A Substitute Teacher

Last week we had a substitute teacher. Mom had some vacation time that she had to take so she came to school and conducted shop class and horticulture. Grandma and Kenyon drew and cut out pieces for a bird house.

You know this was right up Kenyon's alley!! He would do just about anything to get to use some power tools. He did a great job on his first time with a circular saw! He even stayed on the lines and cut each piece pretty straight.

My drill would not work-the rechargeable battery pack will no longer recharge-so they hammered holes in a circle with a pick and then knocked it out for the bird's doorway. Kenyon then had to take a file to even it out and get rid of some of the splinters. The result was not a perfectly round hole but I am sure it will be more than sufficient for the birds.

They used some epoxy to glue all the sides together and help seal the cracks and then nailed it all together.

I was VERY impressed with the end result! I thought it was terrific-especially since this was Kenyon's first time working with the power tools.

I think Kenyon was pretty pleased with it as well.

Doesn't he look so proud of himself?!?

So while grandma and Kenyon were working on the bird house, grandma was also showing the girls some tips on gardening. They dug some holes around the porch and planted some flowers and pulled weeds and planted flowers in our flower bed.

They even found a little friend...

See the little frog? He was doing his best at trying to blend in with his surroundings

Keslee wanted to keep the little guy but I finally talked her into letting him stay in the flower bed and eat the bugs.



Kenyon thought he had found the first inhabitant for his new house....

They caught an injured bird in the back yard. I am not sure if the dogs injured him or if because he was injured, the dogs could get to him but the kids saved him from becoming a chew toy. Kenyon named him Bob and insisted on trying to nurse him back to health. I convinced him not to put him in the new bird house(there would be no way to get a hurt bird out.) Remember trying to get your money out of the piggy banks that did not have any opening besides the coin slot...that was the image that kept playing in my head only with my son shaking this big wooden bird house trying to get a bird out of a 2 inch hole! So we agreed he could stay in a box in Kenyon's room for the night. The kids gathered some grass and leaves and twigs from the yard and made Bob a little nest in the bottom of a box, made sure he had a worm and some bread crumbs, and settled him in for the night.

After seeing how much fun Kenyon had with grandma in shop class, Jacinta wanted to make a bird house as well. Hers is quite a bit smaller but she got most of it finished before we finally stopped school for supper time. She still needs to make her doorway and add a bottom. Then of course there is painting for both of them.

All in all it was a great day with a substitute teacher!! I am not sure who enjoyed it more....

the kids getting to do something different and spending the day with grandma?

grandma not having to go to work but spending a whole day with grand kids?

or mom-I pretty much had a day off and just got to observe!! : )

I would have to call it a 3 way tie!!

oh yeah! I am sorry to report that Bob did not make it through the night-boy am I glad Kenyon did not shove him in that bird house!!