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Oh no, summer’s here!
Just about everyone loves summer. That is, except for those of us who have kids in grade school and also have full-time jobs that extend through the summer.
My life is generally pretty simple during the school year, as the kids have their regular school schedule and I have the day to work uninterrupted. The summer is another story though and this year I’m fearing it.
I could easily solve this problem by letting them spend the entire day on their devices, or as we call it “teching out”, so I could get my work tasks accomplished, but that would drive me crazy. I hate to see my kids waste hour after hour, day after day. They’re smart kids who like to keep busy, but technology has a way of making them lay on their beds or park themselves in front of the television for hours on end. It’s certainly not a new problem, but I think the advent of cell phones has turbocharged the level of laziness in many kids today, not to mention adults.
A unique opportunity
My kids have a dad who not only has a complete woodworking shop, but who’s always happy to show them around it and have them build something. My daughter regularly asks to make things in the shop for people’s birthday. My son is a bit less likely to ask, but I drag him in there anyways, especially in the few weeks before Christmas and birthdays. We always have fun and create something cool.
I’d love for the kids to be able to hang around the shop this summer, but they can still only do so much themselves. I’ve even told them if they had friends who might be interested in making something in the shop, I’m happy to welcome them in and teach everyone something, while making a project of some sorts.
More than wood though
Once in a while, my son will decide on making something out of a material other than wood. Although I love working with wood, I’m very happy to see my kids building with another material. And from a practical standpoint, most other materials are a lot easier to work with. Cardboard, paper and plastic are just a few options, and they can be cut and shaped with some pretty basic tools, many of which are available at home. Glass and tin jars have some great potential.
Just this morning, I found my son collecting all the empty cardboard toilet paper rolls from our two bathrooms and rescuing them from the recycling truck. He also mentioned something about whether we have any large pieces of cardboard. I reassured him my shop is well equipped with cardboard, as I hoard it and use it for all sorts of things in the shop. I didn’t ask him specifically, but I’m sure these materials will become something interesting sooner or later. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had some sort of Rube Goldburg machine idea in mind. Time will tell. To be honest, I’ve saved many miscellaneous items in the shop over the past few years that would also go nicely in a Rube Goldburg machine.
Maybe the time has come to encourage him to invite one or two of his friends over and give them some sort of challenge to work on. I think with a bit of coercing, some pretty cool things could be accomplished with a variety of materials, some tools and an inquisitive mind. Hopefully, I’ll be able to give you an update about what this all amounts to over the next few weeks. If the kids could somehow use their minds, make something cool, be proud of it, not get hurt, stay off their devices and stay out of my way so I could get some work done, this summer will be pretty incredible. That’s not too much to ask, is it?
Do you have any ideas for encouraging kids to engineer and build, but on a level safe enough that nobody gets injured? Send me an email or comment below, as I’m always open to ideas.
Rube Goldburg Starter Kit
Some household materials and some basic tools are all that's needed to get started this summer. Engineering and building are great ways to get kids thinking and using their hands.
Rob Brown - rbrown@canadianwoodworking.com
Rob is the editor at Canadian Woodworking & Home Improvement and a studio furniture maker.
You are a great father to the whole street of kids. My kids are both retired, and my youngest grandkid is 35, but I do have five great grandkids that just love anything I build them in my woodshop.
My kids are all older now (30+) but they have provided 7 grandkids and counting. And 3 of them live with us along with their father (our son). I regularly get the 3 girls (14 and 10-year old twins) to come out in the shop with me. They help clean up, come up with innovative ideas for tool storage and waster management. I also get them to design and build things using primarily wood, but mostly just about anything they can find. I help them with the power tools/sharp tools but encourage them to do everything else on their own. Great to see them thinking and coming up with ideas, altering ideas when they don’t work out and coming up with something in the end they’re proud to say they built with Grandpa.
Scroll saws, 3-d printing and plastic model building tend to be low to medium risk ways to be creative.
Rob,
This is my first comment on your Canadian WW website/blog page. I’m a novice woodworker in Hotter than Hell Texas trying to escape the brain dehydrating heat. I’ve been searching the Internet for a video on creating/cutting tapered sliding dovetails using power tools, mainly routers. I’ve not found any that clearly illustrates the details of settings for cutting both the slots and the dovetails. I know that the slots are cut using a hand-held router, and the dovetails are cut on the router table. It’s the cutting of the dovetails on the router table that have me stumped. I’ve read an article in Fine Woodworking magazine that recommends cutting a thin strip of wood and securing it to the wood getting the dovetails to get the taper on the wood. I simply would like to see a video of someone doing this in action. Can youze guys help this novice woodworker?