Steve's Turn

You might remember that because this wall in the dining room is about to be removed as part of our renovations, I took the opportunity with the girls to add some creative art work on it. Yesterday was Steve's turn. Oh, so much delight! 

I had been to a professional development seminar back in October that talked about how kids need danger and risks, all of which, I'm totally on board with. One of the things that the speaker said though, was that kids need access to tools, and not just play tools, but real tools. Real, sharp, dangerous cutting tools. Power tools. This is a little trickier when you have the age range that I have, so while I'm on board, I struggle a bit about how to implement it in a safe way.

Enter Steve, a wall that won't be there much longer and a few hours spare on the last day of holidays.

 

They got the tools out, talked about what to do and how to do it. There was knocking on the wall and listening for the studs (something I find so hard!) and deciding where to put what. 

Steve had them each drill (with assistance) a practice hole first. They screwed into them and then unscrewed as well, for practice with the screw drivers. 

They used the spirit level too, and then screwed a bit of wood to the wall. The girls thing it's a balancing beam from the ladybug to the butterfly in the sky. Here they are checking to see if it can be pulled off, or if it's on tight. 

After that, Steve got them to use the staple gun (again assisted) to staple on some streamers (ripped strips of paper). He talked to them about how it's similar to the nail gun that the builders have been using for the renovation. So perfect. 

The girls were super proud of their work. 

Thanks Steve for having the patience to go through each step with the girls and giving them this opportunity. Love it.