TECHNOLOGY

Hammers, Screwdrivers, and Wrenches?

Technology is tools. We use tools to help us achieve acquired results, like a calculator helps us add numbers too large for us to imagine or a smart phone helps us send a message faster than anyone.

And for young minds, basic tools like hammers, screwdrivers and wrenches are their first start into the complex world of technology.

Children must lean how to manipulate and move these tools before they understand the more sophisticated ones like computers and tablets.

It’s interesting that when we observe children playing in nature, we would see their natural instincts to pick up sticks, rocks, and pieces of wood and use them as tools. We would see children using a stick to dig a hole in the dirt or use a rock as a step stool to see over the fence or even use a piece of wood to wedge under large rock to look for bugs. These are really the first tools!

These natural materials like sticks, rocks, and wood are what young children are attracted by because they are simply and a part of the world around them. As they learn how to use these simple tools, they are learning how think critically and manipulate and move simple tools.

Starting young children with basic tools like hammers, screw drivers and wrenches are perfect for them to explore with. Real intellectual learning occurs when children explore, experiment, and tests simple tools. They understand the basics of tool function.

How can I use this tool to solve my problem? What tool do I need to solve this problem?

When children are only given tools like a iPad or tablet instead of basic ones, they learn to press buttons but do not gain an understanding of how a iPad or tablet works.

- Steve Jobs