Tuesday 11 March 2014

Woodwork With 3 Year Olds!


Woodwork and a class of 3 year year olds- I know what your thinking....crazy teacher!
This project, however, is the perfect woodwork project for young children.

Before I began, I explained that tools were only ever to be used with an adult at home or at school and went through some of the dangers of using hammers and nails.



The hammering part was done one on one and the rest of the nails and hammers were put safely out of the other childrens reach. The biggest problem was that everyone wanted to do it at the same time.
It is very had to wait your turn when you are going to make something very exciting.

I was lucky enough to get the wood for free and cut to size.


The children painted the wood however they liked. I explained that it was going to be a car so we talked about the parts of the car....the lights, doors, windows etc.




Once they were dry we began to attach the wheels.

Each child counted 4 wheels and 4 nails.



I hammered the nails through the lids and then we attached the wheels to the car body. The lids were fabulous because they held the nails securely in place and no fingers were hurt!!


The children had a great time driving them around.


We are working on a class village at the moment so stay tuned for next week when I show you their fantastic houses.

Give woodwork a try at home or in your classroom. The children love it!!
Niccola

6 comments:

  1. You are a brave soul but I can instantly see what a treasure this lesson was for your kids. To make something so lasting.. what a treat. x

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    1. PS - can't wait for the village! The perfect thing for a class to create. You are so inspiring, Niccola. x

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  2. Oh these are so gorgeous although I am actually more in awe of putting 3 year olds and hammers in the same room :) xx

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  3. Steiner schools do craft/woodwork, let kids use knives and hammers etc so well with no dramas/fears over injuries. Kids are more robust than we allow them to be I reckon.Our local Steiner school has a beautiful annual fair and its great to watch kids (and grown ups) of all ages and skill levels get to it in the woodwork area - basically an old lean to shed with a a massive pile of wood offcuts of all shapes and sizes, huge pile of hammers and nails of every size.A few fingers smashed with the hammer along the way but a quick lesson to change your tactics with the hammer and nail. My kids now 6 and 8 have had access to our shed at home with a few crates of wood and boxes of nails its the best way to keep them busy for a couple of hours creating something out of wood. We have had fairy houses, cars, planes, and just random piles of wood nailed together. Think the kids love the real - ness of it and a sense of purpose - they are really making something like grownups do and there is something repetitive and rhythmic and soothing about banging the nails in - good therapy for cranky kids (or grown ups) too

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