Filmed, directed & edited by Dom Farrell, e: dom@domfarrell.com
Business Excellence Creative Award Winner 2022 and 2023.
You want something truly amazing for your group?
Something unique and different?
Something the children won't forget?
I'm so glad you found us. Why, you ask?
Because we love teaching too and because your children will talk about this incursion for a LONG time.
You'll be glad you found us. Promise!
We are Little Woodworkers®
An Australian Made & Owned family business offering fun engaging woodwork incursions for preschool & primary school children. They make their own quality wooden toys and learn about SUSTAINABILITY in a unique & MEMORABLE way.
Our incursions help children explore their creativity through woodwork, developing skills that potentially spark an interest in a future creative career path. Children participating in our woodwork activities are being made environmentally aware.
“Some of my fondest memories of my grandfather is him teaching me the wonder of constructing something out of such a lovely material. Wood! We need more hands-on activities like yours for children. The skills you are teaching are being lost.
— CLIMBING TREE NATURE PLAY & SUSTAINABILITY CONSULTANCY
Choose your children’s woodwork adventure:
About us
Finding the right kindergarten or school incursion can be difficult.
You need it to be educational, value for money and fun.
It has to fulfill the Learning Outcomes of the EYLF (for Kindergartens) and tie in with the STEM inquiry units (for Primary Schools).
It would also be great if it had potential for follow-up lessons/activities.
We get it. And we can help!
The Team
Jim (the toy maker & incursion facilitator)
Jim Begley is the creator of Little Woodworkers®. He designs, makes and prepares the toys and facilitates the exclusive IN-PERSON incursions with his obvious enthusiasm.
During his visits, Jim incorporates a fun engaging demonstration about nature, trees and caring for our environment.
Jim loves seeing when the children make the connection between their environment and every day wooden items.
With the challenges in 2020 we introduced our hands-on engaging Woodwork PACKAGES. They were an immediate hit with teachers and became a permanent feature, reaching more children in Victoria and Australia-wide.
Since the first booking in December 2014, we reached a milestone in 2019, with Jim having facilitated over 1,000 woodwork incursions and over 25,000 children got to make their very own wooden toy.
In 2023 Little Woodworkers® won the Mornington Peninsula Business Excellence Award in the Creative Industry for the second year in a row.
Jim has 30+ years experience in furniture designing and making, 20 of which he worked for himself. He has made furniture for a "little" known Irish band called U2 and the Irish Prime Minister.
Originally from Ireland, Jim is a proud Dad to his two young children, Anna and Charlie.
His aim is to encourage this new generation to be creative with wood again. He wants the children to remember this woodwork experience (forever!).
How did the idea come about?
The light bulb moment
Jim did a 'Show & Tell' at his daughter's kindergarten in August 2013, making a workbench with a group of 22 children "helping" him.
He was amazed at how much the children enjoyed the making process and impressed at how much they were capable of at such a young age. The children proudly admired what they had accomplished.
That pride on their little faces sparked the idea of Little Woodworkers®. Click the links to learn more about that moment and the initial conept.
Kerstin (your first point of contact)
Kerstin Begley is Jim's wife and mum to their two young children. She runs the show behind the scenes and is your first point of contact.
Originally from Germany, Kerstin travelled to Ireland in 2000. What was supposed to be six months, turned into 10 years.
In Ireland Kerstin studied Drama, Arts & Theatre and later Journalism & Media whilst working for RTÉ, Ireland's National Broadcaster.
Kerstin has 20+ years combined experience in Office Management, Customer Service and Communication.
Building the website for Little Woodworkers® and helping Jim turn his amazing idea into reality has taught Kerstin a lot about starting and running a business.
This also led to her launching her own little online business, teaching non-techie website newbies to build their very own websites too.
Why OUR incursions?
We are an Australian Made & Owned family business
We promote a positive sustainability message.
We have a wealth of experience in working with wood and natural materials.
We supply all the materials, incl. safety equipment and props.
We fulfill the Learning Outcomes of the Early Years Learning Framework. (We have tailored the Learning Outcomes specifically to our woodwork incursions as an additional resource when you book. They’re perfect for the children's portfolios.)
Our incursions tie in well with the STEAM inquiry units.
We are NOT a franchise!
The children learn about the importance of trees and taking care of their environment while creating positive lasting memories.
