Today in the Clear Spring wood shop, the 1st and 2nd grade students made abacuses for the study of math. This was the completion of a project begun before spring break, so today, after some sawing, sanding and assembly they were ready to take home. The 3rd and 4th grade students continued with their study of paper Sloyd. Wyatt made a picture frame, the third model from Edna Anne Rich's 1905 book, Paper Sloyd.

There is an obvious math connection in the making and use of an abacus. The benfits of folding paper may be quite so obvious. But it requires careful measuring and the adding and subtracting of fractions. In addition, the development of 3-dimensional objects from 2-dimensional paper offers development of spatial visualization skills, essential to geometry, and trig. It offers skills that will be useful in engineering and the types of scientific modeling that may enable our students to better understand the universe.

I learned today that Stockton, CA woodworking bus teacher Jim Marsh retired and his wonderful bus was sold as surplus. Jim is busy playing in two bands and writing articles for woodworking magazines among other "retirement" activities. I am grateful to have the photos of his children at work, but sad to see the bus retired. It takes a great deal of time, love and attention to build a program like Jim's, and it means that at some point in time, when people again understand the value of such programs, someone will have to come along and built it from scratch... a daunting task.