Tag Archives: Woodwork

Wonderful Woodwork

It’s been a very creative few weeks in our woodwork area! We decided we would focus on independence and free choice and let our creativity and imagination flow!
By choosing which materials and tools we would like to use, we demonstrated the ability to make a choice.  Through discussions with others, we shared reasons for making our choices.

“I’m using the elastic bands.  I like to stretch them and I like the different colours.  I can show it to my brother”.

”I like this one.  We use it so we don’t hurt our fingers”.

”I like the beads.  I choosed rainbow colours”.

”I’m making a taxi like this one.  We need a big bit and a wee bit for the top.  And we need an orange light on the top like a real taxi.”

Working both independently and with others, we used our curiosity and imagination and shared our thoughts and ideas.

“I’m making a helicopter.  It has a big bit at the top that makes it fly.  You need to use the big nails cos the wee ones don’t go through the wood and it will fall off”.
“I’m making a plane.  What are you making?”  “A plane too. A red one”. “You need a big bit at the bottom and a wee bit on the top for the wings.  Look like me”.  “Ok this bit?” “Yes. And you need to put the big nails in.”
As we grow in confidence, we are sharing our knowledge and experience with our friends and supporting and encouraging them when they are making their models. We are beginning to assess risk when using the tools and can discuss how to use them safely.

“I want to make the same as you”. “Ok I’ll show you.  We use this, you need to watch you don’t squash your fingers!.  “Is this the right bit”. “Yes look it’s the same size”.  “Then you use this and put it on the end so it’s smooth and you don’t get a skelf”. “I got a skelf one time.  It was really sore and my mummy putted a plaster on it”. “You need to use this hammer for this bit.  You need to hit it hard. Like this”. “Ok. It’s noisy”. “Watch you don’t hit your fingers cos it will be sore”.

At Cart Mill we are very creative,  imaginative and love to plan, design, and construct fabulous models! We are able to apply our knowledge and experience across a wide range of learning experiences adding breadth, depth and challenge to our learning!

Some of us are able to plan our models in advance, while others prefer to use our models to draw afterwards.  We do this in our design book so that we can keep a record of what we have made and to share our ideas and fabulous models with our friends!   Aren’t we creative being able to plan, design and create our wonderful models!

Please come and have a look through our book anytime!

Wonderful Wood!

It’s been a busy week so far in our Woodwork area! We have been very interested in where wood comes from, so we decided to have a wee look for some books that might tell us!

“look it’s trees. Wood comes from trees!”

”that looks like the wood we have outside”.

”and it says paper is made from trees. So that’s wood too. And pencils”.

We decided to go on a wood hunt to see what else was made of wood! Off we set with the iPad to see what we could find!

“Look the blocks are made of wood”. “So is the door. And the table”

”is this box made of wood?”  “I think so”.

Our families have very kindly donated lots of materials to our junk modelling area, so we decided to have a look through and sort out the materials we thought would be made from wood.   We couldn’t believe a Rice Krispies box came from a tree!

We also had a look around our woodwork area and discovered we had lots of “things that are made of wood but look different”. Wood shavings that “were curly and bouncy”, sawdust “my mummy buys me sawdust for my horse.  It makes his bed all cozy when he’s sleeping”.  “The shopping back is made from trees. Look it has a picture of a wee tree on it!”.

It was time to get creative! Using cardboard tubes, paper, wood and of course lots and lots of glue, we produced some fabulous 3d models and artwork!

There was lots of discussion about why trees are cut down to make wood and paper, which led to us deciding to make our own trees and Forest!

Of course we had to “make a giant tree so we can grow it on the wall”.

We proudly displayed our recycled wood and paper artwork in our woodwork area.  We are so lucky to have such talented children at Cart Mill!

