A little birdhouse in your soul

Last week Jim said, "I will be gone next Monday for work so you need to do scouts.  Oh, and you and Cameron will be building a birdhouse."  Ok I thought, why not?

The project was part of a lesson about completing a project from start to finish - understanding the materials needed, the different kinds of tools to use, going to the store to select and purchase the materials, observing and learning throughout the experience, measuring and cutting the pieces and then, finally, putting it together.  Thankfully the entire pre work was completed by Jim and Cameron with a little help from John our contractor who happens to have a very handy saw at our house.  Perhaps not completely within the scope of our bathroom project, but thankfully he is a kind dad who was willing to help out a scout.

So off we went with our pieces of wood, our hammer and nails in a cardboard box.  (queue peter, paul and mary) ...

Cameron worked very hard to line up the pieces and hammer in each nail.  We quickly realized that the wood we were using was high quality and tough as anything to nail into.  Some seriously hard, thick wood.  But, he stuck with it.  A few bent nails, a few split areas in the house, and a whole lot of patience.  Some of the other dads who brought drills and other tools helped us out a bit along the way which allowed us to complete the basic house at the end of the hour.  I was glad to watch Cameron focus on hitting each nail and see that he was proud of his 'close to completed' project.

We walked in with a bunch of wood pieces and we walked out with a sturdy birdhouse that will make a lovely home for some feathered friends come springtime.

Thanks Cameron, I enjoyed our time.