Carpentry Fun Time: Learning To Hammer

Source: lvg4him

I know I shouldn't do this, but I'm going to assume that you've explained to your child the difference between a toy hammer and a real one. If you haven't done so, I suggest doing this before proceeding. It's a safety issue and well as a great teaching opportunity. Also, make sure your child's hammer fits comfortably in their hand, not yours.

Okay then. Let's get started!

Hammering is Fun

Make sure you have some large-headed nails, part of a tree stump or a small log or two and maybe a large chunk of plastic foam. After you've helped your child set up their woodworking space, position the piece of wood securely on their workbench. Have them pound the large-headed nails into the wood. You may need to show them how to do it at first, but trust me, they'll quickly get the hang of it.

I suggest using pliers to hold the nail as you hammer so that your child will follow your example. How much do you trust your child's aim? Maybe you want to hold the nail at its base while they swing away. Hey, it's your hand.

If you have a big block of plastic foam, you may have them hammer nails or even golf tees into the foam. Later, you can pull them out. Smart, huh?

Flatten the Bottle Cap 

(or Nail Down the Soda Tab)

Yes. I know.

Bottle caps are hard to find. Just hear me out.

Let your child hammer some bottle caps flat on a block of wood; not the workbench. Once they have enough bottle caps flattened, the caps can be nailed in piles of three or four to the ends of narrow pieces of wood to make rhythm shakers.

Source: Jim Hoying

No bottle caps around? Okay, try this. Collect pull tabs off soda pop cans. You'll have to get creative with this, but if you can find some really large-headed nails, you can skip the flattening part and go right to nailing down the pull tabs onto your piece of wood. Can you make a rhythm shaker out of it? What else can you make out of pull tabs and wood?

Nail Pictures

This is a fun project for older children. Take some wooden boards and draw shapes on the boards. Have your child hammer nails onto the shape outlines to make nail pictures. You can even draw alphabet letters or numbers on the boards and create your own nail picture “flash boards.” Once your child has cleaned up their work space and put their hammer and all supplies away, another woodworking project is complete!

Children will love these projects and will most likely not notice that they're learning at the same time. By the time they realize that they are learning, they'll have associated learning with fun. Not bad, right?