Home and back to work

We got back from Colorado yesterday afternoon, so today I will begin getting ready for my box making class with the Eureka Springs School of the Arts. I will have 6 or 7 adult box makers with varying levels of skill and experience for 5 days of box making fun. I'll begin sharing photos tomorrow. In the meantime, I have been involved in several discussions over the last few days concerning the question, "What is happening to our boys?" That this is a widely shared concern for others is reflected in the number of books coming out on the subject. Boys Adrift: the Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men, by Leonard Sax is an excellent example.

I personally feel, as you already know, that involvement with the hands in doing real things is an important part of the process of maturing as sound, reasonable and responsible full fledged adults.

Woodworking is one of the great ways to get kids involved in learning through their hands. There are others, too. Gardening, doing chores, cooking, caring for animals, hiking in the woods, and the list goes on. There are a couple things we know don't work: Computer games and television. It is better to play music than to listen to it, and unless I am completely mistaken, there isn't a soul in heaven who got there by texting.

I have a last parting photo from Colorado, taken on the evening before we left. It reminds me that I need to take greater effort to be outdoors in Arkansas letting myself be more consistently reminded of the beauty that surrounds us.