Dan (the Tool Man) Antion Visits the Aqua Room

Jennie

Apr 26

Fellow blogger Dan Antion at No Facilities visited my classroom. YES! Meeting a favorite blogger is a big deal. We connected like we've been friends for years.

Well, yes we have. Lucky me.

Dan is the guy with tools who loves to work on projects, from his shed to furniture. Woodworking is a skill children need to learn. I asked Dan to come to my class and introduce hand tools. Toys don't handle the program. They need real tools. Real.

When Dan arrived, he walked into the classroom and saw Gloria.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Children were eager to greet and meet Dan. He was welcomed with high fives and big smiles. We sat together on the big rug and Dan brought over his bags of tools. Wow! They were big and heavy, children were fascinated. He started with measuring, from tape measures to a very cool and very long wood folding rule.

Dan is the math guy, and he spent time showing children the numbers on the measuring tools. They recognized double-digit numbers and counted. Ah, math needs to be accurate, so we saw tools that measured curves, corners, and triangular spaces. Dan showed children clamps. Who knew there were so many kinds of clamps? Then, we brought in a woodworking table, and let children use the tools.

Hammering, nailing, screwing, clamping, measuring...Dan was there every step of the way to help children.

One child was excited and wanted to say 'Dan the Tool Man'. She forgot and said, 'Bob the Builder'. Everyone thought that was so funny. Dan the Tool Man thought so, too. We laughed and joked through lunch. Then, Dan got to pick the lunchtime Jennie Story. It was "The Peanut Man." What a great story.

It was time for Dan to go. "Aqua Roomers, say goodbye to Dan." I think Dan was surprised when many children rushed to give him a big hug. Children were hanging off his legs. It was wonderful.

When Dan left school, he stopped by the post office to see the Aqua Room Art Show. He signed the guest book. Priceless!

Thank you, Dan. You have done a world of good for children. From hands-on woodworking to tools to measuring, you have given children a lifetime learning experience. Best of all, they had a blast, and they loved you. You made a difference.