Preschoolers with hammers and saws
Innovative library program teaches kids to manage risk
WATERLOO — Avalon Beresford screwed up her face in concentration as she moved the saw back and forth, back and forth, slicing through the foam pool noodle.
She was one of a roomful of two- to fiveyear-olds taking part in a Waterloo Public Library program called “Discovering Tools” that lets very young children get creative with real tools, like drills, screwdrivers and glue guns.
The kids are keenly aware the saws they are wielding are not sanitized, kiddie versions, but the real thing. “It’s fun,” Avalon said. “I like the teeth.”
The workshop is part of innovative programming at the library that is exposing kids to a new approach to play and learning called “risky play.”
The idea is that keeping children safe involves letting them take risks, while teaching them how to manage the dangers.
There’s plenty of research that shows that teaching kids how to manage risk has many benefits, such as reduced anxiety and increased creativity, said Kelly Kipfer, the library’s director of children’s services.
Risky play — play that involves climbing, going fast, using dangerous tools, or the risk of getting lost — is inherently thrilling. But research shows that it can teach useful skills and build confidence, helping kids gain experience and the ability to judge for themselves what they can handle, Kipfer said.
And trusting even very young children with tools — under adult supervision, of course — sends a very powerful message, she adds: “We believe in you and we can teach you how to use this.”
Program leader Christine Van Walraven first briefs the kids on how to use the saw safely.
“This is the handle. This is where we hold it. These are the teeth. They’re a bit sharp, so when we handle the saw we hold it by the handle and we have to be careful of the teeth.”
Kipfer admits that even though she understood the benefits of risky play, it took a
bit of getting used to for the library to embrace it. “My first response was, ‘Really? We’re going to give saws to three-year-olds?’”
But organizers wanted to start with young kids, because at that age “kids are already starting to develop ideas about who uses tools and who makes things and whether or not they’re good.”
Kipfer found that young children take the tools seriously and are keen to learn. “They want to be able to build something like their mum does or their dad does. There’s a lot of focus on trying to do it properly.”
The library gave a presentation on its risky play programs in February at the Ontario Library Conference, to a receptive audience of library professionals. “There was a lot of interest. I don’t think there’s many (other libraries) doing what we’re doing,” Kipfer said.
The program is hugely popular, filling up every time it is offered, and often running a wait list, Kipfer said.
“To see them actually get to use the tools is great,” said Sarah Zegers, who was at the program Monday with her two-year-old son, Blake. “It teaches them exactly how far they can go.”
Zegers said she is already planning on doing the program again with her young daughter once she is old enough. “When I was young, you’d send your kids out to play. You know, go get dirty.”
Next week? The kids get to wield hammers.