Upper Elementary students visited Howell Living Farm to learn about sheep sheering. The Farm’s sheep shearing program introduces students to the hand production of natural fiber for textiles. First they watched as the farmer hand sheared one of Howell Farm’s sheep. They were each given a piece of raw wool to feel the texture and the natural oils. The students helped prepare the wool for spinning using a hand-cranked carding machine and watched as the wool was turned into yard using a spinning wheel. The students tried their hand at finger spinning. Lastly, they learned how yarns and threads are woven into cloth and took turns “shooting the shuttle” and “beating” the yarn into place on a circa 1900 floor loom.
More information on The Howell Living History Farm can be found here.
