Seattle's Child

Your guide to a kid-friendly city

Girls building / Girls Build, Anfal

Tool time! Two projects from ‘Girls Who Build’

Hands-on activities: a great way to teach (and keep kids busy).

Girls Who Build (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers ) could not have arrived at a better time.

With the pandemic giving us all more time at home and much less to do, my 12-year-old daughter has already been envisioning the holiday gifts sheā€™ll craft and concoct.

Written by Katie Hughes, founder of the Portland nonprofit Girls Build, this 272-page book was right up my daughter’s alley.

Sheā€™s fascinated by the sketches, the tools (ā€œTheyā€™re actual tools!ā€) and the profiles of the featured girls.

And Iā€™m impressed by how the book takes girls (and safety) seriously and does not pander to them with ā€œcutesyā€ projects.

Here are two projects older children can try out, with proper adult oversight, of course, as well as safety gloves and safety googles: Attalia’s tea light holders and Anfal’s candleholder.Ā 

 

Attalia's tea light holders

key/bookcornerGB instructions 2 GB instructions 3Anfal's profile / girls building

girls building (Anfal)PDF: Print out the girls building projects here
Print key for instructions

This story was first published in the Winter 2020 issue.

More books and activities

Soft and cuddly ā€¦ and homemade: Little ones can help make gifts from Sanae Ishidaā€™s ā€˜Animal Friendsā€™

About the Author

Julie Hanson

Julie Hanson is a longtime journalist, South King County resident and mom to a 15-year-old girl.