Woodwork - Learning Outcomes

- Adapted from Pete Moorhouse (Irresistible-Learning)
This resource is a list of just some of the many learning outcomes associated with woodwork in early years education. These emphasise the rich learning and development opportunities associated with woodwork.

Woodwork in early years:

1. Develops children's sense of agency- that ‘can-do’ spirit

2. Encourages persistence

3. Develops hand-eye coordination, fine and gross motor skills

4. Encourages perseverance with challenging tasks

5. Builds self-esteem

6. Builds on children’s ability to self-regulate

7. Provides numerous opportunities for problem solving

8. Allows children the opportunity to play - tinkering, exploring the possibilities of wood and tools

9. Allows children to express their imagination in a new medium 

10. Draws in children’s curiosity-engaging children  

11. Encourages extended periods of focus and concentration

12. Allows children to experience risk in a controlled environment  

13. Provides opportunity for authentic hands on learning, real tools, real wood, real problems and solutions

14. Elicits high levels of enjoyment and achievement

15. Allows children to experience making and repairing (countering consuming disposing) 

16. Leaves an embedded memory – kinaesthetic learning being recalled many years later 

17. Provides multiple layers of learning with opportunities to build on previous learning

18. Develops creative thinking

19. Develops critical thinking, analysing, synthesising

20. Provides opportunities for collaboration, and working together

21. Provides opportunity for open ended exploration, inquiry based learning

22. Provides a ’material’ for investigation. Does wood burn? Float? How strong is wood? etc.

23. Promotes language and new vocabulary

24. Learning through observation

25. Develops mathematical thinking, and mathematical vocabulary

26. Develops meta-cognitive thinking as children reflect, evaluate and collaborate

27. Provides opportunity to experience cause and effect

28. Can engage children with literacy through numerous books about wood

29. Engages children who often find it hard to focus

30. Provides an opportunity to counter stereotyped roles

31. Encourages independence and decision making

32. Facilitates creations of new neural pathways

33. Gives children a feeling of responsibility- by being trusted to use real tools

34. Provides opportunities for children to try new experiences

35. Develops empathy and seeing things from others perspectives

36. Encourages self-care and awareness of others

37. Provides opportunity to repeat schematic behaviour /observe children’s schemas

38. Makes learning irresistible and develops passion for learning

39. Develops strong sense of self-efficacy – belief in their ability to succeed

40. Develops a disposition to recover quickly from set-backs and disappointments

41. Provides children with a truly cross- curricular activity embracing all areas of learning

42. Develops children’s interest to exploring further creating a multi-layer learning experience

43. Promotes children’s well-being through absorption in the state of creative ‘flow’