Ideas for shop time with 3 year old

[Larry Browning]

My 3 1/2 year old grandson loves to go down to the shop with me and hammer stuff etc... we have a wonderful time! We have made several picture frames and wheather or not he is getting bored with that, I am. I am wanting to move onto something else. The wife thinks we should make a birdhouse. I could have all the parts cut out and we could drill some nail holes and glue it up. Now as good of an idea as that is, I was looking to maybe getting a few ideas from the forum. I really want to avoid using any power tools other than a cordless drill. Anything that makes more noise than that scares him (which is a good thing at this age).
So, what kind of ideas do you all have to introduce the joy of woodworking to a 3 yr old that has shown some interest?

Thanks,

[James Ayars]

With my 2 1/2 year old, I have assembled some bird houses then let her paint them. I primed the pieces before assembly then gave her some red and blue paint to "paint" them with. The finished job is messy but her grand parents were still quite happy to get one of them.

We also put together some bird feeders followed by one of her unique paint jobs.

Last thing we have done is assemble some small boxes 3x3x2 then gave them to grandparents, aunts etc as "jewelry" boxes.

I precut everything and predrilled some things so the only thing we had to do was glue, clamp, and put in screws followed by paint.
James

[Per Swenson]

I dunno,

When my son was 3, quality shop time was had only by

the judicious use of duct tape and Brillo pads.

He turned out fine.

Per

[Hank Knight]

One day my daughter was in the shop while I was handplaning some maple. She was fascinated with the curls that came off the plane. We dug up a wooden clothespin - the old kind, glued on some little curls for a skirt and two large ones for wings. Voila! an angel. The angel still comes out every Christmas to decorate our house and recall a nice memory.

[Wes Bischel]

Larry,
Just made a birdhouse with my 4yo - why not precut the parts and have them ready. I happened to be at WoodCraft with my son and he picked out a My First Kit for Mommy's present - which we then assembled and he painted. If I were to do it again, I would have just cut the parts.

Also, don't underestimate the scrap bin. A few scraps, some screws for eyes etc. voila! We have a robot. We used the drill/driver, a coping saw, hammer, center punch, sandpaper and glue.

FWIW,

Wes

[Ben Grunow]

I used to make duck (any animal or car) shaped cutouts from plywood or thicker stock and have dowels and wheels (cut with hole saw). Glue wheels on dowels with fast setting glue and paint with maybe a rope for pulling. The fun is assembling them.

My son also just loves to hammer on nails and play in a big pile of sawdust with dust scooop and brush.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

My 3 year old grand daughter likes to go to Popi's shop also.

I let her use a ROS to sand her work pieces. She thinks it's totally cool to make the wood so smooth. I let her clamp things, she's figured the trick of the bench vice. I'll hold a drill with her while she drills her work. She has to sit on bench and watch when I run the machinery.

Her first real project is a box I am building for her. I plan on letting her help with the assembly and sanding.

The box in question is for her magic rock. I gave her a magic rock a year ago when she mentioned that there were monsters and they scared her. It's ugly pitted a dull grey color and has a big chip in it. However, it has a really cool shape having been tumbled into a wide flattish oval in some ancient long gone river.
That Rock is the Crown Jewell in her room. It is magic, Did I mention that? It got all pitted and chipped from battling monsters (or so the tale goes). So it's protecting her now after clearing out all of mine.
Apparantly, it works flawlessly. So it's getting a box from which it can reside protecting her in the dark. I rather like the idea of a special box that holds nothing else in the world but one particular rock. Maybe someday she'll give it to a grandchild.

[Matt Calder]

Larry,
One 'project' that was a real winner with my then 3-year old that continues to pay off (with him, now 6, and his younger siblings) is a stool / bench. This is his seat in my shop for those activities that are fun to watch though unsuitable for his participation (meaning most activities). The 'bench' is made of three pieces of 2x10. The legs are beveled parallel on each side and the top is beveled trapeziodally. The top is nailed to the two legs. I did the sawing we both did the nailing. Truth is, sometimes I use that bench as an occasional step stool or thinking chair.

Matt

[Matt Meiser]

With my 4yo, I wouldn't try to do a project because she'd loose interest too fast. However, she has a set of play tools in my shop. I also have a board that I drilled several holes in with some big nuts and bolts for her to play with. She writes on my white board, draws and colors on big pieces of builder's paper, and hammers on some wood circles that are left over from making my blast gates.

[David Giles]

My main lesson with kids was learning that they want something fast instead of good. One wanted to turn his skateboard into a sailboat. I saw days of work ahead at first, then grabbed some 1" foam insulation, magic marker and duct tape. Voila, in 15 minutes we had a "sailboat" that he happily played with all afternoon.

Other projects include lots of swords (any two sticks with a wood screw connection), many bow and arrow combinations (they draw, I cut), one birdhouse without a hole for the bird. Square drive screws and a portable drill are easy and safe to use. This lead to lots of pictures and plaques made from "screw letters" and scrap plywood.

Sanding is okay. Painting anything is a sure fire winner. Precut birdhouses are a great idea. Lots of great memories for just a little time.

