Projects for kids??

[gregl]

My grandsons visit my shop once a week for Shop Class. One is an immature 6 and the other is a mature 8. They don't visit at the same time, though, as I want undivided attention when we're working. We've been making simple stuff in wood (bird houses, simple boats, etc.). Usually a one-afternoon project, but we don't have to keep it that way.

I've thought about building the old Kalmbach HO Railroad That Grows project, which would get them into basic electricity and more delicate eye-hand coordination stuff, but I'm leery that they'd want to spend too much time running the trains and not working on the project. The purpose of Shop Class is to teach them how to use tools to make things and I want to keep focused on that.


I've been through the public library and have some of Lindsay's reprinted books on kid projects from decades ago, but you usually have to sort through dozens of projects before finding one suitable for these young ones. I'm always looking for sources for plans and ideas. If you have suggestions, I'd appreciate them. THANKS!

[davidh]

brings back memories when my son was growing up. i always worried about his summer time being void of interesting things here in the country. only child in the family and mom and dad worked at home. one summer i brought home a older mercedees benz car that was hopeless but in decent shape. i gave him a handful of hand tools like screwdrivers and adjustable openend and miscl and told him to take it apart. starting with the inside. it took him a couple months, i scrapped all the parts as they were really of no use to anyone else, and he learned how to use hand tools. thofollowing year i did the same thing, this time i showed him the fine art of sockets and battery powered tools. he had a blast. . . . of course we do live in the country but it was still a great learning project. i would spend various times with him throut the day but he basically learned by trial and error. when he was 13 or so, i showed him how to weld with a wire feed. jsut the basics. i cut up a bunch of scrap metal and put it on the workbench and said, stick this stuff together so it makes a little art project. i also got him envolved in making diamond willow walking sticks with me. he made 3 or 4 of them and sold them to a couple teachers. he learned how to use the scrapers and paint and varnish and we really enjoyed the moments together in the wood shop.
i could go on and on but i just had to reply to this. . . . .
davidh (i miss those times)

[DickDastardly40]

I think that making something that will interest the child may have a certain bearing on whether the project will be successful.

Difficult these days with the cornucopia of other things that kids have but a garage for toy cars, or a special box to keep his gameboy and game cards in.

Maybe making gifts for Grandma or female relatives can allow you to branch into different designs than you may otherwise consider.

My son will be one in a little over a week so i'd be interested in what you decide as I'll be doing this sort of thing quite soon. (Especially if all the years to come, go as fast as this last one).

Al

[moldmonkey]

I had my daughter make a simple shot-glass type container out of acrylic. Being clear it helped her see and understand what was going on inside when boring and drilling.

[Mike Burdick]

Just curious...

Have you asked them what they would like to make? If they're making something they dreamed up they'll have more fun and be more likely to finish it.

But you asked for ideas, so... how about a water powered rocket?

[DancingBear]

Just curious...

Have you asked them what they would like to make? If they're making something they dreamed up they'll have more fun and be more likely to finish it.

But you asked for ideas, so... how about a water powered rocket?

As a shameless plug for the kind sponsors of this site, I'll point out that there was an article on making a water rocket launcher to launch 2-liter bottles in the October 2002 Machinist's Workshop.

Looks like a fun project for us big little boys! :D

Walt

[Sprocket]

My son always wanted me to build a robot.. not that he wanted to build a robot, but I should. He was little, he didn't have a clue. But how about a "Finger Motor"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/Sprocket/DSCN0346.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/Sprocket/DSCN0345.jpg

Plans came from NAMES handout and were reprinted in HSM in 2006? or so.

My wife wanted to build one.

Doug

[lazlo]

I had my daughter make a simple shot-glass type container out of acrylic. Being clear it helped her see and understand what was going on inside when boring and drilling.

That's a great idea! My daughter is almost 5, and when we watched the 6 year old girl broaching keyways on the YouTube video posted on PracticalMachinist, she went nuts and asked if she could do the same.

