Through observation, in my centre I have noticed one area in
which children have participated in using non-digital technology on a daily
basis. This area is the carpentry table and the piece of technology children
use is the hammer. The hammer is a non-digital technology and it is a tool
children enjoy using. As stated in Smorti (1999), the hammer is a type of technology
which helps people to solve problems. With this tool children are able to hammer
in nails to pieces of wood and other materials to build, construct and create,
objects, sculptures, pieces of art and other sorts of tools and technology. 
What I have noticed children doing with the hammer is that
they do not learn how to use it first. What they do is that they just grab the
hammer closer to where the handle and the head of the hammer join, and they
bang, bang, bang away onto every piece of wood on the table. If children find
it difficult hammering the nails onto wood, they are provided with plastic
bottle lids which help with keeping the nails up. This makes it easier for the
children to hammer the nails onto the pieces of wood, and slowly learn how to
control the hammer and focus on the nail.
With some children they don’t really worry about what they
are making, but what they get to do with
the hammer, nails and pieces of wood is much more interesting to them. They get
the pieces of wood and hammer them together with the nails and they keep piling
wood on top of wood till they are finished. With other children, they really
enjoy constructing and creating things, so they would work with a teacher and
build something that they want. As stated in Somerset (2007), children set out
a definite objective in mind and carry out the plan through to achievement. This
is true as in the past we have had children who built tables and chairs, which
are currently being used in the centre. We encourage all children to come and
participate at the carpentry table and to have a go at using the hammer, and
maybe constructing something they can be really proud of. This helps children
develop the capability in solving practical problems which contributes to
self-confidence and well-being (Ministry of Education, 1996).
The learning children develop from this is that they become
a person who can do things alone and develop a sense of autonomy or
accomplishment (Somerset, 2007). When hammering nails into wood, a child is
altering things and feels some kind of control over them, where initiative is
stimulated and the concept of self grows (Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett &
Farmer, 2008). Children are also learning about what a hammer can do for
them, such as fixing a problem; this problem can be anything that they can find
in the centre or at home. They can learn that a hammer can fix a loose nail
popping out and hammer it back into place on a fence, table, chair or bed and
that these things can also be built using a hammer. The use of technology is
that it enables children to understand the different purposes of many materials
and the various places and settings it may be used (Ministry of Education,
1996). The history behind the hammer is that it has evolved through the years
and changed in time. Halvorson (2007),
states that, many years ago people used rocks and stones as a tool to construct
and fix things, but to this day in many cultures rocks and stones are still
used instead of the hammer. Children are learning to understand how technology
was used by different people and in different times and how it has evolved and
is still evolving (Ministry of Education, 2007).
Hi Shika I really like how you have a range of no digital technology for the children to access on a daily basic.
ReplyDeleteI like how you have explained the different skills the children learn from using the hammer. I can see through your reflection you have giving a detailed description on how the children learn to use the hammer and how you help them through this process. I like how you encourage all the children to join into the carpentry table and not just the boys.
Just a suggestion would be to get the children to think about what they want to create instead of just hammering for fun. At my old centre the children thought of ideas to make drew a picture and then came to the carpentry table to create their master piece. This could just help the development of their ideas and imagination.
Overall I can see that you incorporate the carpentry table well into your centre. I personally fell that it is a great skill to learn and I am trying to set up one in my centre.
Carpentry is a great way for children to really get physical. I like how you provided plastic bottle tops for the children to hammer into so they can practice their hammering. I’ve never tried that, so maybe I could use that idea to enhance their development. It is a lot of hand and eye co-ordination especially when they have to concentrate on hitting the nail with the hammer. It’s about giving them time to practice these skills. I love all the skills you have noticed that the children will learn through this experience. Children given the time to practice, they gather the knowledge needed to make sense of their experiences and that it can be used for a range of things. I love the activity that your centre has done with the children by constructing the furniture! That’s so cool. In my centre, we haven’t really done a project that involved something like that, so I’ll take that into consideration. Do you have any other construction tools for the children to use? Be good for them to experience different tools for different purposes.
ReplyDeletea cool experience will be to construct what the children want. I helped a child once in making his perception of his plane because he loved them. we did research and printed out a simple photo for him to copy and construct. so maybe that could be a good challenge for you :)
I love how you have written about the hammer in this reflection.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an important tool like you have explained helping people construct many things and it is nice to see that the children at your centre can experience carpentry. I like that the children at your centre are supported through this experience with the help of teachers and that children are free to create whatever they please.
I think that it is very important that children first learn to use a nail and hammer with the help of the bottle cap and then once they understand how to control the hammer they can take the bottle cap away.
I feel that through carpentry children can construct many different things and feel a sense of pride in the process of doing so. How wonderful must it feel to sit on a chair that you have created yourself? The thought of that makes me very happy so I can only imagine what children could be feeling :)
Well done Shika
Hi Shika
ReplyDeleteI love how you chose a veey different nondigital technology to talk about. The hammer procides us with easy handy-man fixes and its great the children can join in too. I find it interesting how you spoke about the children not using the hammer properly first, and not actually hammering nails. I found this inteeestong as i really believe that for young children experiences are about process rather than product as this is when learning occurs as they test new and innovative ideas and explore the things around them (Ministry of Education, 1996). I like how you let the children do this, exploring themselves and then you provided your suport and guidance when they were ready. Awesome work!