R loves to watch PBS and the Create Channel where they build
houses and cook, and they make it look real easy, too. So R invades my tools and scatters them
about the house. Whenever I needed a tool, I often found it missing. Therefore, my just turned six-year-old
daughter got a set of starter tools for Christmas. Though toys are fun for the very small, real tools can also
be added at a very young age.
Montessori has preschoolers hammering nails.
Of course R wanted to use her shiny new tools right away, so
she started cutting and hammering at random. She then told me she was going to
build a playhouse so I needed to go to the store and get some wood. I tell her it will take a while because
she first needs to learn how to build a playhouse (and I sure as hell don’t
know how) and that I can help her do that. She says, “I already know how to build a house. You just take some big flat pieces of
wood for the sides and stick them together, and then you put on a roof.” Maybe I would have humored her with
some shiny new flat pieces of wood had I a penny to spare, but probably not…
But I did realize it was time to learn some carpentry. Not only is it an educational goal
of my daughter’s, but it is also useful.
In permaculture they call it stacking functions. I call it living an
integrated life. The more you produce yourself, the more competent you become
and the less time you need to spend making money to buy stuff. We already have a dollhouse and three
birdhouses…so I went on a journey looking for something small and useful to
build. I considered a chicken coop
or a rabbit hutch, but knew that that leads to chickens or rabbits and I wasn’t
ready to commit to that. Then, I came across the Little Free Library and
realized it was a perfect project for us.
We would build and promote "Take a book, leave a book"
structures that fit in a front yard, by a sidewalk, coffee shop or park and are
just big enough to hold 20-30 books that kids and adults can give and take.” The
purposes of the libraries are to build community, and to promote reading for
children, literacy for adults and libraries around the world. As we build, mathematics have come
alive in the real world, rather than fragmented in a classroom. We also learn about social sciences and
community and I can present and share values and morals with my daughter
without dictating them to her.
 |
| Examples of Little Free Libraries. |
So far our journey has been very interesting. I picked the pictured model (mostly cause there were instructions on the website) and then I posted
on a local community sharing/DIY email group that I needed help cutting some
plywood into specific shapes. Not
only did I get response, but a women told us she would be happy to help and
that she had some plywood laying around that we could have. We went to her house and she taught us
to cut the wood and even gave us the scraps for future projects. However since she only had a circular
saw, we were unable to cut the hole for the door. So then I went to my neighborhood group and asked if someone
had a saw that could cut a square within a piece of plywood. We were then invited over by a neighbor
who helped us cut the hole, then donated some caulk, clear adhesive, some
molding for the Little Free Library’s door and some roof tiles. These tiles
were the original redwood tiles from their house, built in the 1880’s. They had just taken the 5 layers of
roof off their house and found them at the bottom.
Needless to say, this project is truly becoming a community
project. We are excited to see where it all goes and we will keep y’all
updated.
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