Hands on work allows the brain to recover from constant digital input. It improves focus, strengthens patience, and makes it easier to stay with a task. It also creates a natural social setting. Middle schoolers often open up more when they are engaging in parallel work or play than when they are expected to sit face to face and talk directly.
Read More2026: The Year We Go Analog
That spirit is what I will cultivate at Solebury House of Movement and Art. In 2026 we are turning toward the tactile. We are crocheting granny squares from soft yarn. We are building wands for the new year from wood, feathers, gems, and wire in a workshop that blends creativity with reflection. We will be sewing our own tablecloths out of thrifted fabrics and block printing them to decorate our homes. No automation. No optimization. Just the tantalizing hum of the energy that goes into making something out of real materials. We are choosing the slower, more human way, the way back to meaning.
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