Friday, November 27, 2009
A lot of early childhood education books advise teachers to allow children the opportunity to work their motor skills by hammering nails into wooden boards. While I agree with this in theory, giving my son access to a weapon and free reign to beat the tar out of a bunch of nails in a board is a little beyond my comfort zone. And I certainly don't want to be responsible for the damage one of my students might inflict on themselves or my home using one of these boards. So when I came across this idea, I thought it was a winner. I would still advise that children are supervised when using the hammering board, and I wouldn't give it to children under the age of three, but that's your call. As you can see from the picture below, this was a real "hit" with my son. (He-he).
What you'll need:
- Three fabric bolts (You can get these for free at any fabric store, but make sure they are the kind that are completely enclosed)
- Duct tape
- 2 inch golf tees (natural wood)
- Hammering tool (plastic hammer, or a wooden/rubber mallet)
- Container for holding the tees (Dollar store)
Directions: This is too simple!
- Duct tape the three bolts together, by wrapping the tape around each end.
- Use the container to hold the excess tees.
- Show the child how to position the tea and hit it, and let them go at it.
We used a plastic hammer, but I would think a small rubber mallet would be ideal. For the life of me I could not find a single wooden or rubber mallet ANYWHERE! If I find one, I'll let you know. Also, we used white tees, but the paint chipped off everywhere so plain wooden ones would probably be a better bet. Happy Hammering :).
