Hands-on course teaches children important skills

Three- to 5-year-olds learned important skills Thursday at Brookside Education Center.

Children built small replicas of Hummers after Home Depot agreed to offer woodworking/carpentry kits, said Katie Richards, an early education information specialist at Brookside Education Center.

“We try to give the kids some classes that are kind of career opportunities or any career-focused things,” she said.

The program typically includes about nine or 10 students who are between 3 and 5 years old, and hammers are supplied by the parents of the children.

Though not a STEAM program (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) course, the event has similar features, including creativity, learning to fit things together and decorating.

“(A) wide variety of things they get to learn about it just by making a little toy car,” Richards said.

The class, which includes children and their parents, helps students by allowing them to learn in the presence of their guardians.

“It’s also good for these kids to be in more of a classroom setting,” she said. “They have an instructor; they’re starting to learn the social aspect of a classroom and how to listen to the teacher, to follow directions, to do things in order.”

Early Childhood Family Education offers classes for children from birth until age 2 and for youth ages 3 to 5, in addition to courses for dealing with toddlers.