Many preschool
learning centers rely on play tools for woodshop or building activities.
Plastic toy tools are fun for children to play with, but they really don't
teach anything practical life skills about wood working or tool safety. In
fact, kids learn that it's okay to be careless when they play with toy tools
because they won't get hurts. Montessori preschool woodshop learning centers
educate children about safety. Any child-sized wood working learning stations
should include safety glasses, work aprons to cover clothing and gloves to
prevent splinters. Children should be required to wear available to wear safety
equipment. Any child not behaving safely in woodshop learning centers should be
removed and lose privileges.
While it
mightn't be practical to use power tools, children can use small hand tools.
Kids can practice hammer skill using a tack hammer, heavy plastic hammer or
small wooden mallet. You can use wood and nails in learning centers with older
children. Montessori preschool learning centers may substitute golf tees and
recycled Styrofoam. For child-sized woodshop activities, let students pound
golf tees into large pieces of Styrofoam to practice hammering. They can attach
small chunks with golf tees to simulate nailing wood pieces together. Use
recycled Styrofoam pieces old coolers, surfboards, packing materials, clean
vegetable trays even packing peanuts.
Practice
carving and cutting skills in child-sized woodshop learning centers using
plastic knives and bars of soap. Older children can use child-sized saws or
hack saws and pieces of balsa wood or pine. This gives students the idea of
sawing wood, without the danger of injury. Children should be taught to be as
careful as if they were using full-sized tools. themselves. To practice
child-sized drilling activities, provide children with a non-powered hand
drill, also called a bit and brace and child-sized vise. Children will love
putting pieces of wood or Styrofoam in the vise to hold it secure while they
work. They can practice opening and closing vise carefully so as not to pinch
fingers. If your preschool learning centers have a child-sized plastic work
bench, it will have play vise for children to use.
Good resources
for realistic child-sized tools are Handy Andy tool kits. These were completely functional child-sized
hand tools, made of realistic metal and wood, that came in a metal or wooden
tool kit. Handy Andy tool kits are collectibles. Check the Ebay to buy vintage
Handy Andy tool sets.
