On the 5^th of July 2017 we invited our fathers to participate in our first ever Construction Day.

Child interest in building and construction saw us invest in a children’s work bench, complete with real vices and tools, which subsequently developed into further discussions around what could be built and how it could be accomplished.

The days preceding our Construction Day, saw the children actively engaged in planning what was to be built.  Plans were drawn by the children for ramps and garages and parents were encouraged to participate if they were able.  We also had some fantastic donations of wood and a variety of tools loaned to us for the morning as well.

Our children arrived very excited about the up and coming events of the day, full of conversations based around what tools they were going to use to be creative.  Some of the children made last minute additions to the ramp plans whilst others practiced their hammering skills using the hammer and golf tees.

At group time Miss Amy spoke to the children about being safe around power tools and hand tools. We demonstrated how the tools are used and explained to the children what each tool’s specific job was when used in construction.

Three main areas were set out in the playground for the work zone.

1. The carpentry table with the vices and hand saws;
2. A hammering, sanding and gluing station; and
3. An area for the electric saws.
4. The children watched as the floor and roof of the garage were cut with the electric saw whilst ome of the class cut some timber blocks to use as sand paper blocks (which are now also with our carpentry table).

Throughout the morning the Dads and children built two ramps (one with three pipe tunnels and one with a wide race track) as well as a garage for the cars. The children were supported to use the eclectic drills, hammers and screw drivers. The Dads worked extremely hard with the children and together they created some amazing things. Our children absolutely loved being involved with the construction in a hands-on way and were able to learn through the use of real life tools, supporting their sense of being active learners – where they are able to acquire new knowledge as well as share their prior knowledge that they have learnt at home.

At Timber Tots, we value families as their child’s first and most important teachers and it was wonderful to see the Kindy class learning from their own and other families. This role models team work to the children and allowed them to see their ideas and plans brought into reality.

A huge thank you to all the Dads for coming into Kindy today to support our Construction Day. We couldn’t have achieved what we did without your help. The children were absolutely delighted with what they were able to create and we are so grateful for such a wonderful morning spent with some of our families.