Originally Posted by
Mike Chance in Iowa
Giving him a board to practice on is good. He may be feeling pressure to "get it right" because you are making a specific project that he wants to get perfect. You can turn it into a game for him to make a smiley face out of nails or paint lines or graphics for him to trace with a line of nails. Before he realizes it, he'll be hammering like a pro.
Why don't you ask him if he's having fun spending time out in the shop with you? He might surprise you and ask if he can build something you haven't thought of yet. Some of my best childhood memories are of spending time with my grandfather out in his shop. Not only did we build things, but we took things apart and put them back together too!
Taking this just a little further..... after you have him practice hammering nails, give him a 5 gallon bucket full of different sized scraps and tell him to have at it. I played for days when my dad's buddy did that for me. Another good and useful project is a wooden tool caddy. Simple for the two of you to make and he'll be able to proudly carry all his stuff around in it. He can even paint it.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”