We've invested in a carpentry room at Free Rangers and we can't wait to tell you why carpentry and woodwork is such a worthwhile activity for children to engage in.

As the creative arts get squeezed out of busy timetables in schools and carpentry rooms close due to low levels of funding, we decided it was important to offer our Free Range children the opportunity to access carpentry activities before they start full time education.

Daryl Bryant will be joining our team of Early Years Practitioners in the role of Carpentry Specialist and although his skill set over-qualifies him for the role (he offers large house refurbishment, maintenance and decorating at Five Star Property Maintenance) he has attended a course led by Peter Moorhouse, the Mac Daddy of carpentry for young children.

Daryl Bryant; Free Rangers carpentry specialist. Myla Bryant; Unicorn and My Little Pony expert.

Daryl wanted to let you know the following ways carpentry can enrich your child's learning:

1) Working with tools in a safe environment promotes the development of fine and large motor control. Making small cuts and long cuts and manipulating wood and tools help children to gain control over their bodies, allowing the healthy development of their proprioceptive system.

2) One of the most exciting aspects carpentry has to offer is conceptualisation. As a child works on a project in their mind and then creates it with their own hands, they begin to understand the many processes involved with thinking about something to then making that "something" real and tangible. This then satiates their hunger for artistic and creative problem solving.

3) Other obvious links include measuring and comparing dimensions and the force needed to exert on different textures and materials with differing densities. This ticks all the numeracy boxes and then some, in a real and meaningful way.

4) Needing to communicate their needs with regards to the ideas and projects they currently are working on or want to start work on also helps a child to build vocabulary and confidence by sharing their ideas.

5) Carpentry can be play based. Allowing a child time to develop and make their ideas come to life helps them to develop language, build executive functioning skills, learn to negotiate with others, manage stress (when something doesn't quite work out) and encourages children to pursue their goals despite distractions from peers and the general environment.

Once we get started we'll post more updates about the space and the projects the children have been working on.

These sessions, to begin with, will be rolled out to our pre-school children and will start from October 2018.

Once the building is up and running we'll be offering tours so families can see the space their children will be working in.

Happy sawing people!

Charlotte