I'm working specifically with a set of young boys who are in a unique home situation; they are either without a father (death, divorce, etc), or the father works out of town for extended periods of time. These boys aren't generally involved in sports, and their afternoons are often wide open....leaving them time to get into trouble.
These young men are being raised by very capable women, but have little to no exposure to things that a father would traditionally teach them, more acutely, working with their hands.
That's the aim of this project: to expose these young gentlemen to the skills that they'll need as they continue to grow and mature into tomorrow's fathers and husbands.
This crew of boys generally dislikes reading and doing math....but when I disguise the content in the form of a project budget (math), grabbing tools (fractions), ordering parts and pieces (reading and math), following instructions on how to install a new wheel bearing or brake linkage (reading), then they'll BEG for more. This project will use the things they generally love to allow for covert instruction in areas that they generally dislike - and they'll have a great time doing it.
My Project
These boys need to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. One super-engaging way to do this is by resurrecting an older go-cart....and we have TWO of them ready for a renewal. We have the project go-carts, we have the space to work on them, and now we need some tools.
These tools will not only help our young boys learn the foundational elements of small engine principals and maintenance, but will pave the way for deeper lessons involving teamwork, mechanics, and perseverance, not to mention several other real-world learning experiences that are not traditionally offered in a classroom environment - all rolled into an engaging, hands-on learning experience.
These tools will afford us the opportunity to do such projects again in the future and will be with us for years to come. The tools we have chosen are affordable yet durable, and come with storage cases to ensure that we are able to keep things in the proper place. Furthermore, the additional pieces will ensure that our boys are safe while having a good time jumping into a project.
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