According to Susan Ames, the MNW district teacher librarian, Heather Leith of Manson first brought in her loom last April to show students how plastic bags can be woven into sleeping mats for the homeless as part of an Earth Day activity.

A few sixth-graders got a chance to use the loom that day and later asked if it could become an ongoing service project. As a result, Leith ended up donating her loom to the school.

“She said she had done quite a few on her own, and she was willing to give us her loom,” Ames said.

Fast forward to the current school year.

-Submitted photo
Working on making balls of plarn, or plastic yarn, are, from left, sixth-graders Leif Dehart, Logan Pierce (center background), Cainan Flatgard, and Landon Ramthun (sitting in the background at far right).

This year’s sixth-graders now have the opportunity to work on the sleeping mat project once a month during their library time. When a class comes in, usually about 20 students at a time, Ames said most will begin cutting the bags into strips and rolling the bags into balls of plarn, or plastic yarn. Others can sign up to work on the loom itself.

Students can also earn class tallies for good behavior, which can be used toward an extra library period to work on the mats. Ames said some students will even sign out of study hall to come and work on the mats at the end of the day.

“They seem to really enjoy it and it’s something different,” Ames said. “I think the fact that they’re doing something for somebody else, that’s motivating. They’re going to be able to make a difference for someone.”

In addition to the loom donated by Leith, Ames said high school industrial technology teacher Ben Nelson built two more looms for students to use, which were brought to the elementary in January.

“It’s quite a chaotic time in here, but it’s very productive chaos,” Ames said. “I have the three looms set up on three different tables. One student can work on a loom at a time.”

She said the mat on the first loom is about two-thirds complete, while the mats on the other two looms are about one-fourth complete. Ames hopes all three can be finished by the end of the school year.

“This could become an ongoing service project,” she said. “I’ve even shown the mat to the little kids, so it’s something they can look forward to when they get to sixth grade.”

Meanwhile, the entire elementary student body is involved in collecting plastic bags.

“We’ve got a garbage can in the corner of the library right by the door. Even though it’s just the sixth-graders hands on making the mats, the whole school is participating,” Ames said. “Everybody’s bringing bags. It feels unifying. … I just think it’s a neat whole school project.