Frenson Needs a Bigger Home!
The Design Process
Our tortoise, Frenson has been spending most of his life in his little box in our yard. He’s still just a little guy who doesn’t need too much space just yet, but we do know he’ll be growing bigger, and his little box isn’t quite weatherproof. We discussed that he may need a new home soon, and decided on building him one. What will it need? We knew that it needed walls, of course. And a ceiling to keep him safe from predators. We also know how much Frenson likes to dig (he likes to take naps underground, which we observe often), so we discussed the need for a floor in his new home so he doesn’t dig his way out! Once we had an idea of the shape and features of our build, we set out to measure and design a plan.
We donned our construction gear, gathered our tools, and got to work. First, we gathered to decide where the cage should go and what shape it should be. Once we had that part figured out (we settled on rectangle), we got to measuring. The children got some great practice using real, “adult” tools - a simple task that can be quite empowering for young children. Using a measuring tape is quite tricky and involves some serious teamwork! We worked together to stretch the measuring tape across each direction of our rectangular area, and read the numbers.
Next, we used more real tools (big clipboards, pencils, and rulers) to create our design sketch. We drew a rectangular schematic together, and then Lukas and Berkeley were able to label the length and width in inches, according to the numbers we read on our measuring tape. We also decided that we wanted Frenson’s new home to be made from wood, just like his old home, but that we wanted to be able to see inside the walls. We took a trip over to the chicken coop (which features a few different types of chicken wire), and decided on the perfect wire material to make the walls with. We added “small-square-chicken-wire” and “wood” to our supply list.
The Build
Huge thanks to Sean here. He’s decided to tune up his handyman abilities in preparation for becoming a dad, and chose to share some of his skills with us for this monstrous project. We gave him our design and he set off for the hardware store to get everything we need. After teachers did some cutting, staining, sealing, and other prep, we had some pieces that the children were able to assemble. Again, we threw on our safety gear and got to work.
The build took a few days, but it was well worth all of the work. We again got to feel the empowerment of using real tools to do real work, as the children were able to practice using a drill! It was a little loud, so we developed a bit of a code language so that everyone could feel prepared for the loud (and louder) noises of a drill each time we used it. We went with, “start,” “stop,” and “earmuffs” to announce when each stage of drilling would take place.
The children were so interested to learn so much about construction, including some fun new terminology like “pilot holes,” “hinges,” “staple gun,” and more. Most importantly, we learned some safety rules about construction zones, like how to give space, communicate, wait for your turn, and the most intriguing rule: never wear gloves when you use a tool with spinning parts.
We were so impressed with their patience and focus. These kids worked so hard. Near the end of the project, some of our little ones were even able to use the drill almost entirely independently, with just some stabilization from a teacher at the bottom of the drill so it doesn’t get away from anyone. Wow!
The Finishing Touches
During building breaks, we kept our focus on our friend Frenson and thought about what he might need in his new home. We spent some time painting a few rocks to put inside. Frenson’s new home is now complete (although we do plan to add a few teacher touches to finalize it), and he’s loving life inside!
