Beating the Heat!

Yeah, we all know about the pool, the water gun, the slip and slide and the river, but when temperatures get up above 100 degrees it doesn't prudent to spend any time in it at all. That is why this afternoon, my living room was full of teenagers making hemp bracelets and playing musical instruments. Curtains drawn, well insulated house, and big shade trees made it the perfect place to hole up. My kids learned to weave hemp using the Klutz Hemp Bracelet Book.We broke it out today to teach the other kids. Though the hemp and beads that came with it have long been used, we now have a tin full of various beads, spools of colored hemp, sinew, and beading thread. I have loved Klutz since my son was five and picked up the "How to Draw Marvel Comic Figures" book. Lived with it, drew and drew and moved on to draw more. I think that is what impresses me most about Klutz. We have lots of arts and crafts stuff in the store, but Klutz does more than provide an afternoon project. It gives children new skills. Whether it is embroidery, clay, beading, bracelets, drawing, potholders, quilting, or one of their other titles. They make project books that are based in teaching skills and give you all the components that you need to get started. I was a little worried when Klutz was purchased by Scholastic that some of the ingenuity would go out of the line, but I have been pleased to see more great titles hit the floor every year. Summer takes over and you kind of forget all of those quiet things you used to do when the rain was coming down. I am here to tell you, 100+ degrees is the perfect time to break them out again.