The last couple of months have been dominated by the fire engine and clocks, so this blog has been a little quiet. It is good news that we sold thirty clocks with money going to my friends’ care. To keep the blog active, here is an entry about The Trolley. Its creation occupied lots of…
New Experiences Never Stop Happening in the Classroom For teaching to happen, a teacher must believe that they have something to offer. But no amount of self belief can surmount a brick wall cemented with the rubble of self doubt. Self doubt compacted under decades of hammering. Regular children in regular schools are frequently open…
The clock has been a gentle construction. However, it is about time my friends had some rattle, bang and thump in their work. Using a hammer to thump things together is lots of fun. But our giggles are really a response to mutual trust as we care for each other’s fingers and enjoy each other’s company. This is…
Each clock is a joint project. Each clock is a reinforcement of personal skill in dexterity, patience, and communication. We are delighted by ourselves and with ourselves! Our plan is to put these on sale at a local hardware shop. It is fair to say that all of us had fun: clients, carers and volunteers.
Decisions of Children A retailer wanted a morning’s activity with children.Making children happy isn’t difficult; they love doing cool stuff. When given a choice of projects they apply assumptions passed on by their parents. It is fun to present them with a boy’s cliché, a girl’s cliché and a gender non specific alternative. They were presented…
Enthusiastic, beginning woodworkers look for a place to discover their skills. They read about traditional benches; material costs and required skills are both intimidating. Such great fulfilment can be had when woodworking that I hope the people to whom I talk feel encouraged to go out and experiment with their own creativity. How simply and…
The greatest gift from a teacher is success, for success fertilises the desire for more success and nourishes self esteem. A student, typically, is the hardest assessor of their own work. So, the creation of work where students feel their own success is the art of teaching. This piece of work began with the donation of…
My friends were impressed by the notion that our train’s carriages could be hooked together and towed around. It failed, however, in that each woodworker could only take home a single carriage; they had nothing to tow. At the end of the train project, and experiencing a flush of overconfidence, I asked staff for inspiration. They requested a fire…
Footstools It is a permanent source of inspiration to me that problems posed to woodworkers have no single correct response. If asked to make a footstool, what would a valid response look like? If a footstool is a small flat platform supported 100 to 300mm above the floor, how many ways could I make it?…
This project was perfect for batch production; the pieces are simple and can be cut in multiples. BUT, the coolest part of all is that when it was done we put our carriages together and created a train of inspiring proportions. We used our usual techniques of dowel hammered into holes that are 0.5mm too small….