Paul Meisel

[#1]

Blog #2
 

At what age are children ready to learn woodworking?

I took my niece and nephew to several of the Home Depot Kids’ workshops when they were ages 8 and 10 respectively.  They both loved making the pre-cut, ready-to-glue-and-nail-together projects.  They always needed at least some help from me, but they did most of the assembly themselves.

While at Home Depot, I watched children 5 or 6 years old, but it seemed to me that their parents were doing the majority of the assembly. 

Although I applaud Home Depot for providing the Kids’ Workshop for introducing children to woodworking, my focus for this blog will go well beyond assembling pre-cut kits.  Instead, I will share my experiences teaching children the skills needed to make projects starting with standard-size wood boards and doing all the necessary operations, from measuring, sawing, drilling, and fastening with minimum help from an adult.

Getting back to the subject of age, the youngest student who has taken my woodworking class  was just under 9 years old.  I feel that is about the youngest age that most children have the developmental skills needed to accomplish the lessons.  Younger kids find the reading skills, manual skills and even the strength (for example when using the coping saw) to be just too difficult.

Also, children can be overwhelmed by the size and especially the noise of machines.  The solution here is simply to start at the basics, slowly working your way up from skill to skill and from tool to tool on a gradient.

I used this gradient approach when setting up my entire woodworking program.  Because my background is in teaching, I make sure students know the definitions of the words used and that there is a balance between the reading instruction and the hands-on experiences.

The first lesson is shop safety.  It is irresponsible for anyone to start children working in a shop without first making sure they know what is expected of them and what they need to do to stay safe.

I welcome reader comments.  I hope you will share your valuable insights and experiences teaching woodworking to young people.

My next blog will be on shop safety – the first step in preparing kids for a successful woodshop experience.

Paul Meisel
WOOD Online Blogger
Specialty: Woodworking with Children 
Meisel Hardware Specialties

[#2]

Paul,  This is really great, I will be following as my Granddaughter comes to my shop, has her own tool tote, tools and safety items.  The only real projects have been birdhouses and I had to do the majority of the work.  She does indeed like to use her tools to nail, cut and screw but not yet for a project. but then I am not an intro instructor. She is learning skills and eye-hand coordination so this is good and supported.

[#3]

Glad to see you made it, Paul! 

With my boys being 8 and 11... they are always curious.  But, they haven't yet gotten to the point where they want to get out in the shop with me on a regular basis.

That being said, when we built my son's catapult - I mean Onager :-) - He did enjoy the experience quite a bit.  Gonna have to get out there and build some more stuff that the kids enjoy...  :-)

[#4]

When my son was 9, I hosted a one-day (well, 2 hour) workshop with my son's Cub Scout den. It was interesting to note the varying interest levels of the kids. It seems woodworking either grabs a kid's imagination or he simply tolerates it. I think it's important to carefully watch the child's enthusiasm level.

Out of 6 boys, 2 ran around and barely paid any attention, 2 did the project as if it were a math homework assignment to be put up with, 1 was fascinated with all my tools but less interested in the process, and 1 was truly engaged.

It's funny, because I'm always doing something in my shop and always figured that my son would naturally want to be like his dad. It was a strange thing to discover that kids become real little humans with their own interests and personalities! My son has never been the slightest bit interested in woodworking and fit into the "running around" category above. Go figure.

On a practical note, I found that the kids were most engaged when they could use power tools. (I mean really...who wants to hand sand?) For their project, they got to use my two most relatively safe tools: a disk sander and drill press.

[#5]

While I have very little experience in teaching, I distinctly recall learning.  I recieved a tool kit complete with measuring tools, screwdrivers, hammer, coping saw and hand-crank drill.  This was about age 7, at age 8 I endured my first power-tool injury (band saw to the thumb), haven't had a significant one since.

I agree, woodworking isn't for everyone, watch for enthusiasm, if kids aren't into it, there's no use putting them in a dangerous situation.  Safety is everything.  There's no such thing as a safe power tool, but some are certainly safer than others.  Starting kids on a band saw or scroll saw is a good way to teach them skills and safety in an easy and relatively safe environment. 

Finally, I would say don't waste kids' time with crappy tools.  I'm not saying to go get them a $100 gents saw, but a quality coping saw with a good blade won't set you back, even a cheap japanese saw would answer some of the strength issues and give the kids some results that would be impossible using an improperly sized poor quality handsaw.  Sharp tools are safer.

I don't think there's a set age, each child is different, watch for the interest and strength/coordination and don't force a kid who would rather read into the shop.

[#6]

Off the topic just slightly.

Kits are still a way to get children  regardless of their age to get interested in woodworking. I build kits for the local hospital children's wing,  these kits started with just birdhouses (which are donated) that were dado'd and predrilled for nails. The children that are involved all have cancer and they invite them to come and spend a Saturday afternoon building these kits. I have completed some additional kits for bird feeders and for bug carriers which they are very excited about getting.

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