Yesterday my home school students began carving bowls. One had finished the toy robot he was making and said, "I want to make a bowl." I thought we were toy making, but he had something more practical in mind, and I had the right tools at hand. The next thing I knew, all the boys in the class wanted mallets and chisels to carve bowls. They know very little about what they are doing, but as long as the wood is safely held in the vise, it is a relatively safe operation, and one that will lead to observation and investigation.
Two of my 7th and 8th grade class began making bows while the others finished their arrows. Their work is not as lovely as arrows made by experienced fletchers. Skill is not a thing that arrives without practice.
Today in various classes, students will begin making African masks and and continue work on bows and arrows.
Make, fix, create, and extend the opportunity for others to learn likewise.
It is a shame I started with wood work quite late already, so maybe my creative juices has all dried up! LOL! But these kids are at the peak of their capacity to learn and I admire that they are so into woodwork at such a young age!
ReplyDeleteMary, Hanging out with kids in the wood shop can get your creative juices flowing again. Learning is great for all ages, but one of the things about kids is that they are often unafraid to make mistakes, or to try new things.
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