Making Painted Wooden Tops with Children

Children have loved tops for hundreds of years.  We are novice top makers but we had a lot of fun anyway.  Here is how we did it.

Materials:

-Small wood biscuits or circles (1-2 inch in diameter, ½ inch thick)  Drill a hole into the circle to snuggly fit the dowel you have chosen.

-Paint or felt pens

-1/4 inch wooden dowels 2 1/4 inch long, sanded to a soft point at one end.

-wood glue

 Instructions:  

1. Encourage children to come up with their own unique designs and let them decorate the top of the wooden circle.

2.I would use a wax sealant on the tops at this point, but it is optional.  Since we spend so much time outdoors, it adds a bit of protection.  If you choose to do this, use a tin of wax seal from your hardware store, or a DuraClear Varnish.

3. Insert wood glue into the hole on the round biscuit and push the dowel into it so that the pointed end extends ¼ to ½ inch on the bottom.

4. Let this dry and then enjoy.  You will want to show the children how to make their tops spin.

(If you are not handy in the workshop, scope out a handyman or woman in your area and have these parts made in advance of your project.)

We started with logs.

 The logs were cut into 1/4 inch slices

            

             The children decorated their tops

Then they added the pegs with wood glue.

                                Let the fun begin!