The children feel a sense of connection to nature and devolop an awareness and appreciation of the world around us.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
- Benjamin Franklin -
Still wanna know more? (Good. We've got more to share.)
CLICK HERE to see what happened after Jim had his light bulb moment.
OR HERE to see our initial concept in cartoons(!) illustrated by Jim himself.
AND HERE for 10 fun facts about Jim (including something to do with a little known Irish rock band)
What our happy clients say
Teachers frequently refer to our incursions as:
“The BEST incursion we’ve ever had!”
“I'm absolutely loving your work. Some of my fondest memories of my grandfather is him teaching me the wonder of constructing something out of such a lovely material. Wood! We need more hands-on activities like yours for children. The skills you are teaching are being lost. Keep up the fantastic work!”
— Simon Hutchinson, Director & Creator of CLIMBING TREE NATURE PLAY & SUSTAINABILITY CONSULTANCY
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Unit on Creativity
“We thoroughly enjoyed our recent workshop with Jim. The children loved every minute of it. I think if Jim had been there all day, they would have happily constructed their woodwork creations all day long. I loved the way Jim spent time prior to commencing the woodwork, talking about wood, trees and the animals that inhabit them. Great teaching by Jim with a most captive audience. Again our sincere thanks. We will definitely have you again next year, most probably in term 4 with our unit on Creativity.”
— Theresa Virgona, Teacher
ST THOMAS MORE PRIMARY SCHOOL, Mt Eliza -
All our Preps loved it!!
“Hi Kerstin, Just wanted to say a big thanks for all your organisation to help our incursions to run smoothly. Thank you so much to Jim for the running of our wonderful incursions yesterday - all our Preps loved it!! It was so engaging and they had such a fantastic time learning how to make their wooden Aeroplanes! ✈️ We will definitely look forward to booking another incursion with you again!”
— Allison Weerappah, Foundation Teacher
ST MARY’S PRIMARY SCHOOL, Hampton -
Filled with enthusiasm and excitement
“Jim was amazing, the children absolutely loved the incursion and were filled with enthusiasm and excitement the entire time. They particularly enjoyed the animal activity and finding out about the wildlife that lives in our trees. Here is what the children have to say, "Can Jim come every day?", "I liked when Jim pretended to be an Owl", "IT WAS THE BEST DAY EVER!" Thanks again Kerstin and Jim for organising. ☺”
— Bronte Lincoln, 4-Yr-Old Teacher
GOODSTART EARLY LEARNING, Brighton -
Important experience
“Such a wonderful experience once again for all the children (and educators too). The parents couldn't believe that the children had made the Aeroplane independently and even more amazed with the use of real tools (so great). We will be extending their experiences with wood over the coming weeks and have a good supply of soft wood and nails. You and Jim are such a good team! Thanks again for everything you both do to provide this important experience for our young children.”
— Annette Tsindos, Director & Early Childhood Teacher
CIVIC KINDERGARTEN, Middle Park
For more testimonials, CLICK HERE →
Or take your pick below for more information on:
OR
A picture paints a thousand words.
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“We got to use all the screws without our moms and dads helping us!”
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“I did some hammering with mallets, I liked hammering in the wheels and I made a sliding spaceship.”
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“I liked what we made and I really liked what Jim showed us and I like woodwork! I liked Jim and every toy and woodwork thing.”
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“I liked best to make the Aeroplanes and all the little creatures that live in the tree and the big creatures and we got to make our own things.”
Teacher Resources
Jim and I sat together and spent hours (days really) tailoring the EARLY YEARS LEARNING FRAMEWORK to our woodwork incursions for teachers to see the BENEFITS and LEARNING OUTCOMES.
This PDF download is sent out with every booking confirmation and invoice.
It's a great additional RESOURCE and teachers love using it for the children’s portfolios after they had their incursion experience.
If you'd like a sneak-peak right away (or want me to send it to you again), just email me, Kerstin, at info@littlewoodworkers.com.au.
“The session was fantastic! The children thoroughly enjoyed it and Jim was great with them. His session was so informative and we were impressed with the quality of his presentation! Thank you also for the great resources for their portfolios! We will definitely use your service again and recommend to all our early childhood contacts! Thank you so much.”
- Kirsty Patullo, Kindergarten Teacher, Kids Company, Cheltenham