I'm glad the project ended well in Ivence. Were the kids able to try weaving or pottery themselves, as Sarah asks, or were they just watching? In my son's workshop they learned more by doing than by watching.
In Iventsa, it seems, the craftsmen are good. My granddaughter also kneaded a little clay with her hands in the summer camp, then spent a whole week doing laundry, but she remembered it very well. I wonder if the children were allowed to sit at the loom themselves, even for an hour.
Yeah, hands-on always sticks better. My son got to try throwing a bit of clay at a parish workshop last year and still talks about how messy and fun it was, even though the apron didn't save his shoes. Did they let the kids have a proper go on the loom in Ivence, or was it mostly demo?
There are probably good craftsmen in Iventsa, if the children remember it that way. My older daughter also used to sculpt with clay in church classes, then we both scrubbed our hands with soap and soda. I wonder if they sat at the machine for even half an hour, or just watched.
Yeah, the kids did get their hands dirty—there was a hands-on pottery session where they each tried shaping a simple bowl on the wheel. A few even took home their lopsided masterpieces. Did you ever do anything like that as a kid?
Yes, hands-on is the only way it really sinks in. In Ivence they did let the older kids have a proper turn at the loom after the demo – a few of them wove a couple of rows of a simple pattern and looked so proud. Your boy’s clay story made me smile; mine came home from a similar workshop with clay in his hair for days. Did he ever try it again after the shoes incident?
Yes, the craftsmen there are really patient and attentive. My youngest daughter was also in such a camp last year, then her hands were blue after the potter's circle, but she still remembers how she sculpted the bowl herself. And it seems that the children were put behind the machine, albeit under supervision, because without it you will not feel it at all.
