Monday, December 31, 2007

Felting! Feeling!

It seems almost everything we do around here lately becomes a potential Visual Presentation for 4-H. They have to be done by February, and I think my Ella-girl may have finally decided on a topic: wool. The Wild World of Wool, actually.

But, yes, you may remember I thought it was going to be soap......

Anyway.....

Ella made this felted piece the other day. She is planning to turn it into a purse. My camera didn't quite capture the smaller sparkly threads that are running through it.
We are going to be trying out different ways to do this over the next few weeks because it was so freakin' fun! Ella got a little tired of rolling the big felt back and forth, but she really went to town on little beads and made a baby for her gnome from Edelweiss. I can't, unfortunately, link you directly to the store.

The store is owned by some Waldorf former homeschoolers. They don't own a computer, or a tv. Each year, they buy a live Christmas tree and put real candles on it. It all sounds sort of idyllic and cozy sometimes to me when the giggles of SpongeBob are getting to me.

However, the children, once they got a bit older, decided to attend Sturgis Charter School, and the mom has told me that she'll forever wonder why they decided to do that. She is sad that as they get bogged down in homework and everything else and she sees less and less of them, both in the physical sense and in the sense of seeing the real kid behind all the pressure and scheduling.

It is sad to me to think that the struggle for some *ideal way of being* led the family to leave home schooling. I hope that on our homeschooling/unschooling journey, I can stay mindful of what my children need and not get too focused on a methodology.

4 comments:

theorivas said...

I don't know what felting is, though I've read about it a couple of times just this week.

Yes, I think that focusing on my children's growing and changing needs is much more important than hs'ing methodology. I pray that my kids will forever be happy with hs'ing, and that my dh and I will be flexible and wise enough to address their needs.

Dee said...

Oh! Yay for felting!! Did she make the whole sheet of felt, too, or just needle felt the other pieces onto it? Either way it is wonderfully creative. You know me, love wool!! :)

Jessica said...

Oooh, Dee! We will have to talk wool for Ella's project.

She made the whole sheet from raw wool.

Strawberry Soda, you should try it! You will love it, I think.

Zac Bissonnette said...

I am a former Sturgis student and I must tell you:

The school is a massive fraud -- they have cooked their books and have lied to regulators and virtually everyone else in an attempt to generate good PR to massage the ego of Eric Hieser?

Who am I? I was voted most likely to succeed in the class of 2007.

Feel free to email me -- If you're interested in making a difference in the world, you could very well start by exposing this trash.