What I Did on Your Summer Vacation: Part I

In the summer I supplement my income by teaching a few summer camps, and the ones this year have been so awesome that I have to share. First up was Little House at Penland, co-taught with my friend and colleague Stacey Lane.

That's right - Little House at Penland. A week full of activities inspired by the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We made sunbonnets and aprons, canned strawberry jam, churned butter, baked cornbread and made ice cream. We tried to make cheese but ended up with a gallon of sour milk. We mended clothes and made simple toys. All of these were much enjoyed, but the highlights of the week were when we hauled out the washtubs.

Washtubs! Who would have thought? But bringing in some dirty clothes and doing laundry the old-fashioned way was a blast - though I don't think everything actually got clean.Another day we hauled out the washtubs for "bathtime." Twelve little girls and four washtubs meant lots of sharing. . .. . . though somehow Jo ended up in a tub by herself - at least for a little while.
We ended the week with a hootenanny - live banjo and fiddle music while the girls learned a few dance steps and then taught them to their parents who came to join in the fun.
What a terrific week! And Jo is now the proud owner of her very own washtub.