I often don't get to travel and grab majestic photos of the grad highlights of the world outside of work travel. Usually the reason is that I am helping nurture the greatest treasures we all have...our children. Whether it is my family, or my extended scout family, it is the focus of what we do all the time.

This photo shows three of my cub scouts doing one of our projects. They are completing a diorama. I showed them how to mark off an area where they would put the "fort" and now they had to place the catapult, trees, soldiers, earthworks and catapult projectiles. We'd then glue everything down and be ready to show it off at the pack meeting.

This is all part of an 18 month project to get them ready for Boy Scouts where they will set the agenda and execute it. In little steps they are learning to draw out plans on a board, identify materials required to make the project, identify who has the skill to do the job, and then think through spacial relationships to make it all come together.

It is an awesome adventure for both them and us parents. Thankfully I have good parents who are fully involved the program, and we've resolved we are not going to make this play time....we're making it focused character growth time. Things like launching playdoh bombs from a working model catapult..well that is just tactile reinforcement of a job well done!

-ehw