Kids Workshop

At Mill Hill Studio we believe that kids should have as many opportunities to MAKE as possible. Whether it is turning an egg box into a crocodile or moulding play doh masterpieces, it improves hand/eye coordination and is generally good for the soul!

So with the view to introduce a few more kids to the joy of hitting things with hammers; Lyle bravely volunteered to run a workshop at our daughter’s nursery. He prepped and planned, deciding to let each of the ten children make their own stool.

Lyle explained that the plan was to glue and hammer in the legs of the stool then paint the bottom half of the pre-masked legs…. and they were off.

The kids had the most amazing time using their tiny hammers and squeezing out the glue with all their might! The painting offered even more opportunity for self-expression and quite refreshingly turned our initial plans upside down. The kids didn’t seem to want to paint a set area, it appeared much for instinctive to cover as much of the surface as possible. Some of the children were meticulously painting any visible wood. So we just let them go for it!

Armed with ten reclaimed birch table top rounds, 40 masked ash legs and ten tiny hammers the challenge was on to finish the morning with the complete stools and no injuries.

Now… if any of you ever feel like you struggle with productivity, I urge you to go back to pre-school. Initially Lyle and I had been worried that there was just too much for the kids to do in one morning, but soon realised that the default setting for those aged 3-4 years is a million miles per hour.

Once they were finished they were set aside to dry and we tied a label on. It was so lovely to see the excitement and pride on the kids’ faces as they showed off their creations. It confirmed what we already suspected, that making connects us to material, self expression enhances our sense of wellbeing and that creativity has no age limit.