preserving traditions & summers-knoll summer camp

my first butter

Summer Camp at Summers-Knoll always has wonderful imaginative fun projects and play for the children. This year has been especially delightful for me, since my grandchildren have been at the camp for several of the camp weeks and I've been able to see them at play and with the other children on a daily basis. I always am impressed by the director, Shan Cook, and her wonderful team of teaching counselors, and by the activities offered. This year, in addition to the very popular Star Wars Camp and various Escape activities -- by bus to locations surrounding Ann Arbor, which have included especially during this hot hot July, wonderful swimming parks -- many of the camps include activities that have produced creative products. I was delighted one day when I came up from my basement office and found my grandson shaking a small container of whole milk. One of their activities that day was to make butter (to put on pop-corn, of course). Nigel may not have known it, but I, too, had just recently learned this very traditional method of making butter at a local group, Preserving Traditions, and now every week I purchase delicious local whole milk from which I top off the cream into a small container, and shake it for the same 15 or 20 minutes as Nigel was doing. It turns into delicious bright yellow butter, enough for a few days of toast

I enjoy very much when aspects of my working life can interweave with my family and personal life as well. Summers-Knoll is certainly a place that best allows that to happen.