For your child who is a tinkerer, there may be a variety of ways they approach the day to day.

Is the house filled with half done projects or experiments all over? For us, life with a tinkerer is:

• Four different batches of borax slime in various jars
• Balloons in various states throughout within projects
• Boxes broken apart and reassembled
• Various robotic arms in pieces
• A screwdriver kit all spread out
• Various batteries strewn about
• A work station with a chaotic bunch of items
• Airplane pieces and more…

How you teach a tinkerer

Guide them and give them structure but allow them to figure out how to safely experiment within their means and within their age range and capacity while also building autonomy and finding out how things work. Lots of failure – but in a positive way.

It’s going to be messy – and sometimes frustrating

For our youngest who tinkers with everything there are a lot of days that there are messes everywhere. I mean everywhere. And it can be frustrating somedays because we want him to learn but we also can’t have little screws, chemicals or robotic arms half apart all over the floor. For a while he took apart and tried to connect an old phone and answering machine to our phone jack. It was a little hectic somedays with a lot of “umm what are you DOING?!”

We could tell him a thousand times that it wouldn’t work but in the end, he was always persisted. His mind always racing and always the eternal “what would happen if..?” so we let it go. I won’t say we are perfect but we have allowed his curiosity to be a gateway to genius and to learn without him even realizing it.

A Tinkerer Journey

When they are this young, you do have quite a lot of control and say over what they experiment with. you don’t have to tell them what to do with the materials but you can provide safe materials and allow them to flourish within those boundaries. from a STEM kit to a slime box, they can find intrigue and adventure in experimenting with a recipe, finding out it didn’t work and then 90% of their fun is just figuring out why it doesn’t work and the parts to complete it. Mix that with a little ADHD and you have a whole circus of fun. A messy house. a child who questions and persists in analyzing everything but a joyful learning experience that is not just your average pen and paper.

How To Help a Tinkerer with School

How to Help a Tinkerer with Life

Our T-Man is a bundle of energy at times and then becomes our reserved “lawyer faced” kid. We ride the waves of intense curiosity as best we can. Some days are better and easier than others. The everyday for a child who loves to “mess” with things, take things apart, and is in constant curiosity can be challenging.

How it Shapes Their Future

A child who tinkers can have a very beautiful and bright future. Why? Because experimenting and seeing how items work and go together is a huge problem solving and analytical skill needed. From engineering to coding and many manufacturing jobs, tinkering is truly hands on and experiential. Some personalities may find disassembling items more fun than others. The intricacies of how an item works and is made is a great way to learn and challenge the mind.

What We Found Helpful

• STEM kits at the library
• Electromagnetics kit ($$ worth price)
• 100 experiments box ($ low cost)
• National Geographic growing crystals kit
• Smithsonian lab kits
• Magnifying glass etc.
• A screwdriver kit (plastic or metal depending on age)
• Kinetic sand kits
• Crunchlabs box by NASA scientist Mark Rober ($$$)
• Kiwi Co box ($$) Great for ALL ages
• Magnifying glass kit for home computer
• Woodworking kit (we have not tried this but it’s fun for older kids)
• Snap Circuits (this is hours of fun for elementary age!)
• Cardboard Engineering book (cheap and home projects)
• Of course – fidget toys never fail!

For us, when we are asked, “what should I get your child for birthday/Christmas?” we usually refer them to these exploratory kits and subscriptions. Why? Because a toy is a one time thing and if you have a child who tinkers, they will lose interest quickly. With these kits and subscriptions, there’s always something new to investigate, mess with, take apart, learn and explore. We find these are much more rewarding and a lot less frustrating because they can play with it safely for their age while learning and “tinkering” to their heart’s content.

For our son, over time, he has grown to anticipate these boxes/kits and will go off on his own, independently looking up and reviewing instructions to put them together by himself. It built a sense of autonomy and he has gotten really good at mechanics, getting better and faster each time he creates and builds something new. That’s the goal – I hope these work for you too.