What’s up, Woodworkers?
Woodworking is essential to our daily existence—everyone alive likely uses something made from wood every single day! Most folks spend their days within the wooden walls of their home. It’s kind of hard to avoid! Whether you’re making a birdhouse or constructing a house for people, you’re sure to get a great sense of pride when you reach the fruits of your labor!
People have been using wood as material to create useful tools and beautiful objects throughout all of ancient history and back into prehistoric times as well. This natural resource has stood the test of time and shown us its value even in our modern era of steel skyscrapers and plastic tools. It is, however, an artform that’s not as common as it was back in the day.
The Benefits of Woodworking for Kids:
Creative Outlet
Making a physical object with your hands gives kids a place to focus their creative efforts. It may not be thought of as a common art medium (as opposed to visual art, music, or dance), but woodworking is just as creative and artistic as any other form of art!
Figuring It Out
The challenge of working with wood confronts kids with flaws in the design or a process of trial and error. Woodworking aids kids in sharpening their problem-solving skills and builds confidence with more hands-on experience.
Measure Twice…
There are absolutely mathematical skills involved in the art of woodworking. Planning a design and making things out of wood is a great tangible way of teaching kids counting and measuring skills.
The Right Stuff
Woodworking gives kids experience with the proper tools for carpentry such as a tape measure, a speed square, a screwdriver or a hammer. For most people, especially with an activity like woodworking, experiential learning is the dominating means of gaining knowledge and confidence.
If your child is interested in Woodworking, then I recommend you look into a summer camp that offers it as an activity. If you already have a camp in mind, call them up to ask about their program. And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!
- John