Wood is a very special material. Hard and warm to the touch, sweetish-tart smell – this is the living natural material. No wonder wooden toys are so popular. But lend a hand yourself – isn’t woodworking with children dangerous? Pointed or sharp-edged tools are often used to bring wood into shape – with a correspondingly high risk of injury to children.
If you want to do woodwork with children, you should therefore carefully introduce the children to the use of the different tools. It all starts with a file, glue, and screwdriver. Even kindergarten children at the age of three can use these tools according to instructions. You may get some ideas on what to carve from celeb gossip site.
Material for woodwork with children
If you think of woodwork, moldings and square timbers appear before the inner eye. But to work with wood, you don’t necessarily have to go to the hardware store and buy massive pieces of wood. Materials that you may already have in the house and can easily collect are sufficient to introduce the little ones of kindergarten age to working with wood:
- Toothpick
- Shish kebab skewers
- Clothespins
- Popsicle sticks
- Driftwood
- Branches from the forest or garden
In the craft shop, you will find other materials such as softwood, tree grates, or entire craft sets that are just waiting for your children to let off steam creatively with them.
Why do woodwork with children?
Homemade is well done. Working independently acts as a boost to the children’s self-confidence. Even if everything doesn’t go right the first time, the result – with a little help from you – can really be impressive in the end. Where there were only individual parts before, there is now a finished work. That makes not only the parents but also the offspring proud.
Children can try their hand at the workbench, give shape to their ideas, and learn skills for life. Yes, this is where the foundation stone is laid so that the children can later hammer a nail into the wall without any problems when they move into their first apartment.
Hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills are trained as well. But that can also be done with many other materials. Wood, as a natural material, is something special. It is sustainable, lively, and can be edited in very different ways. Some woodwork requires strength. Elsewhere it comes down to a sure instinct. Through teamwork, you and your child create wonderful woodwork.