Introduction

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”

—Benjamin Franklin

Deciding what projects to include in this book was one of the hardest things I have done as an author. Not knowing the age or temperament of future readers preclude some very neat projects, however, I do believe that learning how to control things that are potentially dangerous (such as fire and power tools) is a vital component of growing up.

I did enlist the help of my wife (who is a middle school special education teacher), my mom (who is a nationally board certified middle school teacher), as well as my limited experience teaching after school programs in order to select projects that would interest middle school-aged children—as well as to include some that would challenge older elementary-aged children with good adult supervision. Some projects may even interest a bored teenager.

You may notice that there are more kitchen-related projects than I normally include in a project book. This is done purposely, as it seems to me that cooking is a great way to introduce the concepts of self-confidence, independence, and attention to detail. I only began to gain confidence as a DIYer when I learned to make such “scary” items as cheese, linked sausages, and flavored vinegars. I would hope that this process can be started by completing fun campfire desserts like roasted Rolo marshmallows.

My wife uses cooking in her classroom because she believes that cooking helps introduce math and science concepts such as measurements and cause/effect.

If I could redo any of the mistakes of my childhood or early adulthood I would take a greater interest in working with my elders. My grandfather was a mechanical genius. He could create functional objects in any medium; he could weld, plumb, build, run heavy equipment, as well as use precision machine tools. He could repair almost anything—and when I could have learned at the knee of a master tradesman I preferred to sit in the air conditioned house and watch cable.

I am not an expert in child raising, but I know that kids need skills, they need to gain confidence by doing. And as a I have a duty to get my son out of the house and into a mess of dirt, grease, and wood shavings so that he had a chance to learn what he can do if he sets his mind to a task.

In the end, this book is very similar in nature to my other project books. There is an open secret that I believe that the actual projects are not nearly as important as the process that occurs when you actually work them with your children.

Please work these projects with your children, not for your children. It does not matter if the end result is not pretty, or even if it works. What this book is about is allowing kids the opportunity to expand their abilities and grow their self-confidence.

No matter what your parenting style, skills, or philosophy, it is my belief that as parents we owe it to both our children and the world as a whole to ensure our fledglings learn the following skills (at a minimum) before they leave the nest:

•   How to take responsibly for their actions

•   How to work both singly and as a member of a team

•   How to learn

•   How to both take and give orders

•   How to think for themselves and question authority

•   How to manage their time to get necessary tasks accomplished by the deadlines

•   How to tell the difference between a want and a need

•   How to use basic tools for repairs

•   How to cook more than microwaveable meals and ramen—to include shopping and meal planning

•   How to clean

•   How to be frugal

•   How to budget and manage money—to include staying out of debt

It is my hope that the projects in this book help you teach these things to your children in a fun and accessible way.