Retired St. Charles teacher knits teddy bears for Ukrainian refugee children

ST. CHARLES – Janet Hornbostel taught fourth and fifth grade at Richmond and Bell-Graham elementary schools in District 303 for 38 years.

But she might be remembered more by her students for what she taught them after school: Knitting.

Retired for six years, Hornbostel has Alzheimer’s disease. But she still remembers how to knit. And when she saw the images of Ukrainian children fleeing the Russian invasion, her heart broke. So she knitted 18 teddy bears to send to them.

“When I saw those poor little kids, l feel I can make their day a little brighter,” Hornbostel said.

Hornbostel’s bears are 10 inches high and stuffed with Poly-Fil royal silk fiber.

She said they are “soft as butter.”

She uses a brand of yarn called Encore available from Wool & Company, formerly of St. Charles, but now located at 1687 N. Lancaster Road in South Elgin.

Hornbostel said her mother also had Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and she used to take her knitting students to visit her mom on Saturdays.

“They would paint her nails and I would take them to lunch afterward,” Hornbostel said.

Hornbostel said her brother and sister also have Alzheimer’s disease.

“For me, it started after I retired – the forgetfulness,” Hornbostel said. “I don’t sweat over it. I don’t cry over it. … Some things come and some things go. It is what it is. I have a good care team here.”

Hornbostel relied on a friend, Jennifer Shanahan, who teaches first grade at Ferson Creek in St. Charles, to help send the bears to the Ukrainian refugee children.

Shanahan sent them to her friends, Matthew and Sara Titus, who are missionaries in Prague through Chapelstreet Church in Geneva. The couple are assisting Ukrainian refugees find apartments in Prague, Shanahan said.

“They have raised over $6,000 for families escaping Ukraine,” Shanahan said.

Shanahan and Hornbostel have been friends for about 30 years, Shanahan said.

“I have known her since high school. My husband went to high school with her son and I student-taught in her building,” Shanahan said.

When Shanahan first went to mail the teddy bears to Prague, the cost was $500. She then used a vacuum to reduce the size of the package and the cost went down to $41.

Hornbostel, who was Kane County Educator of the Year in 2002, continues to teach knitting after school on Mondays at Graham-Bell.

“As long as I can knit, it makes me happy,” Hornbostel said.

Free patterns to knit or crochet bears are available online, many through a craft site called Ravelry. A Wool & Company employee suggested a free bear with cardigan pattern that is available through Ravelry.