For the last several months, I have been working with 10 bright and motivated children at New Mexico International School. We have been learning about woodworking (wood, tools, safety, etc) as well as the importance of all kinds of creatures in our environment (bees, bats, ants, birds).  In our discussions,  it was obvious that they all wanted to help out the misunderstood bat. So, we all worked really hard to create bat houses out of scrap material. I think it was a great success and believe the students felt like they learned a lot as well.

As adults, we become wrapped up in the daily chaos of deadlines, meetings, bills, emails, budgets and on and on. This routine makes it very difficult to get off that gerbil wheel. This teaching experience has helped me step back for a few hours every week and put life in perspective. Sure it was loud, draining and chaotic at times, but those smiley faces give me reason to get up in the morning.