DONE!  We not only met our goals of building a patio, a wooden platform for a tool shed, a rainwater harvesting shelter, a structure for the water tank, but we also built an additional patio, an end table, and three benches!
 
Journal writing
What did you realize during this week's project?  (And/or:)When did you use ideas from school, and how was it different
than using  them in school?
 
I have realized that I can do this…I can rely on myself to know what to do and how to use these tools… It feels great to have the confidence in myself to be able to pick up a measuring tape and do all the measurements myself.  In school during math when we would use problems having to do with building I was so uncertain with myself, but by actually using the tools and seeing the problems in front of me I know that I can do it and it is an amazing feeling.  I can build a patio!!!                                                                                Rachel Gordon 
I learned a lot this week, like how to properly use a power drill without going to the hospital.  This makes me see how much more I can accomplish just by putting in some effort.  If I can do something that I don’t even want to do, then I can accomplish anything I want.  I learned that it is easier to real math than math in school.  Myles Anderson                                        
 
Friday, July 20, 2007
Laying the gutters for rainwater harvesting.
I think that math is much easier to learn in real situations, mostly because it is more fun!  Everything that we did this week involved adding and subtracting, or angles and  measuring.  And nobody complained.         Noah Cramer
Leveling the earth under the water shed.
For five days straight now I’ve sacrificed a piece of my time to do something worthy.  I’ve moved from Lorimer to Herkimer, come back home with a few scratches, dirt stains, dry and scratchy hands, an unpleasant scent along every inch of my skin.  But..but..I had the urge of wanting to return everyday.  Sitting here right below the joyous sun and the many dancing clouds, looking at the others digging, shoveling, hammering, sawing happily for the Bedford-Stuy neighborhood seems beautiful and stunning.  It is “ahhhh-mazing”!
I’ve done many odd things the past few days.  Especially climbing up on a 6 – 7 foot tall roof without my adidas.  I didn’t want to go up, but I did anyways.  Isn’t that just weird?  I think that I did it because…I wanted to help.
I’ve learned that helping a neighbor who lives next door and helping victims of hurricane Katrina equally feels great if you know what I mean.  It brings you joy after seeing the accomplishments and the positive expressions of the person(s) you’ve done something for.                                                                                 Jennifer Lee 
One thing that I realized after this week of building the garden for Patricia was how something so hard can be accomplished so easily when the group of people bring all of their knowledge to the table and work together.  I realized that a lot of the steps we took in making most of the stuff we did took a lot of math and fractions that we learned inside of the classroom.                Julian Lane
I believe that while now I have finished high school it would have been 10 times easier and more tolerable to have completed it enrolled in this project, not to mention the incalculable return to the countless communities that need our help.  I hope this has a future, I really do.  I’d love to do it again sometime if you ever need some help.                                                                                          Wade Spiner 
Team leaders, Dan Morgenroth, Caroline Suh, and Jonas Shantz.
I realized about this week that construction involves a lot of math and measurement.  I always thought construction was the type of job that you can just jump on and that anyone can do it.  I realized that I was way off.  Construction has a lot of things that you must learn before you can actually do it.  Maybe one day I can see myself doing this.   Something that I learned was the way of fractions. Justin Turner  This week I realized that I love construction.  I love helping and contributing.  I make a difference, my handiwork, my craftiness.  I realized that Ms. Pat will hold a special place in my heart.  She has branded me just as my Nanny did. I did a good thing this week. Ari Napier I realized in the short time that I was able to help that being a part of a community is about pulling together, about working together, about building the actual sense of community. Michelle Napier ( Ari’s mom)  I realized that I really enjoy the company of people who genuinely care about other people and that love to work together.  It takes a certain attitude and spirit to spend free time doing things that one wouldn’t at first consider worthwhile.  It became less and less about the work and more about the camaraderie of the project and I really enjoyed seeing these people everyday.  I learned that one thing that you can’t learn in school is how to work together.  In school there is always a certain element of boundaries and limit to the things you can do but it doesn’t substitute for working with people in an environment where there is always help but the work and completion of projects depends on your own volition. Cosme del Rosario-Bell day 1 day 5 day 4 day 3 day 2 photos and student writing herkimer home projects the program about us donate