Tuesday, May 09, 2017

toys and creativity.

The more you do, the less they learn. That's as a general rule of thumb when it comes to preparing materials for children to do woodworking. But on the other hand, children these days have little left to their imaginations when it comes to toys. Toys are engineered for them by excellent designers and fabricators, and sold cheaply at Walmart and every grocery store in the US.

But what could be more lovely than a toy the child has made, or that has been made for him or her by a loving parent?

The legs are long and the arms short, but even an adult can see what it is. In Swedish you would say, "Träpinnen har på sig byxor," meaning the wooden stick is wearing pants. The image is from Swedish Wooden Toys, published by Yale University Press.

Today the work benches will arrive at the new ESSA wood working studio. My elementary school students are camping, and we will have visitors at the Clear Spring School from Arkansas A+ Schools, a program to re-integrate the arts in public schooling.

Make, fix, create, and give our children the tools of imagination that schooling deprives them of.

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