Make Wooden Cameras

Workshop Overview

This entry-level workshop is a hands-on session specially designed for children aged 3-5, with a focus on 4-year-olds. It offers young participants the chance to acquire essential woodworking skills, emphasizing safety, working with resistant materials, and joinery. During the workshop, children will have the opportunity to craft charming wooden toy cameras for their kindergarten. They'll work with untreated pine wood, awls, clamps, hand drills, screwdrivers, screws and washers, sanding blocks, various grits of sanding paper, and wood glue. Up to four children can actively participate at a time, while the others can watch and learn, taking their turn when it's their time. Children are carefully instructed on the proper and safe use of tools during the workshop. They are encouraged to trust their own abilities to handle tools safely. The learning is aligned with all strands of Te Whāriki, allowing children to experience controlled risks and challenges, which fosters valuable lessons in decision-making for their own and others' safety. This experience also helps children develop the confidence to seek assistance when needed, emphasizing that it's perfectly fine not to know or be able to do something right away. The end result is a set of wooden toy cameras that will bring joy to every child at the kindergarten, igniting their imagination and providing hours of entertainment in imaginative play. With enthusiasm, they take on the role of photographers, capturing moments with their friends and in the preschool environment. We recommend scheduling this workshop between 9 am and noon, as this is when children are most alert and receptive to learning. We provide all the necessary items for a successful woodworking session, including a workbench, tools, materials, and safety gear. The workshop requires a sheltered outdoor or indoor area with a flat surface, ideally around 3x3 meters in size.