Our woodshop is growing! We are continuing to expand the physical workshop and the programs we are offering to students and the wider community.

During the Thanksgiving break, we installed four new vises. This means we now have eight workstations for student work. After returning from our break, the fourth graders added a door for the bunny house. The students thought about the mechanism for the door. They had to consider how the door would open and shut and how to lock the bunnies at night. We also started to work on clearing the area on the farm that will house the bunnies. In fifth grade, we finished our coat hangers for the outdoor classroom and started working on candleholders to bring home some light for the holidays. The students had to saw the wood and split it in half using an ax. Later, they used a planer to flatten the bottom and used gouges to work on the top.

I am excited to share that we have started our adult woodworking program. Interested community members can now join us once a week for an adults-only woodworking class. (If you missed the registration period for this current group, be on the lookout for upcoming information on our spring class.) We are currently working on building mallets. This involves bashing through the hard wood with axes and then shaping the wood. While woodworking, we explore the forces of the will and discuss some fundamental theoretical concepts of the educational philosophy behind Waldorf education.

Matan