turning pens...

Yesterday I began wood shop classes for the 2017-18 school year at Clear Spring School. My high school students did framing square math in the morning using Joe Youcha's book as our guide and then proceeded to turn pens on the lathe.

One of my high school students had been in my wood shop as a first grade student and I asked if he remembered carving his first writing pen. He said he still has it. He is one of my students who writes regularly in cursive. Most of the others do not.

You can read about the day my student carved his first pen here: http://wisdomofhands.blogspot.com/2007/10/this-morning-in-clear-spring-school.html

My 4th, 5th and 6th grade students also began whittling pens,  (with some being reassigned as Harry Potter wands) and I plan this as an activity throughout the Clear Spring School. I asked my students if there might be some reason to learn to write in cursive. One said, "it's beautiful." Another said, "So we can read what others have written." Smart kids.

Today I'll clean shop in preparation for an editor from Fine Woodworking to arrive for a photo shoot on Monday.

Make, fix, create, and increase the likelihood that others love learning likewise.