As always, the first-graders’ eyes beamed with excitement the moment they saw us— certain they would be doing something fun in the classroom. They quickly cleared their desks, visibly eager and curious about what they would be doing this time around. When the teacher announced that they would be weaving in this session, many of them enthusiastically commented on how they were familiar with it and also had woven objects at home or saw family members make them. It was a happy moment to witness the students trying to find an instant connection between what the teacher was saying to their home.
When we design these types of art-integrated lessons, we sit down and first figure out the goals— what we, as a teacher, want students to learn or take away from the session. For instance, one of our goals in the weaving lesson plans was to “locate mistakes and identify ways to fix them“—and this was observed throughout all the weaving sessions. In this particular session, “River Fish” for grades one and two–The first-graders would occasionally skip a step while weaving or begin with the wrong sequence, and only realize the mistake after completing the row. Seeing them figure out their own mistakes and try to correct them, was a sense of achievement for us and for the students as well. On the other hand, we also had moments where we needed to reassure some students that the mistakes were Okay. One of the main objectives of the lesson was to let the students notice the importance of lock-in weaving. If they missed a warp or two, as long as the weaving was locked, it was a job well done. Even for us as teachers, it was an important reminder—not to chase for perfection, but rather enjoy the process of creating and learning together.
Reflecting on this session, from drawing fish on colourful strips of paper to cutting out paper looms and weaving, the classroom buzzed with energy, as students excitedly talked about what they found cool or interesting about the fish in their reference pictures— adding so much value to the whole weaving experience. A sense of collaboration was also visible, how they naturally stepped in to help each other, whether it was helping with cutting the loom or guiding their friend through the weaving process. Even though the students were creating individual artwork, it felt more than just individual learning and a beautiful display of teamwork. A truly sublime experience overall.
Sabina Rai is one of the artist educators in the Art-in-School Team and joined since 2023. The weaving sessions were designed by Sabina Rai and Manantuna Jyapoo along with Priyanka Singh Maharjan and Barsha Manandhar in 2025. They were recently tried at four public schools in Nagarjun Municipality in grades 1 to 3. To learn more about the Art-in-School program go here.
