The Kids Building Workshop: 15
Woodworking Projects for Kids and
Parents to Build Together by Barbara
Robertson
Woodworking For Kids
Boys and girls love woodworking projects! But most kids (and most
parents) lack woodworking skills. Thats where Kids Building Workshop
steps in. Craig Robertson, a master carpenter and renowned designer and
builder of furniture, and Barbara Robertson, an art educator who
specializes in teaching children, have developed an inspired method for
teaching kids and their parents the basics of woodworking.
In this lively, fully photographed and illustrated book, the Robertsons
present fun projects that teach essential woodworking skills. For example,

the Spider-Web String Art project teaches kids how to wield a hammer,
and the Drilled Name Plaque project teaches kids the safe and proper way
to use a drill.
Building on these basic skills, the book moves on to intermediate-level
projects. Kids learn how to make a sawhorse, a tool box, a step stool--all
things that every carpenter must have to build bigger and more elaborate
projects.
Finally, the kids are ready to take on seriously hip projects: a cricket
cage, a book house, a dollhouse (and dollhouse furniture!), a lemonade
stand, and a kids play table.
The Kids Building Workshop is a great primer that passes the hammer
to a new generation of woodworking kids (and their parents).
Personal Review: The Kids Building Workshop: 15
Woodworking Projects for Kids and Parents to Build Together
by Barbara Robertson
NAILING DOWN A HOLIDAY PRESENT FOR THE YOUNG CARPENTER
ON YOUR LIST
A family partnership has waved a magic wand over how-to books and
brought out a present not only for the holiday season, but for all year long
-- "The Kids' Building Workshop: 15 Woodworking Projects for Kids &
Parents to Build Together."
"We hope to share enough tips, give enough good advice, and create
enough enthusiasm to allow parents and children to develop basic
carpentry skills," Barbara Robertson, former director of education at the
Williams College Museum of Art, said of her book.
With her husband J. Craig, an experienced carpenter, and her daughters
Camille and Allegra, the family has come up with projects to help children
master basic woodworking, beginning at age six with adult supervision.
"Most kids can learn to hammer at age six and our kids could use saws by
age seven. Eight-year-olds can do a beautiful job with simple power tools
like drills, as long as a parent is right there working with them," she said in
an interview with The Sacramento Bee.

While some parents don't allow children to use tools, hoping to avoid
blackened fingernails and Band-Aids, this also means that many children
don't get to master the use of simple tools at a young age.
The first section of the book, "Setting up Shop: Getting to Know Your
Tools," introduces beginners to basic woodworking. Robertson covers
hammering to block planing, and introduces simple projects to reinforce
those skills.
The second section, "Down to Business: Building Your Own Projects,"
offers 12 kid-friendly projects from simplest to most challenging.
Burgeoning carpenters begin with string art, a project that builds nailing
technique, and progress to full-size lemonade stands and puppet theaters.
The book is written in clear, precise language that is accessible to both
children and adults.
Robertson's upbeat instructions are interspersed with tips addressed to
parents. Robertson's daughter Camille addresses her tips to kids. There is
an emphasis on safety, creativity, and experimentation.
"Everything gets nailed backward the first time. The trick is knowing how
to take a nail out and start over again," Robertson says. "Mistakes are part
of the learning process. Making them helps kids learn that mistakes are
OK as long as you don't give up."
"The Kids' Building Workshop: 15 Woodworking Projects for Kids and
Parents to Build Together" is published by Storey Kids. It is available on
amazon.com.
Robertson directed the Williams College Museum of Art's education
department for more than a decade. She coordinated hands-on
workshops, community outreach programs, museum tours, and
installations. Under her leadership, the museum was recognized with the
2000 Distinguished Cultural Institution Award from the Massachusetts
Alliance for Arts Education for its "instructional excellence and innovative
approaches to art education."
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