Making Dolls

Over the last month or so we've been knee-deep in doll-making. While we were at The Gateway Arch bookstore over Spring Break, Sunburst and I honed in on a little booklet entitled Easy-to-Make Early American Folk Dolls. Sunburst has been wanting to sew stuff for a while now, and she was still looking for a project for our local homeschool History Fair, so it seemed like a perfect opportunity. And it was something that Moonshine could help with, too.

Tonight we fastened the dolls onto the presentation board with wire and schlepped it over to the library. I vastly underestimated what a load of work it was going to be. We made EIGHTEEN different dolls, including two that weren't in the book! The girls both did a fair share of that work, but of course I had to help a lot. And I don't mind that. We all had a load of fun! For Moonshine it was all about loving the dolls. Each new one was her "favorite," and she gave most of them names. Sunburst enjoyed the hand and machine sewing, but it was also a bit of a history lesson. She knows about early America-- the colonists, the revolution, and folks moving West-- all from reading American Girl and Little House books. So we took her prior knowledge and added some dolls and a timeline to it. It was great. Or at least, I thought it was great. The girls were really into it, and Sunburst really understood the ins and outs of each doll and why it fit the time period.

But then we got to the library and she gave her presentation. She stood with her back to the small group of parents and kids and numbly whispered. My extroverted, energetic, non-stop talking, forever fidgeting, bright-eyed, confident, sharp-as-a-tack daughter is suddenly a lot like her dear, old mom. Shy and totally freaked out to be in the spotlight. Now, I've long since grown out of that. I'm no longer a barnacle on my mom's leg... but Sunburst? How did this happen? And what can we do?

Luckily, Moonshine got up and chitter-chatted in her usual way. You almost have to gag her to get her to be quiet these days. She willingly told the names of all the dolls and the history of those names and so on and so forth. On the way home I overheard her offering to give Sunburst's next presentation for her, too. Free of charge.

Here are some close-ups of a few of the dolls (including the one made with homespun yarn.)