Wood Work

Inspired by a lovely book called Beautiful stuff, I thought it was about time I do some woodworking with my children. We do lots of wooden block building, and lego construction at home, but by using a hammer, nails and glue the children could plan and build a more permanent three dimensional objects with wood. Finn decided on making Batman's house with a secret bookshelf that reveals his Bat Cave.



We found some scraps and offcuts of wood and I bought them a little 'tack hammer' from a hardware shop (light enough for small hands to use) and some PVA wood glue.

I gave Finn a selection of nails, and thumb tacks so he could practice using the hammer.



He then pasted on the glue and left in the sun to dry.  In the next few days he may want to come back and put some more nails into the construction to make it more sturdy and I will give him access to paint if he wants to add detail or colour.

I also had some rubber bands available in a box and Finn enjoyed creating points on his blocks with nails for the rubber bands to stretch across.

In 'Beautiful Stuff' they extend woodwork projects by guiding the children to do observational drawings of their models.

Playdough Dudes

Finn had a lot of fun creating little figures out of play-dough using mini paddle-pop sticks to join limbs and create features (such as hair).

He used a few plastic eyes to finish off his creation.

Construction

Finn loves building and constructing with his wooden blocks (these are a cheap set from Toys R Us), and I got thinking about the many skills they have for children including: developing fine motor skills, hand-eye co-ordination, spacial awareness, creative problem solving, language, mathematical and social skills.

I put Finn in a playpen so his 8 month old sister doesn't knock everything down.  

As well as building, encourage your child to sort the blocks into sets (by colour or shape), incorporate other toys into the play - such as a toy dump-truck which can be used in transporting the blocks to a 'construction site'.

You can also use smooth sticks, small logs and branches to create fences, roads and bridges.

I love these beautiful hand crafted blocks from etsy:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62016060/organic-building-blocks-32-piece-classic 

Finn has also been building on a larger scale: 

a fort out of sticks and bark for outdoor play,

 

mountain ranges and cubby-houses out of cushions, sofas, and sheets for indoor play.