Fall break may have meant students didn’t have class or homework, but that didn’t stop them from learning something new.

Lynne Ferguson, Western Kentucky University’s artist in residence, said the time out of school is a chance to teach students “a different way to think” through art. Each year, WKU’s Kentucky Museum hosts a fall break camp for children 6 to 13 years old. This year’s camp focused on basket weaving.

On Thursday, Ferguson showed kids how to work with honeysuckle, reeds and other materials used in white oak basket weaving.

“I don’t think they do a lot of weaving in school,” she said. “Most of the kids will take the technique and work on their own.”

Graham Browder-Seguin, who attends Montessori School of Bowling Green, was among students studying the craft. Graham, 9, worked fine pieces of honeysuckle stalks while trying to make a spider.

“Some of the things are hard, but we still get them done in the end,” he said of the camp projects.

Maggie Casteel, a WKU sophomore from Glasgow, helped with the camp, describing it as a way for youngsters to learn with their hands instead of their minds like they do in school. It also teaches persistence, she said.

“When they persevere through something they can make something great,” she said.

Reagan Vaughan, a 7-year-old first-grader, agreed.

“You learn new stuff and you can keep doing it until you’re really good,” she said. “I like challenges.”

Daniella Emerson, a first-grader at W.R. McNeill Elementary School, liked “that you get to do your own style.”

Campers spent most of Thursday morning wrapping up their “random baskets,” which have a rim of white oak and reeds that create a spiraling body for the basket. They also toured the Kentucky Museum’s White Oak Basket Exhibit showcasing the tradition in Kentucky.

Carson Landgrebe, a fourth-grader at Briarwood Elementary School, also appreciated the camp’s flexibility. 

“It’s kind of unique and you can do your own thing so everybody does something different,” he said. 

— Follow education reporter Aaron Mudd on Twitter @BGDN_edbeat or visit bgdailynews.com.