Over Memorial Day weekend Mark and the boys worked on making treasure boxes together. The idea of the treasure box is for each boy to have his own space where he can store interesting objects he finds and wants to keep that are only his, and not to be touched by his brother.
Mark has been working long hours at his new job these past few months, so the boys were deliriously happy at the idea of doing something with with him in the workshop. It took them two half-days to build the boxes. Tommy and Ben loved using their dad's tools and just hanging out with him in the workshop. (I won't lie - I loved having some peace and quiet in the house so I could get things done!)
I should add that the boys have experience using and have had instruction in the proper use of the tools they are shown with. We only allow them to use tools we are confident that they are comfortable with and can use safely!
Step 1: Sand down pieces of the boxes (which Mark had prepared beforehand).
Step 2: Adhere sides together using wood glue.
Step 3: Once the wood glue is dry, hammer nails into each corner. This makes sure the boxes are extra strong (and kid-proof).
Sadly, sometimes thumbs don't fare so well when 5-year olds are wielding hammers. But the tears dry quickly and the little builders move on with life. And they learn to be more aware of their thumbs!
The remaining steps in this process aren't in pictures because the kids didn't help with the rest: Mark finished them off with the sinking of nails, staining, and final sanding.
Final products!
Ben's treasure: rosemary from our yard and some interesting rocks he found.
How cool - Mark is a great Dad, and this is stuff memories are made of.
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