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Rediscovering Low-Tech
By Christina Quick | May 5, 2008
I recently met a Springfield, Mo., couple who make wooden toys and American history-themed educational kits in their garage. In an age when everything seems to be mass-produced in overseas sweat shops, I was impressed.
The small business, Corp of Re-Discovery, allows the family the flexibility to homeschool their children. It also provides other families with one more alternative to the plastic, lead-tainted imports that line the shelves of major retailers. (Not all items the company sells are handmade or even domestically manufactured, but many are.)
I picked up moccasin kits for my children, as well as a wooden weaving loom and drop spindle for turning wool into yarn (all handcrafted sets). My son is having a great time piecing together his own Indian moccasins. Last night, he modeled one for us before hurrying back to his bedroom to work on the other.
A locally-crafted wooden ball and cup set has also become an object of fascination around our house. It’s the classic game in which you hold a handle with a little cup mounted on one end and attempt to flip a ball attached to a string into the cup. My son has played with this for hours, trying to see how many times he can get the ball in without a miss.
“This is so much fun,” he said last week. “It’s better than video games.”
I smiled, content in the knowledge that he’s rediscovering simpler pleasures from a simpler time. And I’m rediscovering the fact that an 11-year-old can be entertained by something that doesn’t beep, blink or require batteries.
Other low-tech amusements to rediscover with your children in the coming summer months:
• Marbles
• Jacks
• Sidewalk chalk
• Kites
• Clay
• Jump rope
• Hula hoop
• Papier-mache
• Sandbox
• Board games
• Soapbox car
• Lawn sprinkler
• Mud pies
• Yo-yo
• Stick forts
• Clover necklaces
• Water balloons
• Cloud watching
Topics: Family fun |
