Yurt

Sam had his first big school project assigned to him last month. They have been studying dwellings in his class, and each child was to choose some sort of shelter, research it, and then build a model of it, along with a short presentation. In honor of Grandpa Craig and his amazing house in Northern Iowa, Sam chose to do a Mongolian yurt, or ger. After a few false starts, Sam got pretty into his project and it was fun to watch his excitement grow, as the house came together. Pretty much every adult in Sam's immediate family was a part of this project- a true family affair! Grannie and Grandpa took him to the park to find natural building materials and to the library for books, Jeff did online research together with Sam, and I provided lots of crafty advice and gentle (and sometimes not so gentle) encouragement to get to work! Sam's yurt was made out of wood that he scavenged and then whittled to the appropriate width and length and wool felted by Grannie. The hot glue was the only synthetic material that was used! Overall, the project was a success and a good lesson to all of us that you really can't get started on a big homework assignment too early!!

Oh- and for those of you who don't know, Craig does not live in a woolen Mongolian type yurt, but a beautiful one made from wood that he also built himself. If any of you find yourselves in Decorah, IA, I strongly advise you to go check it out!