Woodwork for Children

 

Upon hearing the word ‘Woodwork’, what rings in your head? I guess many of us will link it to the subject ‘Design and Technology’ which we or some of our friends took during Secondary school days. However, do you know woodworking is one area which is can be commonly seen in the other countries but not in Singapore? For instance, it can be found in the household of Caucasian families and more importantly in preschool settings like some preschools in Taiwan. 

 

Woodworking encompasses a range of activities and skills that involve measuring and marking, dimensioning, assembling as well as finishing (Woodworking, 2008). According to Anderson and Hoot (1986), woodworking is one of the “most potentially educational yet most neglected areas” (p. 12)

Benefits of Woodworking

• Woodworking activities not only provide children with the opportunities to develop skills such as pounding and sawing but it also aid children’s overall development
• Woodworking promotes the proficiency development in the five domains of child development: Physical, Cognitive, Social, Emotional and Creativity (Pape and Hatcher, 2008)
• As children engaged in woodworking activities, it enables them to feel inspired and to be able to imagine or dream about becoming designers, scientists and technologies (Siraj-Blatchford and MacLeod-Brudenell, 1999)
• Whether done alone or in groups, the process of woodworking aids children in developing Learning Dispositions which are essential for life.

Knowing that woodworking provide a wide range of benefits for children’s learning and development. Are you pondering upon why it is not commonly seen in local (Singapore) preschools? Isn’t it a pity?

Please feel free to share your comments and experiences J

PlayMax

Maximise Learning through Play

Anderson, S., & Hoot, J. L. (1986). Kids, carpentry, and the preschool classroom. Early Childhood Educational Journal, 13(3), 12-15.

Pape. D., & Hatcher, B. (2008). Tomorrow’s architects and engineers: They’re hammering and sawing in today’s classrooms. Texas child care.  Retrieved August 17, 2011 from

               www.childcarequarterly.com/pdf/fall08_architects.pdf

Siraj-Blatchford, J., & MacLeod-Brudenell, I. (1999). Supporting science, design and technology in the early years. Buckingham: Open University Press.

“Woodworking”. (2008). “The art of woodworking" - Beginners guide. Retrieved April 3, 2011 from http://www.woodworkweb.com/free-woodworking-ebooks/224-woodworking-101the-art-of-woodworking-free-beginners-guide.html