Not only does Month of Modern present the Boulder region as one of the nation’s most vibrant hubs of modern design, but it also partners with non-profit organizations to help raise funds for a particular cause. This year, we are pleased to announce our partnership with Slöyd Experience, an organization dedicated to strengthening children’s character through woodworking, where their sole aim is to foster self-reliance, nurture concentration, coach perseverance, encourage neatness, and instill an appreciation for labor – all of which will prepare them for their future.
Month of Modern, held in September in Boulder, will feature opportunities to raise funds for this deserving organization at all events throughout the month.
Slöyd Experience aims to provide an authentic, educational experience to youth. By using the very natural and human activity of “working with your hands” it is possible to develop educational completeness of the mind and body of children, and to overcome current gaps in our educational system. Through the use of traditional woodworking, we cultivate resilience and grit in each student, which sets the stage for a lifetime of learning.
SELF-RELIANCE
In order to develop self-reliance and confidence, children must experience a certain degree of freedom and risk. We must afford our children the ‘dignity of risk’; if we continually strip away their risk, we continually strip away their dignity.
CONCENTRATION
It is a remarkable and noteworthy fact, derived from experience, that children usually inattentive have not only become attentive in Sloyd work, but they have been able to transfer this power of attending to other subjects as well.
NEATNESS
There is not the slightest doubt that the habits of order, exactness, cleanliness, and neatness have an undisputed value in common life, and hence we should aim at their cultivation.
LOVE FOR LABOR
The prejudice against manual work is being surmounted; children love it in spite of the ban of society, which sentiment has first to be overcome. We must stimulate and not stifle children’s activity, and set it pleasantly coursing along the channel which will lead to habits of work.
