if I was a carpenter

I am making bird houses this week

     Years ago, Tilton School offered mini courses to fourth, fifth and sixth graders.  These were one week classes in the last hour of the day and were fun things.
     I think Kathy Johnson came up with the idea when she taught sixth grade.  It was a break from the rigors of winter.
   Through the years, the courses were moved around during the school year.  Now they are being taught  this week.
     I am making birdhouses.  Surprise.
     While teaching, I tried other courses.  One year we did photography, using cameras that used film.       One year I did theater, with Megan and Kim staging a rather creative reenactment of Three Little Pigs.  One year we made bat houses.....which did not go over well.  Who wants to attract flying mice?
     But eventually I settled on bird houses.
     Green bird houses.  Like Henry Ford dictated,, everyone has a choice and that choice is green.
     I cut all the pieces, so all the kids have to do is sand the wood and nail the house together.
     It takes three days.  Sometimes four.
     We spend a lot of time pulling out nails.
     I have them drill pilot holes, which helps, but kids don't usually have a chance to use tools around the house....especially hammers.  Go figure.
     So we have a lot of bent nails.  Which is fine, because I have a lot of nails this year.
     I also have extra drill bits.....sometimes they don't go straight down and the bit breaks.  Sometimes?  One kid broke three bits last year.
     Since I retired, I missed a couple of years.  Then I was asked to help student build model cars.
     That sounded like fun.  It took 20 minutes.  We have five days, an hour each day.  Models are not the same these days as when I was young.  Those took a lot of work and attention to detail, which explains why the 48 kits I had were in various states of completion when pops finally decided to toss them.  I was 30 by then.
     I have to go look for my pry bar.  That is always a big help when we work.
     That and ibuprofen for the pounding noises in my head.
     But when they are done, the kids get to take them home, hang them in a tree, and maybe provide a home for a few birds.
     Who knows, maybe some of them will be inspired to be carpenters, or ornithologists, or medics.
     Just sayin.