Donation of hand-made toys hoped to inspire children at Hazelmere Kindergarten

The Te Awamutu Menz Shed donated a bunch of hand-made toys and a picnic table to the children of Hazelmere Kindergarten. Photo / Caitlan Johnston

Children at Hazelmere Kindergarten have received a unique collection of toys from the team at the Te Awamutu Menz Shed.

They all ran straight for the toys and began playing with them when they were presented with them last Wednesday.

All the toys have been made from wood by members of the Te Awamutu Menz Shed and included planes, trucks, trains, tractors and cars.

"The way they came in and picked up the toys straight away has blown me away, it's a good feeling," says chairman of the Te Awamutu Menz Shed, Steve Maddington.

They also made the kindergarten a made-to-measure picnic table for the children.

The toys and table were given as thanks to the kindergarten after they gave the Te Awamutu Menz Shed a generous donation following some maintenance work the members did at the kindergarten during the term break.

They had fixed furniture, a weta house, a steel digger, the gate-to-nowhere – encouraging the children to use their imagination when they walk through the gate, and they refurbished a carpentry table.

"They've just blown us away with their generosity and their craftsmanship," says Hazelmere Kindergarten teacher Linda Fowler.

Linda says the hand-made toys will inspire the children to create and build things themselves.

"We have a carpentry table that the Menz Shed revitalised and I'm picking that these are going to encourage the kids to do some building because they can see that these are something that can be made," says Linda.