Poop Week! - Session 7 - WEDNESDAYS ARE HARD!

Wednesdays are often hard and tiring for a lot of reasons. 

By this third day, the newness of the experience is starting to wear thin. As the Tinkerers get more and more comfortable with the space and with each other and with the tools, they start to figure out that working hard is really hard work. By Wednesday, we often have to have teamwork interventions and renew our group agreements and re-inspire these young builders to continue on a seemingly insurmountable task. 

Today, we started opening circle by chatting about teamwork.

"I only want to make holes today," I told everyone. I took out a drill and loaded it with a bit and snapped in the battery, and tried to drill a hole into two adjacent 2x3s. Without fail, the pieces separated and slid across the floor. 

"Someone needs to hold the wood!" Jack yelled, and jumped in to help.

Edina suggested we clamp the wood also, and then Benno started helping to clamp an assembly square in place. After everyone chipped in and then held down my project, I was able to drill a hole. 

"But who's going to put in a screw?" someone asked. 

Exactly.

How many people does it take to attach two pieces of wood together? Four. Two people to help with clamps, and then hold the wood. One to make a hole. One to drive a screw.

Today, figure out what job you are doing, and figure out who your team is. If are you in need of someone to do something, then ask. If you find yourself with nothing to do, offer some help! Also, as another Tinkerer added during opening circle, switch jobs if you need to! 

The pep talk worked pretty well. After a really silly series of design sessions and plan making opportunities, we were able to make a lot of meaningful progress on both of our projects. The Tinkerers were asking for help and offering it, and were also switching up their routine by trying out different jobs and helping in different ways. 

I can't wait to see what we accomplish tomorrow during our last full day of building!