[Larry Browning]

Thanks for some great ideas! I especially like the scrap robot. Also, it looks like painting is a no lose idea, even though he does lots of painting stuff already. I think I will strugle with the fast is better than good concept, even though I know it is way to go with a 3 year old. Somehow the joy and satisfaction of a making well fitting joint would be lost on him.
I already know that using any power tool that makes lots of noise is out. One time while making yet another picture frame, I was going to cut the frame to length with the miter saw, I sat him on a tall stool several feet for the saw and told him it was gong to make some loud noise. when I finished the cut which took about 2 seconds he was crying and scared. The next time he came to visit, he still wanted to go down to the shop, but made me promise to not turn on that big saw. Maybe he will be the neaderthal type.

[Ed Hilton]

Lowes has a kiddie project about once every 6-8 weeks. All precut parts, some of them are very simple, some have quite a few parts. My grandaughter loves to hammer the nails, and actually does a pretty good job.

Lowes provides everything you need, including an apron and safety goggles, and a patch to sew on the apron. I bought a small wooden handle hammer for her to keep, about 6 oz, and I hold the nails with a long nose pliers while she drives them in.

Usually you work on folding tables, sometimes plastic ones, and they bounce. So I started taking along a scrap of 3/4 ply, about 18" sq.

[Chris Barton]

Pound, push or paint, those are the secrets. At 3-6 years of age children are into what is called "concrete thinking," things don't disappear when you aren't looking and volumes remain the same despite what size container you pour them in. As others have mentioned. pre-cut projects such as stools, steps, boxes, etc. Let them paint them but, give absolute minimum guidance (only a single color) and personalize them (their name should be there somewhere). Don't get too anal, let them screw up, keep it about smiles...

[Ben Grunow]

My son (2 1/2) has his own ear muffs (same as dads of course) and he wears them and is fine with any noise.

[Pete Bradley]

Lee Valley tools sells kids' safety goggles which are a big hit and a great habit to start young.

I've found that you don't necessarily have to build anything in particular. Pounding pegs in with a mallet, sawing with help, or pulling the trigger while you hold the screw gun are all fun.

Whatever you build, a 3 or 4 year old wants to decorate it. Crayons, pens, blue masking tape, paint, you name it.

A bird house assembled from precut parts and then decorated would be a good choice. Making child-size tool such as a mallet would likely also be a hit.

Pete

[Charles Wade]

I make a variety of wheeled vehicles, often no more than a 3/4" thick piece of wood with a block glued on top with wheels from either a) leavings from a circle cutter or hole cutter or b) a supply of inexpensive wheels/axles from a comercial source such as www.meiselhobby.com or www.rockler.com or www.woodworker.com (no connections to any of these companies on my part). The structures can be cut by hand and the axles drilled by hand (tho a drill press makes for better alignment). My grandsons are boys with serious wheel addictions, so anything that rolls makes them happy.

[Robert Trotter]

My boys 4 and 5 wanted to saw. I let them have a go. Took them a long time. I got them to saw off a bit of thick dowel for a handle and then saw a block off a bit of wood for the head. I drilled an almost oversize hole through the centre of the block and through the end of the dowel. Started the screws and let them screw away. WaLa. Each had a mallet for their next project.

If you don't want him to cut you could pre-cut every thing with a nice round mallet head you make up (maybe get him to sand it) and slot the end of the handle for a wedge tennon fit. Then have him sand them and put the head on and wack in the wedge for the tennon. Now he would have a mallet for his next project.

You could make the bird house with through dowel joints (pre-drilled) so he could get the pieces and wack in the dowels pretty easily by himself. (with his new mallet) Hopefully no wacked thumbs while trying to hold small nails. then he can paint it.

Robert

[Larry Fox]

My sons (2 & 5) are somewhat curious about the shop. No power tools of any kind is my rule. A piece of scrap wood and some Sharpie markers go over quite well - mom has some well scribbled treasures. My 5-year old has also become somewhat facinated with drilling so I set him up with a brace-and-bit. Bit is so dull that I could barely get it to cut on the drill-press but he has been successful in drilling through a piece of 3/4" thick cherry. :) Once he got that, I gave him a piece of oak firewood - he is still working on that. He is also a big fan of hand-sanding although I think the novelty of wearing a respirator "like dad" is more appealing than the sanding. I am contemplating a birdhouse project for us after the holidays as they get a kick out of the small birdfeeder my wife has setup outside the kitchen window.

Oh, almost forgot clamps - they both seem somewhat facinated with clamps so I have a few short pipe clamps that they work with. They like turning the handles.

[John Kain]

Pound, push or paint, those are the secrets. At 3-6 years of age children are into what is called "concrete thinking," things don't disappear when you aren't looking and volumes remain the same despite what size container you pour them in. As others have mentioned. pre-cut projects such as stools, steps, boxes, etc. Let them paint them but, give absolute minimum guidance (only a single color) and personalize them (their name should be there somewhere). Don't get too anal, let them screw up, keep it about smiles...

Agreed. I think this is the best way to go.

Gratification in less than 2 minutes with the specific task they are performing. Children can't (usually) work toward a final abstract goal at 2-4 years of age.

[Tom Walz]

My son loved the scrap bin. Add some nails and he was happy as a clam. My favorite memory is of an airplane made out of 2 - 2''x4" s hammered together with several nails. It "flew" as far as he could throw it.

We did projects as well but he also liked to work on his own.

tom

[Doug McLauchlan]

I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet - but making their own toolbox might be a good project.

Just a simple box with a handle. As with the bird house, you cut the parts and they assemble with your help.

You're never too young to start a tool collection ;)