I showed my 4-year old granddaughter how to crosscut little sticks on the scroll saw. She loved it. Later we'll glue the sticks together.
What amazed me was her attention to safety and keeping her hand away from the blade guard. I'd shown her how to turn the machine on and off earlier. When a little stick got jammed under the foot she reached down and turned the machine off. She waited till there was no movement in the machine, reached in and cleared the jam, turned the machine back on and continued vandalizing pieces of wood.
The point here is that small children may be awkward but they're not stupid.
While I was taking photos from the front my son was hovering behind her like I did when I first showed her the process and the dangers thereof. I started him out about the same age.
(yeah, yeah, proud grandaddy, but aren't all we grandparents that way?)
What amazed me was her attention to safety and keeping her hand away from the blade guard. I'd shown her how to turn the machine on and off earlier. When a little stick got jammed under the foot she reached down and turned the machine off. She waited till there was no movement in the machine, reached in and cleared the jam, turned the machine back on and continued vandalizing pieces of wood.
The point here is that small children may be awkward but they're not stupid.
While I was taking photos from the front my son was hovering behind her like I did when I first showed her the process and the dangers thereof. I started him out about the same age.
(yeah, yeah, proud grandaddy, but aren't all we grandparents that way?)