We made felted soap balls with our Friday homeschool group. I'd seen some at a fair, knew that my little ones would love making them (so much sensory stimulation! plus, playing in water!), and suspected the other families would as well.
It takes patience and effort to hand felt the wool, but once I explained to Lucy that she was trying to tangle up the roving just like she gets tangles in her hair, she was off. So determined she was to do this project herself that she didn't let me help at all, even when she needed a bit of extra muscle to keep her wool from sliding off the soap. In the end, her dish of warm water sported three inches of soap foam. (That is, until Thomas poured it on the ground.)
Peter was more willing to take some help but also more able to felt his wool, so he had quite a nice bar when he was finished and the children were released to the playground for snacks and swinging.
That night, and each subsequent night, the children used their soap bars vigorously in the bath. It's a good thing, since a summer of sockless shoe wearing has really done a number on their feet, smell wise. (For exactly this reason I brought peppermint soap.)
Also, on our drive, we started listening to Little House in the Big Woods, which deals with guns. Lots and lots of guns. Also: hunting, trapping, killing, and skinning of animals. Not sure why I didn't do my due diligence and prelisten to this, but it led to some interesting conversations in the car. I wasn't entirely sure how closely Peter was listening until he repeated some parts of the story back to Kevin, including the part about Pa killing a bear that was holding a pig - "and I brought home the bacon," said Pa.
I can see myself really falling into some good Little House action as the kids get older. Not only do we love Conner Prairie, but goodness knows I am a sucker for the television show. Also, it would open the door to more buttermaking...
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