1 hour ago, Danl said:

Jess,

I always enjoy seeing your creativity.   Keep Sharing.  Danl

Ditto. Your projects are always fascinating. Keep 'em coming.

PeteM I'm hoping there will be some adult supervised sessions with these I am building...I have seen things happen like you are describing but I blame the grow ups at home for that...What would a school be like if they take away the teachers. The kids would never learn anything....But the sad thing, not all folks who stand up there in front of the classes are teachers..

15 hours ago, Smallpatch said:

What would a school be like if they take away the teachers. The kids would never learn anything....But the sad thing, not all folks who stand up there in front of the classes are teachers..

Between training soldiers, young engineers, contractors, and 25 years of Scouts, I'm done a lot of teaching.  Old saying that I've found true:  when the student is ready, the teacher appears.  And the corollary:  "and not a moment before".  Kids learn by finding things that hold no interest for them, which eventually reveals what does interest them.  When a Scout took the Fingerprinting merit badge, I wasn't looking for a future FBI agent, I was (mildly) curious to see if he was allergic to ink!  :-)    I've made maybe 30 items for the g-kids (ranging from beds to rolling duckies).  I think I'm batting about 250 (with a tail wind?).  That's ok.  You cannot tell in advance what will be A WINNER!  Four years later, they're still using the Learning Towers, and that is all the encouragement I need ("Tree is happy").  The puzzle maps are great, you had a good time, and maybe--maybe--a kid learns from it.  But if someone else's approval/enjoyment of one of my projects was the only reward, I'd quit the hobby.  I work for me, and anyone else is welcome to come for the ride.  Of course, as a hobbyist I can afford to be Above It All.