Take-Apart Station

In Campbell's first grade classroom, as well as at a summer camp he attended last summer, there was a take-apart station. People would donate old equipment (typewriters, phones, etc.), and the kids could take them apart with tools and just explore. Ever since, the kids have been asking to take stuff apart at home. We don't usually have stuff sitting around that I would like to have destroyed, though.

For his birthday, Campbell got a used laptop computer. I finally got around to taking the old desktop computer out of his bedroom this last weekend. So, the kids are having a great time taking it apart. They woke up early on Tuesday and spent an hour working on it before school, then another two hours on it when they got home in the afternoon. I don't know how much they're actually learning, but I think it's a good experience, good practice using tools, and a good way to take out their destructive tendencies. And it's better than watching TV!