Introducing Wool Boy

I made this doll from parts of two recycled thrift store sweaters, one partly felted when I bought it. I like to buy them when they are 75% off, which makes them about 60 cents each. I wash them and then I turn my imagination loose.

Wool Boy was made in one sitting while I listened to a rerun of Part one of Ken Burn's The Civil War on PBS. (I was a hard working, very new first grade teacher when it was first shown in 1990 and didn't have the leisure to watch tv except on Fri and Sat nights, so it was new to me.)

I liked this film very much, and realized anew what sacrifices people during that time made to allow our country's government to survive. We take so much for granted, you know? We either don't know history, or we forget what we've learned. Kids taking history today are lucky they have access to such great programs. Seems like all we did in OUR history classes was memorize facts like dates of wars and treaties, etc. and never really had any understanding of how those wars, etc. affected the lives of average people. I like history from the bottom up, which is what this film tells. When you hear excerpts from the diaries/letters of ordinary people, you get a much more interesting view of history, and one that you tend to understand, relate to, and remember.