Every summer, the Folk School opens its doors to young folks ages 7–17 for Little Middle Folk School, an opportunity for youth to discover Appalachian culture and participate in hands-on programs and arts and crafts. Participants are divided into two groups. “Littles” are rising second graders to rising sixth graders, and “Middles” are rising seventh graders to rising twelfth graders.

Corn Husk Creations ~ Instructor Mary Rutherford
Use your imagination to turn colorful corn shucks into a-MAIZE-ing characters. Anna, Elsa, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Blackbeard, Darth Vader, Snow White or even Baby Yoda are just a few of the possibilities! Have creative fun with this traditional craft. 

Dramatic Movement & Games ~ Instructor Bridget Esterhuitzen
Explore juggling, drama games, creative play, and improv!  Also, enjoy developing skills for collaboration, partnering, and building courage. 

Feltmaking for Kids ~ Instructor Beth Moss Aisenbrey
Use soap, water, and elbow-grease to turn fluffy wool into beautiful and functional art. Make a sit-upon cushion using both wet-felting and needle-felting techniques and use the “scrap” wool to make wool ball garlands, scrubbies, and more. 

Fillable, Foldable, Colorful Handmade Books ~ Instructor Annie Fain Barralon
Some books can be made from a single page, some might have origami star-shaped pages, some fold like an accordion and others are stitched together with a needle. Add embellishments using decorative papers, pressed leaves and flowers, your own drawings and even ribbons and beads. Make a different kind of book each day and go home with your own collection of bookart creations. 

Fun with Baskets ~ Instructor Pattie Bagley
Let’s make some baskets! Create 3 or 4 baskets with all different colors. Make some with wooden bases and some where you’ll weave the base together. It’s lots of fun for everyone. 

Gourd Fairy Houses ~ Instructor Linda Vanderlaan
Explore a fantasy world as you use a gourd to create a house for a fairy, hobbit, or gnome. Plan and decorate the inside and outside of your tiny home, and build tables, chairs and pathways. 

Hula Hoops & More ~ Instructor Sherry Hunter-Kaskie
Make and decorate a unique hula-hoop of your own. Have fun creating your own game of bingo and add your personal touch by embellishing the box to store it in. 

Make a Birdhouse to Attract Feathered Friends ~ Instructor Dave Kaspar
Assemble a birdhouse using hand tools and decorate using paint, sticks, grasses, and other materials for a natural finish. Your finished birdhouse will be complete with hanging hardware or post and instructions for locating and mounting when you return home. 

Marvelous Mosaics ~ Instructor Jeannette Brossart
Mosaics are an ancient art form in which small pieces are put together to make new patterns and pictures. Create multiple marvelous mosaics that will build your skills and allow for lots of creative inspiration. 

Native American Arts ~ Instructor Billy Whitefox
Listen to Native American stories and learn traditions and crafts of this region making a walking stick, pendant, and pouch. Explore nature on campus taking short hikes and go through a naming ceremony. 

Nature Explorers ~ Instructor Bonnie Lenneman
Build forts and make friends with plants in the woods around us! We will camouflage ourselves and learn to move like animals while learning about our neighbors in the forest. 

Needle-felt Animals, Gnomes, & Mushrooms ~ Instructor Dedra Davis – Learn basic felting techniques to design and create these fantastic sculptural pieces using colorful wool and felting needles. 

Polymer Pals Workshop ~ Instructor Cristin Clonts
Learn to shape, blend, and create with colorful polymer clay. Make adorable animals, miniature foods, and fun decorations while learning essential clay techniques. Each day will bring a new project that sparks imagination and builds creative confidence. Let’s squish, sculpt, and smile together. 

Printmaking & Paper Arts! ~ Instructor Paige Davis
Explore printmaking by making handmade stamps, mono prints, and more. Along with many wonderful prints, you will take home your very own book! 

Shoebox Crankies ~ Instructor Pearl Shirley
Experience an ancient storytelling technique as you construct and illustrate a functional “crankie;” a narrative scroll that illustrates a story or song. Use simple, readily available, and recyclable materials such as shoe boxes and paper rolls to create charming retellings of simple folk songs or stories. Audiences will be transfixed by the moving images that come to life using technology from long before the days of television! Create your own crankie from start to finish, and if time and setting allow, a performance will include a large-scale crankie created by the entire class. 

