Learn by Making

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We’d all love our children to know how the whole world works experientially, but even an unlimited budget is limited by time—these voracious little minds have to find time to eat, sleep and hang upside down on the monkey bars. What we can do, both as parents and teachers, is give our children the skills to understand the world to their fullest, however long it takes, for their whole lives. These skills include cooking, whittling, drilling holes, painting landscapes, folding fitted sheets, coding, using a measuring tape (for more than tricks… but for tricks, too!), and, just as important, troubleshooting what went wrong and figuring out how to make a good thing even better. Our children need to learn not only how to follow instructions, but even generate instructions themselves!

Back in the good old days (tongue in cheek), children didn’t only go to school; they worked really hard for their family’s survival. Parents counted on their children to fix the roof, haul water and even fight fire as the wind came sweeping down the plain. More recently, dads and moms don’t work in or around the home anymore, so children learn many more skills at school.

Many schools include Maker Workshop time in their regular routine to give kids an opportunity to integrate Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM). At our school, we make models, weapons and even food to make the history we’re learning come to life. Students remember making with their own hands far more more than reading in a textbook.

Our 12-year-old is going through his history curriculum for the second time, this time as a middle schooler. He remembers the projects and notices subtle differences from how we did it last time. With fond memories of ancient Sumerian soap carving, Medieval cardboard castle dodgeball, Revolutionary ear plug muskets and Irish potato famine cabbage stew, Patrick builds on experiential anchors in his internal timeline.

Knowing is vastly different from experiencing. Experience is a whole-body activity—even a visual or auditory learner doesn’t really get it simply by watching or listening to others do it. They see and hear as they touch and build it themselves. If they’ve made it themselves, they know it for life. As parents and teachers, we can evaluate how much our children have internalized by watching what they make themselves: both imaginary and real.

It’s never too early to start. Babies immediately begin evaluating and experimenting on their surroundings to learn how the world works. Toddlers tend to get into everything to see what they can accomplish. Why not harness this drive a few hours a week to see what you and your child can make together. Invest in a roll of duct tape and an ultra-low temp glue gun and create almost anything. We’ve included a few resources here to get you started making at home.
Get ideas:
Bay Area Discovery Museum
Exploratorium
Make Magazine