So with a little help from Dad, she was able to broach a keyway (mostly, crank the handle on the hydraulic press), and she was completely thrilled! :D

She ran inside to show Mom the broach, and of course the first thing my Wife asked, with the evil eye, was "should she be holding that?" :p

[tattoomike68]

When I go to the river I scrounge up driftwood and garbage and build model sail-boats that really sail. The kids go crazy over them and play for hours with them. I use rocks for keels, pop can peice for a rudder, sticks for a mast and chip bags for sails.

It would be easy to taper cut some wood hulls in a band saw, make a steel keel. use wood dowel for a mast. A wood rudder that can be set and a sail made from peices of mylar balloon. learning to set them up so they tack into the wind is half the fun.

[kendall]

My son always wanted me to build a robot.. not that he wanted to build a robot, but I should. He was little, he didn't have a clue. But how about a "Finger Motor"

Plans came from NAMES handout and were reprinted in HSM in 2006? or so.

My wife wanted to build one.

Doug

why not put a grinding wheel on it and make a realy useable tool?

Used to have a small handcranked wheel, and even though I had a bench grinder and a belt/disk sander, it was actualy pretty heavily used.
Kids used to love cranking on it while I ground something, no idea how many things were sharpened or ground just cause they wanted to help.

Ken.

[PS4steam]

Hi

I have two granddaughters age 8 & 10. Last summer I thought I would see if they woudl be interested in trying out a shop project. They are both very good with a sewing machine and work on doll cloths, and just invent things with the sewing machine. They have been coming to a steam power show since they were 1 so are familar with mechanical things. Also I have worked with kids on similar projects. I have learned some things. They need to do it, make errors, and have fun. I also do not push them. When they want to stop and work on something else ie read a book, sew, I tell them go for it. Kids do need motivation ie a why. What I did was show them the article on that finger engine from the HSM, with the young girl running the lathe. Then I said how would you guys like to build that for your father for fathers day. I told them we had the two weeks they were visiting to do it. I also told them what they had to do and what I would do. Given they had never used a machine tool before we needed some guidlines. Well they jumped at it. I wont go into all the detrails, but they ran the mill, lathe, drill press. They learned how to hold and use a file, mark out holes, read a print ( I always pretended I forgot a measurement so they would need to find it again for me). Some days we spent 2 or 3 hours at shot, then off they would go. Next thing I knew they were back in the shop ready to go. Well when it was put togther the first time and they each got the hang of running it I knew they were hooked on the shop. They had grins from ear to ear. I am new to posting so am not sure how to post a picture. They took it to school for show and tell along with the pictures showing them running the machines. I know they are hooked, this Christmas we were out in the shop punching some extra holes in their new watch wristbands, and the older one asked what next summers project was going to be.

I now need to come up with something - maybe a tin can hot air engine.

Bob

[IOWOLF]

Have them clean the shop.

[PS4steam]

IOWOLF

Clean the shop not a bad idea. My two have some experience. I had the unfortunate experience of having to move my shop after 25 years. I could not believe how many nuts, screws, bolts of every kind I had stuffed in every corner. Well I built an 9' island bench with 300 drawers under it. When the granddaughters were out for spring break last year I had them sort. One learned about machine screws, bolts, and sheet metal screws. The other one learned about wood screws, lag screws. They spent the better part of three days sorting boxes by types and sizes. Then they started on boxes of fasteners in cans, buckets etc. They each had a gauge and sorted - 2,4,6,8 etc. Well now I can find everything - but of course I still never have the right size. When they finished up on the last day, the younger one commented that she bet her and her sister knew more about screws and bolts than anyone else in their school.

So clean up the shop is a great idea - it can even be a learning experience. And when they built that finger engine they knew exactly what a no 4, 6 and 8 were.


Bob

[jimsehr]

One little toy game for kids is to make a spinning top that has eight sides
milled on it. Then you metal stamp at random t1,t2,t3,at,ta,p1,p2,p3 on the eight sides. The top is made so after spinning and it falls, the side that is on
top tells players next move. First all players ante one bean into a pot. Now if
tops falls and top shows p1 that means player puts 1 bean into pot. Next player spins and if top shows t3 player takes 3 beans out. When player spins and top shows ap all players put 1 bean in pot. When top shows ta player gets to take all and new game starts.
Jim