Monthly Archives: April 2016

After School at Open Shop!

Recently at a Wednesday Open Shop, a boy came up to me and introduced himself as Philip, a fifth grader from up the street. He said his gym teacher told him about CommonWheels and that he could learn about bikes and he was just wondering if he could fix bikes with us? 

Then Philip's mother gave him a stern lecture not to leave the building, and he hung out with us for three hours. I gave Philip a bike to work on and he cleaned the frame, changed the seat, lubricated the chain, and we were going to fix the brakes until I broke them clean off the fork. Womp.    After that, a gentleman came in to Open Shop with a flat tire and Philip fixed that too! I was really impressed with Philip, not only because he could do what you showed him to do on a bike, but also with how quickly he caught to the concepts at hand. He had a knack for figuring out what he needed to do and how to do it... not to say that a fifth grader isn't perfectly capable of it, but he was quicker to catch on than most adults who come our way.    Since that day, word has gotten around and we've found ourselves with 3-4 youth every Wednesday. They create a whole lot of positive chaos in the space, and we're having a blast teaching them mechanics. Allston, send us your children, we will put them to work.   

 

After School at Open Shop!

Recently at a Wednesday Open Shop, a boy came up to me and introduced himself as Philip, a fifth grader from up the street. He said his gym teacher told him about CommonWheels and that he could learn about bikes and he was just wondering if he could fix bikes with us? 

Then Philip's mother gave him a stern lecture not to leave the building, and he hung out with us for three hours. I gave Philip a bike to work on and he cleaned the frame, changed the seat, lubricated the chain, and we were going to fix the brakes until I broke them clean off the fork. Womp.    After that, a gentleman came in to Open Shop with a flat tire and Philip fixed that too! I was really impressed with Philip, not only because he could do what you showed him to do on a bike, but also with how quickly he caught to the concepts at hand. He had a knack for figuring out what he needed to do and how to do it... not to say that a fifth grader isn't perfectly capable of it, but he was quicker to catch on than most adults who come our way.    Since that day, word has gotten around and we've found ourselves with 3-4 youth every Wednesday. They create a whole lot of positive chaos in the space, and we're having a blast teaching them mechanics. Allston, send us your children, we will put them to work.   

 

After School at Open Shop!

Recently at a Wednesday Open Shop, a boy came up to me and introduced himself as Philip, a fifth grader from up the street. He said his gym teacher told him about CommonWheels and that he could learn about bikes and he was just wondering if he could fix bikes with us? 

Then Philip's mother gave him a stern lecture not to leave the building, and he hung out with us for three hours. I gave Philip a bike to work on and he cleaned the frame, changed the seat, lubricated the chain, and we were going to fix the brakes until I broke them clean off the fork. Womp.
  
After that, a gentleman came in to Open Shop with a flat tire and Philip fixed that too! I was really impressed with Philip, not only because he could do what you showed him to do on a bike, but also with how quickly he caught to the concepts at hand. He had a knack for figuring out what he needed to do and how to do it... not to say that a fifth grader isn't perfectly capable of it, but he was quicker to catch on than most adults who come our way.
  
Since that day, word has gotten around and we've found ourselves with 3-4 youth every Wednesday. They create a whole lot of positive chaos in the space, and we're having a blast teaching them mechanics. Allston, send us your children, we will put them to work.
  

 

After School at Open Shop!

Recently at a Wednesday Open Shop, a boy came up to me and introduced himself as Philip, a fifth grader from up the street. He said his gym teacher told him about CommonWheels and that he could learn about bikes and he was just wondering if he could fix bikes with us? 

Then Philip's mother gave him a stern lecture not to leave the building, and he hung out with us for three hours. I gave Philip a bike to work on and he cleaned the frame, changed the seat, lubricated the chain, and we were going to fix the brakes until I broke them clean off the fork. Womp.
  
After that, a gentleman came in to Open Shop with a flat tire and Philip fixed that too! I was really impressed with Philip, not only because he could do what you showed him to do on a bike, but also with how quickly he caught to the concepts at hand. He had a knack for figuring out what he needed to do and how to do it... not to say that a fifth grader isn't perfectly capable of it, but he was quicker to catch on than most adults who come our way.
  
Since that day, word has gotten around and we've found ourselves with 3-4 youth every Wednesday. They create a whole lot of positive chaos in the space, and we're having a blast teaching them mechanics. Allston, send us your children, we will put them to work.