and home again.

And this is the rhyme we use as we knit to remember where we are and just what we do next:
Under the gate
Catch the sheep
Back the way you came
And off you leap!

When we begin we hold the needles a bit differently than an experienced knitter will, just to demonstrate the gate from our rhyme and to help the children see exactly what is going on. As they become better knitters - which happens much sooner than you might expect! - they start to hold the needles, crossed, just as most do.
Here is a visual aid to help while you are learning to knit:
knitting instructions