Every hobby has its issues regarding tools, storage, clean up and safety. Woodworking, carpentry and woodcraft are no different. Teaching children good habits early is a sure way to enhance their enjoyment of working with wood and will serve them well for years to come. Though these tips are geared towards folks who will be teaching woodworking and carpentry to children, I think there may be something useful here for woodworkers of all ages.
Tools
Woodworkers tend to develop their own system for storing tools in their work space. Since your children aren't there yet, these suggestions will help get your children on the right track. Use a piece of pegboard and trace the outlines of their tools onto it. Add the appropriate hooks and label each outline. Make sure you attach the pegboard to a wall at your child's eye level. As they grow, you can move it up to match their eye level. Use this as a way to show them the progress they're making in their hobby.
After each use of a tool, encourage them to hang the tool up in it proper place.
Safety starts with you. Show your child the correct way to use and care for each of their woodworking tools. You can even make a game out it. Set out examples of toy and real tools and discuss the differences between them. Then have your child separate them into two groups; toys in one pile and real ones in another. You can even ask questions like" How can you tell that this is a toy hammer and not a real one?"
Storage and Clean Up
We've covered the storage of tools, but we still have to store supplies - wood glue, fabric, nails, screws, etc. Provide a separate storage bin (with lid) for each kind of supply material used in the work space and store the bins in the same place after each woodworking session. This instills the idea that everything used has its proper place when it's not being used. After you and your child have finished a session in your work space, have the child put the tools and supplies away in their proper hooks/bins.
Make sure that you have a small broom and a dustpan handy so that the child can clean up their work space. The reason for this should be obvious. Also, keep a big magnet handy. It's a fast and safe way for the children to collect any stray nails and screws around the woodworking space. Just a reminder - the magnet won't attract anything made out of aluminum.
Safety
Here's a few safety tips to help you keep everyone safe and having fun. If you have more than one child working in the woodworking space, limit the number of children that can work at the workbench at one time. Use your discretion, based on the size of the work space, the workbench and obviously the size of your children! Also make sure you have adequate tools and supplies for everyone participating. Encourage your children to help one another while they are working. And make sure your children wear their safety goggles at all times while they're in the woodworking area.
Don't forget to remind your child to use the correct tool for the job. You may ask them what tool they would need to make a piece of wood shorter, what they would use to attach one piece of wood to another, that type of thing, in order to make sure that they know what each tool is designed to do. Also, teach your child to use C clamps instead of their hands to hold boards for hammering or sawing. This is the reason you'll want to make sure that at least one side of the workbench has an edge that can hold a clamp.
Tools stay in the woodworking space only. And no running with tools of any kind. Show your child how to keep their tools in good working condition. This issue may not come up right away, but it's my job to remind you not to forget! This may go without saying, but I'll say it anyway. Whenever children are working in the woodworking space, there must be adult supervision.
Remind your child not to hammer, saw or drill into the workbench, even if it looks like a fun thing to do. And by no means allow them to put nails, screws or any other supplies in their mouths. Which, of course, means that you shouldn't do it either, because your child will almost always do what you do before doing what you say.
Finally, if your child is becoming too stressed or tired while working in the work space, offer to set the project at hand aside so that it can be finished at a later time. However, make sure that they clean up their work space and store all tools and supplies before leaving. If you start cleaning up after them without them helping, you may end up doing it the rest of their lives (and yours).
Age-Appropriate Activities
My opinion is that children should be at least three years old before being allowed to start woodworking. Three-year-olds will enjoy the process of sanding, hammering, sawing, etc. more than actually building things. Provide your child with many opportunities to develop these carpentry skills, and they'll start wanting to use them. In terms of introducing tools to your child, start with the hammer. It's the easiest tool for young children to manipulate. Introduce the saw last. It is the most dangerous and the most difficult carpentry tool to master. What about sandpaper, you say? Technically, sandpaper is a supply material. You can introduce them to sandpaper as early as you think appropriate. And always adapt all woodworking activities to fit the individual needs of your child. You know them best.
Four-year-olds will gradually want to nail or glue pieces of wood together. Encourage them to create their own masterpieces, which you can display around the house. As they gain experience, they will eventually want you to help them build SOMETHING, like a toy box or a bird house or a napkin holder.
The beautiful thing about woodworking is that is provides opportunities to problem-solve. The problems can as varied as "Which nail works best?" to "How high can I stack this wood?" to "What shape works best for wheels?" Encourage your child to experiment when seeking solutions. Allow them to discover the correct answer, or at least ask them questions that will steer them in the right direction, so that the joy of discovery can be all theirs.
