Sparks
Ages 4–6
Cardboard engineering with kid-safe ChompSaw power tools. Real cutting, real building, zero sharp blades.
Mobile workshop · Eastside, WA
Real tools.
Real tools.
Real skills.
Hands-on building classes for kids 4 to 16. No screens and no worksheets. Your kid measures it, cuts it, builds it, and carries it home. We bring the whole workshop to your co-op, school, or community space.
6 to 12 kids per instructor
Curriculum by a certified CTE teacher
Background checked & insured
Four levels. Everyone starts somewhere.
Kids earn their way up by demonstrating skills, not by aging out. Every skill gets signed off in their Guild Book, and every level-up is celebrated in front of their families.
Apprentice
Ages 7–9
Hand tools and small power tools. Measuring, marking, sawing with a miter box, drilling, sanding, and their first wood builds.
Journeyman
Ages 10–13
Full power tool training, reading plans, and projects they design themselves. Circuits and other trades enter here.
Craftsman
Ages 14–16
Advanced woodworking and joinery, intro trade skills, CAD and 3D printing, and a capstone project start to finish.
The Guild Semester
Our flagship program: 14 weeks, one two-hour class each week, with age-based stations running side by side so siblings can come on the same day.
What a semester covers
- Wood: measuring, cutting, joining, and finishing
- Wire: simple circuits, switches, and lights
- Cardboard engineering for the Sparks crew
- Design and planning, including CAD for older students
- A capstone build that goes home at the showcase
Small stations, real ratios, and a project in progress every single week.
How it works
We come to you
Your co-op, school, church, or community room. We bring tools, benches, lumber, and safety gear. You bring a room or a dry patch of parking lot.
Kids build, every class
Every session starts with safety and ends with something in their hands. Nobody watches from the back row, because small groups mean everyone is working.
They earn the next level
Skills get logged in their Guild Book. At the end of each session, families come to the showcase to see the builds and watch their kid rank up.
The safety question, answered
Real tools make real skills, and they're handled the way a good shop class handles them. Nothing goes in a kid's hands until they've earned it.
6 kidsper instructor, ages 4 to 6
10 kidsper instructor, ages 7 to 9
12 kidsper instructor, ages 10 and up
- Tools earned by level. Four-year-olds cut cardboard with kid-safe ChompSaws. Power tools start at age 7 and only after a demonstration and a supervised check-off.
- Gear on every kid. Safety glasses provided and required, hearing protection when needed, hair tied back, closed-toe shoes.
- Qualified instruction. Curriculum built by a certified Career and Technical Education teacher; instructors trained on every tool they teach.
- Cleared and covered. Every instructor is background checked, and we carry full insurance. Certificates available to schools on request.
- Trained for the bad day. Every instructor is CPR and first aid trained, and our staff training is led by a certified CPR and first aid instructor.
Pricing
Every price includes materials, tools, and safety gear. No kit fees, no surprises.
| Level | Class length | Standard | Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sparks (4–6) | 45 min | $355 | $305 |
| Apprentice (7–9) | 45 min | $385 | $335 |
| Journeyman (10–13) | 60 min | $475 | $415 |
| Craftsman (14–16) | 60 min | $475 | $415 |
| Guild Semester (all levels) | 14 wks × 2 hr | $875 | $795 |
Camps
School breaks and summer. Four mornings, three hours a day, with a bigger build to take home on the last day. Add a fourth hour for $75.
$595 Members $535 · 4 mornings, 3 hours a day
Build parties
90 minutes, up to 10 kids, and every guest goes home with a project they made. We bring everything and clean up after.
$695 Members $625 · $45 per extra kid
Co-ops & schools
Semester programs, after-school clubs, in-day residencies, and career days. Pricing depends on group size, format, and location.
Request a quote Minimum enrollment applies
Payment plans available on every program: half at registration, half before the midpoint, no fee. Need-based scholarship seats are set aside in every cohort. Just ask.
Guild Membership
Member pricing applies to every child in your family, on every program we run. If you have two kids, or you come back for a second session, it more than pays for itself.
- Member rates on classes, camps, and parties
- Priority registration a week before enrollment opens
- A quarterly members-only open build night
- Guild Book, level patches, and safety glasses included
- Member discounts on shop gear and take-home tools
- Your dues help fund scholarship seats for local kids
$275/year
6 months $175 · 3 months $105
Paid up front, no auto-renew
Membership must be active for the full length of any program it discounts.
Ask about membershipQuestions parents ask
Is four really old enough for a power tool?
For our Sparks class, yes. The ChompSaw is a kid-safe cardboard cutting tool with no exposed blade. It nibbles through cardboard behind a metal guard. Kids get the real experience of using a tool and making something, with no sharp edges anywhere in the room.
When do kids use actual power tools?
Small power tools like drills and drivers start at age 7, and only after a demonstration and a one-on-one supervised check-off. Cutting tools come later. Every tool is earned, never handed out.
What does my kid take home?
A finished project from most classes, a Guild Book logging the skills they've signed off on, and a patch each time they level up.
Where do classes happen?
We're mobile. We run at homeschool co-ops, private schools, churches, and community spaces across the Eastside: Redmond, Kirkland, Bellevue, Sammamish, Woodinville, Bothell, and Duvall, plus Snohomish County. If you have a group and a space, we'll come to you.
Can I really try a class for free?
Yes. Come to the first class of an 8-session block at no cost. If it isn't a fit, tell us before you leave and you owe nothing. If you enroll, we take the cost of that first class off your session price, so trying it never costs you anything.
What if my kid has never built anything?
That's most of them. We start with shop rules, how to hold a tool, and how to measure and cut a straight line. Confidence is the actual curriculum. Building is just how we teach it.
Try the first class free
Come to your first class free. If you enroll, we take the cost of that class off your session price. Tell us about your family or your group and we'll follow up with the next available session.