“Wood can provide endless opportunities for creative expression and developing design thinking.  There is something special about woodworks’s ability to engage young children.  It is learning through doing”. (Froebel Trust, 2023)

 

Introducing woodwork safety 🛠🪵 & creating sculptures

Today over at our woodwork area the children have been learning about the safety rules of our tinker table and how to properly handle basic tools, learning to make judgements, avoid hazards and managing risks.


“You must wear goggles.” “Always have an adult with you.”

We came together as a group and had a look at the tools we’d be using, one by one the children selected each tool and placed it in the middle for all children to hold and have a look at. We discussed which each tool was used for and how to safely handle them.


“I have a hammer at home, I use with dad.” “You use the screwdriver to unscrew the nails.”

The children had lots of fun engaging in discussions with one another about the safety rules and looking at the tools, now we are able to use the tools to create our own designs, how exciting! Stay tuned to see what the children create.


“Thumbs up if you know the safety rules and are ready to use the tools.”

Some of our younger children have been busy gluing different shapes of wood and loose parts together, creating three dimensional objects for our wooden 3D sculpture.


“I build it high.” “I make a tower.”

Here is the children’s fabulous work, great job! 👍

Busy at the workbench!

Today at the woodwork bench we have been creating new furniture for our dolls house. In a small group we talked about the different rooms we have in our homes. We discussed different kinds of houses, what makes them different and introduced The UN convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC) article 27 ‘I have the right to a home’.

We used the computer and magazines to look at different rooms and furniture and decided we would start to create some bedroom furniture. We talked about what we have in our bedrooms at home.

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“I have a bed in my room with pillows”

“I have a cupboard that mummy keeps my clothes in”

“I have a little table next to my bed”

Once we had decided what we were going to make we set about selecting our wood and tools for the job.

First one of the children decided they would like to make a bed. He looked in the wood bag and decided to use 3 pieces to make his bed. He used “one big bit and 2 little bits”. Next he decided he was going to use “nails to stick it together”. He put on his safety glasses “to keep safe” and set about using the hammer to make his creation. He then selected 4 screws to use as the feet. “I need 4” pointing to all for corners. Using the screwdriver with support he attached the screws.  Then using sandpaper he made sure it was nice and smooth ready to finish his design by decorating it with pens.

The second visitor at the workbench today decided to make “the cupboard for my clothes” He selected 3 pieces of wood. One for the cupboard and 2 more to use “for the bottom. He placed on his safety goggles to “stop the dust getting in my eyes”. Next he used the hammer and “2 nails” to attach the feet and added “a screw for the handle” The final step was to use sandpaper to sand it down so it was smooth ready to use pens to draw on the door.

What a fantastic start to creating some bedroom furniture to use during small word play.

Article 27 – The right to a safe home

Article 28 – The right to education

Article 31 – The right to play

Tinker Table Workbench

Over the last few months the children in the Discovery room have been practising their skills at the Tinker Table work bench.  The children have learned the rules of the Tinker Table and why these rules are very important to follow for their safety.  They created a rule book for the Tinker Table work bench to encourage them and others to put on gloves and safety goggles when using the tools in the tool box.

The children have been learning to use hammers and saws properly as well as learning that there are different types of saws and hammers used for different jobs.  The claw hammer has been popular for creating pieces using nails as well as the children learning that the claw can remove nails. The children’s saw skills have really flourished as they now know how to hold the hacksaw properly and use their body weight to make the saw move through the wood.

With the children’s skills improving at the work bench so too did their understanding of how to better construct their creations. The children decided that they wanted to introduce glue to the Tinker Table and with that came wonderfully creative pieces.

The children have now progressed on to drawing a plan first of what they would like to create. They are looking online at images, drawing it, then thinking of how to create it with the resources at the Tinker Table.

A wonderful plan producing a fabulous rocket.

The children’s pieces have all been displayed in the Tinker Table Gallery for several months now. The children decided that they wanted to close the gallery in December and take their exhibits home to stay.  I hope you are looking forward to seeing how creative your child has been at the Tinker Table workbench this year.