By Dongyun Kwon
Badger Creek Primary School students come to Badger Creek Men’s Shed to learn carpentry skills every Thursday.
Badger Creek Men’s Shed invites different grades of students each term for a program named School Children Day.
Year 4 students have grabbed this opportunity during term four.
Badger Creek Men’s Shed vice president John Liyton said they started to run the program six years ago.
“We had to stop this due to the Covid for about three years and restarted this last year,” he said.
“When I first started this, I used to bring one from the higher-up years, Grade 5 or 6.
“It was a bit of an incentive for young students to have fun outside school during school hours, especially students who usually mucked up a bit in school. If they muck up, they couldn’t come across the men’s shed as a punishment. It worked for them. It was a carrot in front of a donkey.”
Mr Liyton said students could learn many skills while picking up something for themselves.
Badger Creek Men’s Shed committee member Greg Suhr added the program instilled self-confidence into the students.
“Students make their own stuff here. Sometimes, they are stuck and don’t know what to do next. They know we’re the so-called experts and where to come to ask. While getting through all these processes, they get skills on how to solve unexpected problem and how to ask questions. Finally, they can get their own masterpieces which gives them fantastic confidence,” Mr Suhr said.
Four students, Alba, Elodie, Leon and Annabelle, attended the School Children Day on 9 November.
All of them enjoyed what they were doing.
Leon said he liked to come to Men’s Shed where he could do a fun activity.
“Today I am making a strong birdhouse,” he said.
Annabelle said she loved to come here because she made things while she learnt new skills.
“I can show these to all my friends and parents and proudly tell them I made these,” she said.
“I’ve learnt how to hammer the nails in and how to sand better. Now all my things just go completely flat and straight, not splintered.”