Textile Art Adventures ~ Instructor Shari Shifrin
Jazz up your boring old clothing with color, designs, and tricks that transform clothing from basic to fabulous.  Incorporate tie-dye, printing, and other elements to make you stand out in the crowd. 

Basket Weaving ~ Instructor Bev Larson
Have fun learning to weave a basket! Traditionally, the round shape of the melon basket got its name from the shape of a melon. Add your own creative twist to this traditional style, by choosing a bright color to weave your basket with. 

Calligraphy & Gel Print to Found Art ~ Instructor Ann Bailey
Utilize the elements of calligraphy with various writing tools–everything from crayons to pen and ink to markers and brush pens. Learn, play, explore, and experiment with words and letters as you make cards unique by adding gel prints, found art, and calligraphy! 

Carve a Brasstown Pattern ~ Instructor Richard Carter
Get an introduction to the carving patterns created by the Brasstown Carvers over generations. From figures depicting farm and country life to the iconic Nativity scene, these patterns are recognized as part of a long tradition of woodcarving in the Brasstown Valley and represent a significant contribution to Folk School craft history. Students will work at their own pace and may complete more than one pattern. 

Colors of Nature–Soapmaking with Herbs, Spices, & Clays ~ Instructor Allison Haigler
Make your own collection of interesting soaps. Using only natural ingredients, make colorful soaps with herbs, spices, and other safe additives.  Learn traditional cold process soapmaking combining oils and lye while having fun with a variety of molds, scents, and colors. 

Design, Fire, Admire ~ Instructor Lynn Ann Miller
Learn the basics of kiln fired enamels. Apply vibrant colors of powdered glass to copper. Create a treasured gift for yourself or to share. 

Explore the Mighty Uke! ~ Instructor Marvin Daniels
Let’s all sing and play together on the ukulele. Learn tuning, simple strumming patterns, and enough chords to play songs. 

Fire & Forging ~ Instructor Abel Allen
Learn the FUNdamentals of shaping hot metal through a variety of projects that are not only beautiful, but useful too. Building fires, using tools, and an understanding of the science behind smithing, will guide us in an exploration of the basic principles behind every great piece of art that’s crafted from steel. 

Fun & Funky Quilts ~ Instructor Nancy Hinds
Stitch together fabrics to make a quilt with a funky twist. Choose from the fabrics provided or bring your own in prints and colors you love. End the week with your very own quilt. 

Jewelry Treasures ~ Instructor Terry Hale
Create our own jewelry treasures! Learn to measure and cut wire, then form it into beautiful bead and stone jewelry using professional techniques. 

Morris Dancing–Jingle! Hop! Skip! ~ Instructor Nick Kelischeck
Wear bells, bang sticks, wear colorful costumes, and have fun learning Border Morris dance, an ancient dancing style from England. This is one of the famous dances performed yearly at the Folk School Fall Festival. 

Mythical Being Superhero Masks ~ Instructor Pam Beagle-Daresta
Using references from ancient world beings you will be inspired to create images and a   visual story/legend for your own super being. Working with lots of choices for mixed-media mark making, design and create a wearable mask or headdress of your own super being.   

Summertime Frozen Treats ~ Instructor Susannah Thompson
Ready, set, freeze! Beat the heat with some tasty summertime treats. Learn to make (and eat!) popsicles, sorbet, ice cream sandwiches, and other summer classics sure to help cool you down. 

Unbe-weave-able Art in Cloth! ~ Instructor Bailey Knight
When thinking about fine art, a painted fabric canvas may come to mind, but did you know that the fabric itself can be its own form of art? While creating woven fabric, you can tweak a wide variety of elements that create color, texture, and pattern. Learn the fundamentals of weaving, set up your own loom, and push the limits of cloth to create a final project of your choice, which could be a scarf, pillow, mug rug, or artwork for the wall. 

Woodturning–Wonderful Wood ~ Instructor Steve Cook
Turn a piece of wood into your very own special creation. Learn how to make a variety of fun projects that you can finish and decorate in your own style. Make some gifts for your friends or family, and some fun things for yourself. 

Wonderful World of Fiber ~ Instructor Emolyn Liden
Explore multiple aspects of fiber art through knitting, spinning, dyeing, and needle felting. Learn how to get started on projects such as a headband, scarf, or washcloth. Experience using a hand spindle, spinning wheel, hand cards, ball winder, and more. Get an introduction to reading knitting patterns and return home with a solid foundation for continuing your explorations with fiber.