With the altered plan to be very hands on and low key on the history part with today’s 2nd graders, things went much smoother. I had inexpensive homemade spindles, tape bands, Lucet cordage, a small woven towel, and a small knit along with the flax and hemp fiber samples for them to pass around and handle. As they entered, I was spindle spinning and didn’t draw attention to it until I explained that by their age, they would have been contributing to the family thread and yarn production using a spindle, or making tapes on the box loom, or cordage on the Lucet. They tried to spin with the homemade spindles and were amazed that though it looked simple as I did it, they could not. I did demonstrate the Great Wheel, letting them touch the quill after a reminder of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. They were surprised that it wasn’t sharp enough to prick their finger. We had 40ish children, divided into 5 groups as today, we were fortunate to have volunteers to cover Colonial militia, and Slavery. With the museum video, the games and corn shelling, with me and very, very nice weather, it went as it was planned. It was fortunate that we had extra rotations and good weather, well behaved children, as I was operating on very little sleep.
Our last pup, the 12+ year old German Shepherd faltered last night, and passed away shortly after I went to bed, but before hubby came to bed. We discussed what we were going to do and as it was well after midnight, decided that she would just spend the night on her bed and we would load her into the car and be at the vet’s office as they opened at 7:30 this morning, to take her for cremation.
That put us in town much too early for me to make the 40 minute drive to the museum for the 10 o’clock school group, so I settled in my new favorite local bakery for a pastry and cup of coffee while hubby took the other car back home. Tonight, I will sleep well.
The Colonial outfit has been put away until needed for an event at the museum. The tools and wools I use there, reorganized in the basket with the tapes and cordage and it too has been put away until needed again. The top whorl spindle only gets used for demonstrations, at home I use my Jenkins Turkish spindles and my non historic Louet spinning wheel. June 1 there will be a living history day at the museum and I will likely spend at least part of the day spinning for visitors.
I do love the school groups, especially when they are engaged in the process. It is a great volunteer activity for me to use skills I have learned and to draw on my many years as an educator.
So sorry that your dog has passed, but grateful that she did it on her own terms.
She was a good girl, spooky around strangers but her reaction was to flee into the utility room and hide until she decided it was safe to come meet them. I too am glad she got to go on her own terms without any longterm debilitating illness to drag her down.