We kicked off the morning finishing up the pirate ship. We added a mast with a flag featuring a toothy-grinned skull and cross bones. We also stabilized the catwalk to the pigeon's nest and unfortunately got a few paper cups stuck in our tube phone that we never did figure out how to get out of there.
After our last busy morning in the workshop, we headed off for our final adventure in the woods. We took the long way to the power station and found a sock we had lost a few days earlier along the way. What luck!
After noodling around for awhile near the water we came across the exoskeleton of a crayfish. We then found, what we believed to be, the crayfish that had crawled out of it. Its body was still soft. It was slow-moving and easy to catch.
After finding the first crayfish, we started flipping rocks in the river and finding LOTS of crayfish..... of all sizes. Theo showed us the handy "pincher hold." We made a holding pond so we could observe the crayfish a little longer before putting them back in the river.
After our drizzly morning adventure, we returned to the warehouse to get ready for the playground party. Builders made fruit sorbet and popcorn to entertain their guests.
When the parents (and grandparents) arrived, builders offered tool-use tutorials to adults who were new to using drills and drivers, or who might simply enjoy a refresher from an enthusiastic young teacher. Each student/teacher pair made a simple stool. It was a wonderful opportunity to bring our whole community of builders and parents together for one final celebration of the week.
Our final playground consisted of a cardboard pirate ship on wheels, A treehouse/nature museum (elevated on straw) with a slide escape and modern tube telephone technology, a tire swing and pigeon's nest with double catwalks.......................... If only there was more time to play!
I will truly miss the opportunity to "gather 'round" with you all and make plans for our next adventure together, but I hope we can do it again soon!