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A Classroom for the Kids

Started by metalspinner, December 06, 2010, 10:18:15 PM

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metalspinner

Our little elementary school is like many and short on space. The teachers and I came together to develope a plan for an outdoor classroom.  Last year we attended a state sponsered Outdoor Classroom Symposium to confirm that our plans were a good idea.  The symposium also offered leads on grants, teaching programs, etc.  Our classroom will be called "Nature Discovery Center."  The program supplies and teaching aids will be centered on all things nature.  From trees and plants to rocks, fossils and bugs. :)  The teachers are hard at work incorporating these ideas into their curriculum.

The first priority was locating a space for the classroom.  A neglected corner of the playground was a perfect spot because there is an existing deck exiting out of a classroom towards the rear of the building.

The second item on the list was a table large enough to allow a classful of kids and teachers to sit around.  The log from this thread presented itself. :) :)

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,46847.0.html



Here is the pile of lumber teenswinger cut from the log...








Here is one of the legs with half of the joint cut.  All the wood for this table is 4" thick white oak.  The stretcher between the two side legs has the second half of the half-lap joint cut into it.






Checking the fitness of the joint revealed that I had, in fact, set my marking guage to 10" rather than the required 8". smiley_headscratch  The resulting 2" gap left me with a creative opportunity into which I slid some corbels. :)














The finished leg assembly...







A stretcher with a tusked tenon runs between the two leg assemblies.  This was the first time I had cut such a large M&T.  My selection of router bits was just able to reach deep enough into the 4" lumber that hand work was not neccesary on the mortices.  But the tenons were roughed out with a circular saw then cleaned and paired with a chisel.


Now all I needed was a team to make these classroom ideas a reality.  This past Saturday was cold, rainy, and muddy.  Many of my parent volunteers elected to stay home by the fire, but the terrible weather had no effect on the guys and gals in these buses. 8) 8)

I could almost here "Charge" being played in the distance when the buses rounded the corner. 8) 8)






The men and women of the 134th Air National Guard based here in Knoxville called our school last month and offered themselves to us for a day.  And did we have a list of jobs for them!  From interior paint to exterior work in the gardens, we had all 70 of the men and women busy all afternoon.  Of course, I had about 20 at my disposal in the outdoor classroom project. :)


This picture was taken well into the day.  What I didn't get a pic of was all the grading, earth moving, and sight prep that was done.

Here the guys are posing with the table base about to be placed...









How do you move an 800 pound slab of white oak? Call in about a dozen super heros!

They didn't believe me on how heavy that thing was until after they grabbed it off the trailer. :D  I also reminded them that I loaded it all by my lonesome earlier that morning. ;) :D


You can see in the background that the deck is getting a facelift with some natural edge cedar.







The postholes for the bench seats are dug, but we ran out of time to get them set. That project is going to have to wait for another weekend.







How many seargents does it take to hang a fenceboard?








Here is the crew that helped in the outdoor classroom area.  Without their help, this project would probably have taken me a year of scrambling parent volunteers together over many weekends.

There is still lots of finish work to be done, but the heavy lifting is over thanks to the 134th. 8)






I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

Tom

That almost brings tears to my eyes.  I remember school being like that. Painting needed to be done?  Somebody showed up on Saturday.   Broken windows?  Some how they got fixed and nobody sent a bill.

Communities took care of little stuff like that themselves.  Bids and contracts with bills sent to the county were reserved for building new schools.

It's efforts like this that make a town worth "owning up to".

metalspinner

Tom,
The list of folks that have gotten us this far in our little  project is as long as my arm.

teenswinger cut me a deal on the sawing like you wouldn't believe.

I met a sawyer here in TN from Craiglist and he offered a very fair deal on the ERC and bumped me up on his list so the wood would be ready for this weekend.  I had only met him in an e-mail.

A parent owns a tool and die shop and donated the custom brackets that hold the table top in place.

A dad showed up with his little Kubota tractor to move dirt...

It just goes on and on...

Our little school is special in more ways than I could ever explain to you.  When our parents see something that needs to get done they do it. Period. :)
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

Tom

That would be worthy of mention.  I'm thinking, maybe, a plaque, or a framed poster containing names (recruit the art teacher and a calligraphy pen), to be put in the hallway of the school or, perhaps, affixed to the table.

Volunteers don't always like to be recognized, but their Great Grandchildren would appreciate it.

RavioliKid

That is fantastic! What a mavelous gift to the students and teachers! I am feeling really moved by your efforts and the massive collaboration that made it happen.

The world truly is a wonderful place.
RavioliKid

Warbird


fishpharmer

Metalspinner, as always, beautiful craftsmanship!  That sort of teamwork holds the seeds of what grew America to greatness!   With the barrage of bad news heard daily, projects such as this often go unnoticed.  Well done, thanks for sharing. 8)
Built my own band mill with the help of Forestry Forum. 
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The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work. --Tom A. Edison

Norm

What a great project!

MS you never cease to amaze me.  :)

SwampDonkey

Awesome metalspinner. You've done good organizing all that and make a good teamster. ;D The wood working is top drawer as usual. :) Whip them boys into shape. :D 

I'm sure someone is looking down from above with a big grin. ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

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Patty

I am speechless! (that in itself is amazing!)

Spinner, you make me proud to know you. Good job!
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

woodsteach

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