turned Christmas trees.

Yesterday with the Rainbow group at the Clear Spring School we made turned Christmas tree displays for holiday giving. I turned the trees on the lathe, and the students sanded and assembled the stands and decorated the trees. To make the trees I used dowels 1-1/2 in. diameter, drilled holes at each end for dowels to fit and then turned them two at a time on the lathe. A parting tool was used to cut the shaped trees apart in the middle.

Woodworking in school is a  collaborative exercise and fun for all. It's socialistic in that it fits the formula, "from each according to ability, to each according to need."  My own need is to be creatively stimulated and working out a means through which the trees could be safely turned on the lathe was my reward, in addition to seeing the kids so excited in their work.

We all need the opportunity to be creatively engaged making gifts to share with others. The Christmas tree will likely be kept by our student's families for years to come.

In addition to decorating their trees, the students decided to draw presents under each as you can see.

Make, fix and create...