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CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Why woodwork?
Kathryn Solly, former head teacher, Chelsea Open Air Nursery; early years consultant
Chapter overview
In this chapter I provide an overview of the value of woodwork in early childhood education. I explain how woodwork provides a truly unique experience through children tinkering and making creations with real tools and look at how this impacts on children’s self-esteem and confidence. I emphasise the rich associated learning and development and highlight the long tradition woodwork has had in early education.
A unique experience
Engaging hands, minds and hearts
Building self-esteem and confidence
Encompassing all areas of learning and development
The experience of making
Long tradition of woodwork in early childhood education
Introducing woodwork
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A unique experience
There is something really special about woodwork. It is so different from other activities. The smell and feel of wood, using real tools, working with a natural material, the sounds of hammering and sawing, hands and minds working together to express their imagination and to solve problems, the use of strength and coordination: all go together to captivate young children’s interest. It provides a truly unique experience. There are many aspects that contribute to the profound impact of woodworking with children.
Engaging hands, minds and hearts
As an artist educator working in early years settings I have introduced children to many creative provocations. Woodwork has really stood out from the others because of the high and sustained levels of engagement and the sheer enjoyment it provides. It is hugely popular with children and provides a profound learning experience. To come into a setting and hear the sounds of children happily hammering and sawing away, and to see them deeply engaged, is a real delight. Visiting teachers always comment on the children’s deep levels of concentration and engagement, and are further surprised to find the same children still deeply focused working on their creations an hour or two later. It is not unusual for children to spend all morning at the woodwork bench. Woodwork really engages hands, minds and hearts.
Having the opportunity to learn with their hands and mind together makes the world seem less distant and abstract, making learning more relevant. Working efficiently with hand tools and implements is an important area of development both in the acquisition of technique and in the mastery of movement and is beneficial in many other applications.
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Initially we observe children working with their hands, constructing models and working on projects, but in fact the real transformation is inside the child – personal development is at the heart of woodwork.
Building self-esteem and confidence
Woodwork is a powerful medium for building self-esteem and confidence. This is for a combination of reasons. Children feel empowered and valued by being trusted and given responsibility to work with real tools. They accomplish tasks that they initially perceive to be difficult and they persist at challenging tasks. They show satisfaction in their mastery of new skills and take immense pride in their creations. This sense of empowerment and achievement provides a visible boost to their self-esteem and self-confidence. Children have a natural desire to construct and build. They learn how things work and discover that they can shape the world around them by making. This imparts a can-do attitude and imbues children with a strong sense of agency – having a proactive disposition towards the world – a belief they can shape their world.
Encompassing all areas of learning and development
When we analyse a woodworking session it is extraordinary to see just how much learning is involved. It encompasses all areas of learning and development and invites connections between different aspects of learning. It supports current thinking on how children learn best, embracing all the characteristics of effective learning and thus fostering confident, creative children with passion for life-long learning. Woodwork really can be central to curriculum. It incorporates mathematical thinking, scientific investigation, developing knowledge of technology, a deepening understanding of the world, as well as physical development and coordination, communication and language, and personal and social development.
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Woodwork provides another medium through which children can express themselves. Creative and critical thinking skills are central both in terms of imagination and problem-solving as children make choices, find solutions, learn through trial and error and reflect on their work.
Children are drawn in as they explore possibilities, rise to challenges and find solutions. Woodwork is really unrivalled in terms of providing children with problem-solving opportunities and challenge.
Some children particularly flourish when working with wood, enjoying working three-dimensionally and working with their hands. It is hard to predict who will respond particularly positively as the skills are so different from those usually used in early years. The experience of woodwork can really be the key that unlocks some children’s learning.
Woodwork lends itself to incrementally building on previous learning and skills. There are multiple layers of learning and increasing challenge as new tools are introduced, as techniques are refined and built upon and as thinking skills are developed, and these all go to extend what children are able to do. Both Lev Vygotsky and Jerome Bruner wrote about how powerful woodwork is for extending what children are able to do unaided. I talk about this in more detail in Chapter 3.
Woodwork also provides an aesthetic experience as children experience the beauty of wood. They encounter its warm feel, its smell, textures, and how with simple actions they can change it. There is also a beauty in the way we can use simple tools to manipulate materials. It is certainly an activity that can transcend the everyday and elevate the soul.
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Essentially, woodwork is a ‘win-win’: children greatly enjoy it and remain engaged for extended periods and it provides a rich multitude of associated learning and development.
The experience of making
Woodwork is really about children making, embracing the processes of making and empowering children to become makers with a ‘can-do’ spirit. With woodwork we are in essence looking at making with simple technology. Resistant materials are the most suitable medium to work with, with wood being the most accessible and easily worked by young children. Wood is so versatile in the ways it can be manipulated. Of course other materials (such as acrylic, rubber, cork, etc.) can be incorporated to this making experience, which only furthers children’s knowledge and understanding. Making with tools offers a multi-layered learning experience and children will encounter increasing levels of challenge and complexity.
Currently, there is a surge of interest in making in general – often referred to as the Maker Movement,1 and encouraged through community initiatives such as ‘hack spaces’ that promote interdisciplinary making and through a proliferation of online video tutorials covering all sorts of making projects. This is enthusing and engaging young people all over the world. The value of hands-on making is once again being appreciated, countering the current consumerist culture with curiosity-driven experiential learning. In today’s society there is an emphasis on continuously buying new products and disposing ...
