When kids think about woodworking, they often imagine boxes or boxlike objects, such as birdhouses, benches and cabinets. Here’s an easy way for young children to make boxes using only a square, pencil, saw and hammer. The trick is to build the box from the bottom up. The bottom determines the size of the first side, the bottom and first side determine the size of the second side, and so on; this method is forgiving of the inaccuracies likely to occur when young kids use a saw. It’s also a good way to help children understand right angles and rectangles, without having to resort to geometry.
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Expect some surprising answers when you ask a child “What do you want to make?” Little kids commonly ask for a horse, dog or man, projects that make us think of
sculpture rather than woodworking. But don’t discourage a child who has these ideas, because almost anything can be expressed in wood once you know the basic woodworking language.
