My dad (who is building his house from scratch...cutting trees that needed to be cleared for the house and turning them into boards to build the house, etc.) cut a few slices of one of his trees for the girls and I this weekend. I have lots of plans for these tree slices, and we started with a fun hammering activity.
We put this large tree slice under in the shade in our front yard along with a couple of hammers and nails. The girls have had a great time hammering nails. (I never let E(1) do this activity unsupervised just in case she decides to eat a nail!) O(4) especially likes to pull nails out after she hammers them. She was pulling so hard one time that she fell backwards off the tree when the nail finally came out!
While this is not an ideal toddler activity (especially when the toddler is super tired), both girls really enjoy it, and I think we'll spend a lot of time hammering this summer. I love that they are learning so many things through this simple activity...hand/eye coordination, determination, persistence, fine motor control, concentration, etc.
Great hand-eye coordination! We've done a tee/foam hammering activity and Henry enjoyed taking out the tees more than hammering them in too - must be something about it :)
ReplyDeleteI can't believe your dad is making the boards himself! Super DIY man! :)
Jamie
This is fabulous. I love those tree rounds and have been longing for some for the longest time. Lucky you! I'm also impressed with your hammering 1-year old. With little ones I've done this with golf tees and dirt, and it works great!
ReplyDeleteI actually think it is a GREAT activity! If you wanted a "safer" alternative for the littler one, you could use golf pegs in a styrofoam container of some sort. I wouldn't change a thing for the older one though. With proper education and the right tools she is perfectly capable of hammering in a nail. :)
ReplyDelete(Okay, maybe I should have read the other two comments who suggested the same thing as me!)
My parents built their house from scratch too, using the trees that they cut from the site. They built a log cabin though, so they didn't make their own boards. Good luck to your dad!
ReplyDeleteAlso, that sounds like a great thing for kids to do to practice eye-hand coordination.
We have some tree stumps in our yard and my boys would love doing this. I like the wooden hammer your little one has - it seems like a safe alternative to a real one.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments! I used to have a floral styrofoam and golf tee activity for O...maybe I should get it out for E. Although, golf tees make me a little nervous since she sometimes put things in her mouth. For some reason, they scare me more than real nails.
ReplyDeleteThis fall you could do golf tee's in a pumpkin when E's a bit older. After the place the tees where they want you can put rubber bands over them or wind yarn/ribbon around them. So much fun!
ReplyDelete