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Materials:
- small wood scraps (sanded), wooden spools, craft sticks, and dowels
- containers to store materials
- white glue
- small plastic containers (applesauce or plastic cups)
- tempera paint and brushes
- sand paper
- decorations: Feathers, buttons, sequins, or shells
- brown craft paper or newspaper
- optional: small hammer and nails (for older children)
Objective: Children will
develop creative-thinking, problem-solving, and fine-motor skills as they
build and construct with wood.
In Advance: Send home a note to
families requesting donations of wood scraps. You can also contact a local
lumberyard or woodcrafter. Make sure that wood scraps are sanded and free
from splintered edges. Older children can use sand paper to smooth off
rough edges.
ACTIVITY
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Cover a work area with craft paper or newspaper and invite children
to make sculptures or constructions using different pieces of wood.
- Provide children with a variety of wooden shapes. Place glue into
small plastic containers. Place a craft stick or glue brush into each
container for children to use when applying glue.
-
Work with one or two children at a time. Older children can use
a small hammer and nails to create a wood construction. Assist children
in learning to use a hammer and nail correctly. It may be necessary
for an adult to give the nail an initial tap. Provide children with
wood or Styrofoam to practice hammering. Select larger pieces of wood
for their wood constructions.
-
After children have completed their sculptures or constructions,
invite them to paint and decorate their work. Set up a work area with
a variety of paints, colored glue (for dripping or gluing materials),
and the suggested decorative materials. Place the work in a safe area
to dry.
- Invite children to share their creations with friends during group
time. Discuss similarities and differences. Find an area to exhibit
the children's work.
Remember: Children must have constant
supervision when using the tools.
Curriculum Connection
Music and Math. Teach the children the song "Johnny Builds With
One Hammer." Substitute children's names as each person dramatizes the
story. Make a circle with the children. Begin with one child and sing:
(Child's name) builds with one hammer, one hammer, one hammer, (Child's
name) builds with one hammer all day long. Encourage children to pretend
to hammer as they sing the song. Now include the next child and sing:
(Child's name) builds with two hammers… and so on.
BOOKS
All About Tools
by Susan Hood
(Reader's Digest, 1998; $10.99)
The House I'll Build for the Wrens*
by Shirley Neitzel
(Scholastic Inc.; $3.95)
My Little Red Toolbox
by Stephen T. Johnson
(Silver Whistle, 2000; $16.95)
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