Zach had some real life educational experiences today. For the last couple of weeks he has been designing an elaborate Halloween maze. Rob hasn't had much time until the last couple of days to help him out but they talk about the plan
every time they're together. Today I let Zach "skip" school but realized later that he
received a great education from Rob. First came lots of
mathematical engineering as they drew up the final plan and figured out how many pipes they would need. Economics came into play since they are working within a budget using money Zach has been saving just for this. Next they headed over to Pacific
Recycling to search for the items on their list. They found what they were looking for and added it to the metal Rob had on hand and it was almost what they were hoping to pay.
Next came a great lesson in metal working and more math. The pipes all had to be cut to the exact lengths the plan called for so Rob showed Zach how to measure and cut the metal with his chop saw. After Rob made the first couple of cuts, Zach cut the rest on his own. It made me a little nervous to see Zach's foot this close to the sparks and the blade, but I've seen Rob do this a hundred times and he hasn't started a fire or cut off any
appendages yet.
Zach delivered the cut pieces to Rob who then welded together the corners of the structure.
They still have a lot of work to do, but they're having fun working together on this project. Who says you have to open a book to get a good education?? (OK, I do. . . but this works, too!!)
I'm guessing the grandparents won't like this video:
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