Spending time with my grandsons is one of the greatest joys of my life. My four grandsons are aged 11, 7,6 and 3. The three older boys have gotten into video games and Star Wars, Legos and sports. I am amazed at how quickly all of them absorb information from everything around them. Some of them like the outdoors, others not so much but they know Meemaw is the bird lady and they often point birds out for me and they love helping fill the feeders. When they come to my house I make sure we get some time outside just walking around and observing.
All four grandsons are builders, each in their own way. They mostly buy sets that have directions and they are very good at following the instructions which is a great skill. They are really developing some spatial awareness which is also good. But I encourage them to build things from their imagination too.
Seeing them build, whether with legos or other materials, reminds me how important experiential learning is. Building helps them learn about forces, balance, symmetry, limits. The littlest one likes the magnetic-tiles. He builds fast and without inhibitions, and talks the whole time. No worries about whether it turns out good, it’s good to him because it’s what he is dreaming of in the moment. I hope I am around long enough to see where life takes all four of them.
Though my childhood was quite a while back, I learned to sew at a young age. My brothers worked with my dad building livestock pens or shelves, learning construction skills. Back then, there were vocational classes to teach those skills too. The more hands on skills kids can learn the better. Tomorrow I will have some book reviews for little builders.
This is great fun to read, Angela. My builder grandson has done the same since he was barely old enough to stack one block on another. He soon began taking things apart in the house, both to his parents’ consternation and their admiration because he was so adept at putting them back together. He’s 11 now, and his building skills come in handy. Just last week his parents gave him the job of assembling a new entryway table and bookcase. Sounds like your builders are on track for similar assignments!