OLD-SCHOOL TOOLS, NEW-SCHOOL PURPOSE By Amy Lynn-Cramer
- Amy Lynn-Cramer
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
Maplewoodshop is making hands-on learning cool again
Left: A tent card reinforces class lessons on how to use a hammer. Center: Mike Schloff demonstrates how to properly hammer a nail into wood. Right: A Maplewoodshop trainer gives hands-on instruction. Photos by Carlos Sanchez.
Maplewood resident Mike Schloff is carving out a different kind of classroom, one plank of wood at a time. As the founder of Maplewoodshop, Schloff is bringing woodworking back into schools and reaching students by feeding their need to create. “I was that kid who couldn’t sit still,” Schloff says. “I have ADHD, and I know what it’s like to feel like you don’t fit in.” The restless energy he felt in the classroom, paired with the calm he found fixing bikes alongside his dad after school, laid the foundation for what would eventually spark a hands-on education movement.
At its core, Maplewoodshop thrives on something deeply human: the need to create. “What began in a single classroom now reaches more than 200 camps, homeschoolers, charter schools and public schools in New Jersey, New York, Maine, Florida, California and Washington,” says Schloff.
To date, more than 20,000 students have experienced the program, which has even made its way to Australia. And thanks to a new partnership with the Carpenters Union, high school students can earn up to 16 college credits through a preapprenticeship pathway. Handy around the house and thriving in a successful career in digital media product management, Schloff experienced what he calls his “maker moment” at Columbia High School’s Maker Madness event in 2015.
As he watched a young boy beam with pride over a small woodworking project, something clicked. “I realized that this is what I’m meant to do,” Schloff says. “I wanted to build something real by helping kids discover who they are through their hands. And so I did a complete 180 and left corporate America.” “I knew I wanted to bring the lifelong benefits of woodworking to as many kids as possible, but I was only one person,” says Schloff.
“The best way to have the biggest impact was to go where the kids already were. I had to reach them in their current schools and camps, where the kids already respected their instructors and felt comfortable.” His philosophy is simple and deeply personal: “You can be smart in more than one way. Intelligence in your hands is still intelligence. Working with tools is math, and it’s also mindfulness, community and truth.” What began in 2016 as after-school and evening classes in a repurposed daycare space quickly evolved into a bigger mission of helping educators bring woodworking back into schools, camps and communities, with no shop room or prior experience required.
“We call it shop regret,” Schloff says. “Schools got rid of shop 30 years ago. Now they realize they lost an entire way of teaching problem-solving, creativity, collaboration and hands-on intelligence.” Through trial, error, user feedback and multiple iterations, Schloff designed a portable woodworking system. His “shop class in a box” fits inside a lockable rolling tool chest. It includes tools, wood, lesson plans, safety protocols, emotional learning cues and a traylike bench that sits atop a table.
The Maplewood Library was Maplewoodshop’s first institutional customer. In 2017, Schloff and Hilton Branch Manager Irene Langlois unveiled the original “shop class in a box” at World Maker Faire. At the time, it was one-of-a-kind.
In 2017, when Maplewood Middle School (MMS) art teacher Michele Reisman first partnered with Schloff, Maplewoodshop was in its early days. “He was just getting started,” Reisman says. “It wasn’t the phenomenon it is now.” With a grant from the Achieve Foundation, she and a fellow teacher piloted the program in their 3D art class. “We hadn’t had woodshop at MMS for decades,” Reisman says. “This was completely new to the students. And they loved it.” The students weren’t assembling pre-cut kits. They were designing, measuring, sawing, sanding and learning by doing. “They rose to the occasion,” Reisman says. “Some of them were fearless. It was incredible. Students were helping each other troubleshoot and problem-solve.”
Reisman brought her own creative spin to the experience, empowering students to decorate their builds with plaster, gold leaf and other artistic elements. “Mike’s program focuses on construction. I got to bring in the aesthetics,” she says. But the real beauty was the transformation happening inside the kids. “They weren’t on their phones. They were fully in it, using their senses, feeling the wood, smelling the pine, respecting the tools,” Reisman says.
Maplewoodshop’s projects range from keepsake boxes to toothbrush holders, dog houses and even footstools that younger siblings can use to reach the sink. But it’s not just about what’s built, it’s about what’s felt. “One student built a box he was so proud of that he immediately painted it and took it home,” Reisman says. “That’s what you want. You want them to say, ‘I made that,’ and want to keep it.” Schloff agrees. “It starts as a plank of wood. You can’t even imagine what it will become. Then you measure, saw, join, and suddenly, it’s a box. It’s transformational.”
Hudson Tyler, who grew up in South Orange and is studying at the College of New Jersey, fondly recalls his experience as a 12- and 13-yearold at Maplewoodshop’s summer program. “The class was successful in teaching me the basic principles of woodworking,” he says. He said he would recommend the program to other kids. “Definitely! Building things from scratch is a pretty good method of learning the techniques.” Tyler, who built a toolbox and a tray during the program, proudly notes that his mom still uses the tray as part of her regular rotation.
Maplewoodshop may look like a box of tools on wheels, but it’s really a launchpad for learning. Step into a classroom using Schloff’s woodshop experience and you’ll hear the steady rhythm of saws and hammers, feel the energy shift, and see something rare – kids completely immersed in what they’re doing. Schloff’s philosophy isn’t just about woodworking, it’s about rehumanizing education. “We’re not just building projects. We’re building people,” Schloff says. “With no power tools, the programs are safe and adaptable.”
Kits include visual cue cards, safety posters, prompts for emotional intelligence and online training for teachers, instructors and camp counselors. His hands-on portable program has sparked student engagement, making math practical and opening doors to real-world career exploration. “Teachers report seeing students light up, especially those who struggle in traditional settings,” Schloff says. “You give them a tool and they find their calm. They focus, they help each other, they feel useful and they feel like they belong.”
Maplewoodshop’s headquarters is in East Orange, where Schloff and his small but mighty team build each kit by hand. They’ve transformed the process from towering 8-foot cabinets to kid-friendly mobile chests that can roll into classrooms and be tucked away. Reisman has witnessed the evolution of Maplewoodshop firsthand. “Mike has made it more user-friendly,” she says. “Now it’s something a teacher can run confidently, even without a shop background.”
In 2024, Reisman reconnected with the program through a summer school offering, where 12 eager middle schoolers enrolled. “They just wanted to keep building,” she says. “And with a sense of empowerment, they knew they were in control. That’s rare for kids.”
Now, with the recent grand opening of MWS Studios (Maplewoodshop Studios) at The Little Shops in Montclair’s Lackawanna Plaza, Maplewoodshop has expanded its mission to reach more people. “While we’re focused on offering engaging, skillbuilding workshops for kids, we’ll also be hosting community classes, pop-up events and creative experiences for all ages,” says Schloff.
This past summer the South Orange-Maplewood school district piloted a Maplewoodshop program. It garnered such high student interest that Columbia High School freshmen will be able to take a full-year woodworking course in partnership with Maplewoodshop starting this fall. Serving as the foundation of its STEM program, the course will guide students in the design of several projects, including birdhouses, keepsake boxes and cars. For Reisman, it’s been remarkable to witness the journey. “It’s like watching your kid grow up. Mike has built something meaningful, something that matters.”
Amy Lynn-Cramer is a health & life coach. After writing this article, she and her family are going to check out Mike’s new studio in Montclair and participate in one of his workshops.