A Fun Construction Lesson With Pentagon Play

Propps Hall Primary School, in Manchester, have had their exciting playground tower installed during term-time as they wanted the children to see the hard work that went into the project and see what stages a project of this size went through – they didn’t just want the equipment to ‘pop up’ after the children came back after half term.

To enhance the children’s learning during the installation further, we decided to host a toolbox talk with the children about the work going on, which you can read more about Here.

As well as this, our Workshop Director, Nathan Gait, and Workshop Joiner, Sophia Castalleno, spent the afternoon hosting a construction lesson with the children.

Sophia and Nathan prepared an exciting bird box making activity transforming the children into young joiners for the day.

After the toolbox talk had been completed, the children headed back to the classroom – excited about the prospect of using real tools like the installers – and took off their hi vis and hard hats before standing ready at the construction bench the teachers had created for the lesson.

Sophia, Nathan and the rest of the Pentagon Play Team showed children how to use screwdrivers properly and safely. Supervised by our team in small groups, the children then got to work, working together to put the bird boxes together, twisting each screw in carefully.

Some of the children needed a little bit more help to finish off their box, which is where Sophia and Nathan came to the rescue with exciting electric screwdrivers. The children were in awe watching the powerful screwdrivers fix the pieces together within seconds.

Overall, the children put together 30 bird boxes between them, they were very proud of themselves to have made their very own bird box, which the children decided to give to their fathers as a Fathers Day present. The Dads were very impressed with the children's hard work!

This fantastic lesson has not only given the children a sense of achievement and insight into the world of construction, it has also improved their fine motor skills, knowledge of tools and health and safety as well as their understanding of the world.

Are you looking to develop your playground environment but worried about the installation taking place during term time? Contact Pentagon Play who have been creating outdoor learning environments for over 20 years with experienced installers who are used to working around children and teaching them about the tools they use each day.