1st day of homeschool shop class

[Dave Sharpe]

just finished the first session with two boys - 10 and 11 years old - of a homeschool shop "class". (Thanks to all who chipped in advice in the last week or two). These boys are my pastor's sons, and are considered (by their parents) to be advanced and so are doing some home schooling.
The first session was mostly introducing the boys to the tools in the shop and talking about safety with each tool and what each tool is used for. We talked about ideas for projects, with a homework assignment to come up with a "semester" project they can complete in the next several months. Next week we'll work on making some simple boxes. I plan do do some prep work in advance to ensure they are successful, but future projects they will do more work "from scratch".

Lessons learned: I discovered that an hour or so is the most I can expect to keep them focused after a day at school. They started getting more easily distracted and wanting to "play" with the tools by that time, so I'll keep the sessions limited in length. I tried for an hour and a half today, but I can see that's too long.

I also need to emphasize more that they wait for an answer to wuestions before asking more questions - oy vey! my head was spinning trying to keep up with the different directions their brains went.....

[Vince Shriver]

The one little trick I use when dealing with youngsters is don't do all "lecture" (safety, stories, etc....). Give them a certain amount of hands on, tool in hand, making saw dust time - even if it's only a small part of total class time. Plan for a little actual "doing stuff" time; that's the fun part and makes them want to come back. Good luck.

[Robert Reece]

Hi Dave-

I'm glad to see the class has started and I am watching the thread to see how it goes. So keep us up to date!

[William Nimmo]

If there were other threads on this I missed them. Sorry if this was already discussed. Does your insurance company know about this? And if so, how did they respond. I can't imagine the ramifications of, God forbid, something happened to a student and it came out that you were running a shop school in your home. I am not nagging, I am truly curious because I think this is a great thing, and have thought about it for years. I think that to do this legally (thereby protected from lawyers and zoning boards) that you would have to charge way to much per student to cover costs.

[Matt Sollars]

as a middle school teacher (7th grade).....

research shows that middle school students can maintain focus for approx. 15-18 min. on a single task. my classroom is constantly changing activities, regrouping, etc. in order to meet this. once the attention goes...they go with it.

maybe you could break each session down into 3 sets. as soon as they get there, they pick up where they left off for 15-20 min. on their project. Then you cover some new info. or material that they'll be seeing in the near future for 15-20min. The last 15-20 they are utilizing that new information you just spoke with them about.

good luck. 2 would be nice. 25-30 can be a different story. :)

-matt

[Don Bullock]

...
I also need to emphasize more that they wait for an answer to wuestions before asking more questions - oy vey! my head was spinning trying to keep up with the different directions their brains went.....

Dave,
Welcome to the art of teaching.:D While some people think that anyone can teach, it is an art that requires talent. You may have only two students instead of a classroom full like I always did, but good discipline and ample breaks are still required. When I did some "home teaching" for students with injuries or illnesses that prevented them from coming to school I quickly discovered what you have found. An hour is a good starting time frame for instruction. As you add in some "shop time" you may be able to expand beyond that. Good luck.

[Wayne Cannon]

For what it's worth, I talked to my homeowner's insurance agent when I had a couple of young people doing odd jobs in my shop to earn money for summer trips -- wiring, hanging fluorescent ceiling fixtures, insulating roll-up doors, etc., and using the shop. She suggested an umbrella liability policy (I had one years earlier as a landlord).

Umbrella policies are not very expensive when purchased atop an existing homeowner's policy, and they provide a lot of additional safeguards. I've kept my policy in force even after the kids were long gone. It covers anyone working on your property, such as a gardener, maintenance man, etc., and weird things not normally covered under a homeowner's policy, such as someone suing you when it was not your fault.

Our umbrella policy came in handy recently when we were sued for drainage running across another person's property (for the past 30+ years) without a written/registered easement. It increased the amount they were willing to cover under just the homeowner's policy and eliminated my normal deductible.