Ann@thebeach Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 My son's guitar teacher bought a "fixer-upper" and her husband is a contractor so he's doing all the work himself. We stopped at the house today and he's done all the demo but just starting to fix plumping, drywall, floors, etc. Then he'll move to painting, installing cabinets, fixtures, etc. It will be a 4-5 mos job. My son (he's 12) looked around a lot and was quiet the whole time. When we left he asked if I thought Ted would let him work on the house with him. He said he liked to build and fix things but didn't get to do it a lot at home. I thought it was a great idea and we talked about working vs tinkering and how serious it would be to work with power tools etc. He was really interested. So I called and proposed this "apprenticeship" for a few hours 2x per week. They loved the idea. Ted will be a great teacher because he explains everything in great detail (usually way more than I need to know LOL) and my son is an auditory learner. My son is pretty strong for his age so I think he'll be able to handle some of the "grunt" work (as in- lift and grunt -LOL) I think this will be great to really see how my son does following someone else's direction and to see how hard he'll work. It'll also give him an idea if this something he wants to pursue as a career. Has anyone else had their child do something like this? How did it work out? As far as linking this to his education....are there some construction or home repair books you can suggest?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 It sounds perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb in NZ Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 dh is a carpenter & both my boys have been his apprentice at times over the years. Your ds is just the right age for giving it a go. I wouldn't look for books to turn his apprenticeship into "school." Instead simply ask your ds to keep a daily log of what he does each day he works on the house. This is real life writing that tradesmen use. Just have him list the date, times worked & a brief paragraph of what was completed. Adding in some diagrams or sketches some days is nice too. If this apprenticeship continues into highschool, his log will become valuable for counting hours for credits or for validating his experience when applying for trade school or real, paying jobs. He'll pick up a lot of science & maths as well, but not in a formal way, more of using what he's already learned in a "real" way. If ds#2 hadn't gone to highschool this year we were looking into setting up a similar experience for him with our local mechanic. JMHO, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann@thebeach Posted April 30, 2011 Author Share Posted April 30, 2011 dh is a carpenter & both my boys have been his apprentice at times over the years. Your ds is just the right age for giving it a go. I wouldn't look for books to turn his apprenticeship into "school." Instead simply ask your ds to keep a daily log of what he does each day he works on the house. This is real life writing that tradesmen use. Just have him list the date, times worked & a brief paragraph of what was completed. Adding in some diagrams or sketches some days is nice too. If this apprenticeship continues into highschool, his log will become valuable for counting hours for credits or for validating his experience when applying for trade school or real, paying jobs. He'll pick up a lot of science & maths as well, but not in a formal way, more of using what he's already learned in a "real" way. If ds#2 hadn't gone to highschool this year we were looking into setting up a similar experience for him with our local mechanic. JMHO, Thanks! I love the daily log idea and telling him it's his "work log" should make it sound "grown up" to him. I love the idea of adding in sketches of his work too. Great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 What a wonderful opportunity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Ann, that is so awesome! And, as sort of an aside, I am dying to hear how your school year went. Hope to see you soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Very Cool, I hope my son can do the same type thing in a few years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my2boysteacher Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Sounds great! My goal for next school year is to get my oldest DS into some type of informal apprenticeship with a friend or family member. I have been reading a few books which state the many benefits of incorporating apprenticeship into education. Sadly, it seems that the art of apprenticeship is becoming very uncommon these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb in NZ Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 I wouldn't look to try to set up an apprenticeship until age 12 at the youngest. Until them give lots of opportunities to use real hand tools, garden tools, etc. around the home (in home maintaince situations.) Here in NZ, due to Health & Safety regulations appenticeships & work experience can't officially start until age 16. I'm certain the gov't regulations are similar in the States. Even traditionally apprenticeships didn't start until age 14. Up until that age children learned the skills necessary to begin an apprenticeship through their daily chores. The sad thing is today many children never learn how to work. JMHO, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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