Both of my sons enjoy working with hand tools. Benjamin began when he was four, hammering nails in a piece of soft pine. We supplied him with the real things although he was very young. He had a great respect for the tools and used them correctly from the start. At that time, we kept a small workbench in our basement that I had purchased from a Montessori school that had closed. It was just the right height for a young child to work efficiently and safely.
I would like to tell you that the bench is neat and orderly but that is not the case. It is now kept in our garage (among many other tools, bikes and toys) but it still gets quite a bit of use. Benjamin now does his work at his father's workbench or outside because he has grown too tall to use the small workbench. Christopher, on the other hand, is able to use it comfortably.
Last week the boys disappeared into the garage for quite some time. When they came back in the house, they told me that they planned to build a tiny tea table for their sister, Mary, out of some scrap wood they had found. Mary just loves to play with her miniature tea set and sets up elaborate parties with her dolls and animals. I told the boys that the table was a great idea. They went back outside and set to work.
After building the table, they sanded it smooth. Then, they consulted their sister as to what color she would like to have it painted. She chose dark purple. Since we did not have any dark purple paint in the house, we took a trip to the craft store to pick some up. While we were there, they also chose some sparkly "jewels" that they used to decorate the top.
Here is the finished product:
It stands about 7 inches from the floor, just the right height for a little girl and her dolls to sit around and share a spot of tea. :)
While this table is not "professional" quality, it was made from the heart. It serves a wonderful purpose for its recipient, who will never forget the little tea table her brothers made for her. I also think the skills used and learned while making it are so valuable. But most of all, I shiver with happiness that these boys chose to spend their afternoon doing something to bring joy to another person. That, to me, is worth more than anything.
