Sawdust News February 2025

A Message from Mike

Photo of Mike Schloff founder of Maplewoodshop

 

Happy National Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month!

At MaplewoodShop we love helping our customers raise awareness of the value of CTE.

Programs like ours help provide students with opportunities for critical thinking, applied math and practical training that can lead to in-demand careers.

Mike

Did you know ?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for woodworkers creates around 22,000 new jobs each year.

The shortage of skilled workers, particularly carpenters, persists, with over 60% of builders reporting shortages according to the National Association of Home Builders. To attract and retain workers, many employers are raising wages, providing a favorable outlook for carpenters. Sep 8, 2024.

Tips & Tricks

Students working together on maplewoodshop projects

Looking for NGSS Connections?

Get your students thinking like engineers as they build their Maplewoodshop projects by removing the step by step instructions.

Challenge students to think critically about the amount of materials they have, size of their pieces, and what their finished product will look like.

Students can create their own model to help guide their thinking or one can be provided. Let students experiment from there and see what they come up with! 

Looking for design thinking activities to take this a step further? Contact your sales representative about our NGSS aligned, design thinking lesson plans for select projects! 

Product Spotlight!

Group of elementary woodworking students showing finished projects

Starter and Mini programs offer an affordable (and scalable!) solution for various educational settings.

Each Mini/Starter set includes:

  • 10 unique projects (each lasting about 1 hour)

  • Project-ready materials

  • Shareable tools for young learners

  • Self-paced guide

  • Video and PDF training supports

Mini/Starter programs are a perfect fit for:

  • STEM labs

  • After-school programs

  • Camps

  • Home School Associations and More! 

Learn More about our Mini Programs here 

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Sawdust News March 2025

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Sawdust News December 2024