That being said, this post is about yet another activity for the boys that we've been regularly participating in that I (and the boys) enjoy . . . mostly because it is available at my absolute favorite price . . . FREE.
I first learned about the Kids Workshops when Carlos first started working at the Home Depot. He came home one week with these miniature Home Depot aprons and these prepackaged kits for the boys but at the time Drew and Dylan were a bit too young to really participate so it was something that I actually filed in the back of my mind for later.
Well, later has finally arrived and I have been regularly signing the boys up for these monthly kids workshops at both the Home Depot and Lowes. These little pre packaged construction kits are awesome and the finished products give the kids a huge sense of accomplishment. Both companies offer the kids certificates for participating and kid sized aprons that they can take home. The Home Depot gives each participant a project pin that they can keep on their apron and Lowes gives patches that you can adhere. We've made birdhouses, a garage, a firetruck, and a snowman with more projects to come. At our last workshop, Dylan talked the associate into giving him some extra patches so his apron has a few more patches than projects he's completed but he's been the most interested in doing these projects than any of the other boys so I am not fussing. Hopefully this introduction into tools and projects early enough in life will lead to at least one of them being able to fix something because I don't want to always be the one who has to put things together.
Anyway, during the workshops they use kid sized hammers and safety goggles and an associate is available to help. The Home Depot offers the workshops on the first Saturday of each month. The Lowes workshops are held more frequently, usually twice a month. I highly suggest checking online for your local store's schedule. You can check online here (http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentView?pn=Kids_Workshops&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&cm_sp=knowhow-_-top_ten_things-_-kids_workshops-_-link) and here (https://www.lowesbuildandgrow.com/).
So if you're looking for a quick and free project to participate in with your little one, this might be a really good option. Following are some pictures documenting some of our Lowes experiences.
Dylan working on his birdhouse
hard at work
uh oh, he might have clipped his finger
Nic and Dylan with their finished garage projects
Dylan posing proudly with his project
Nic didn't really need the goggles since I did all the work but he makes them look good!
Drew says it's HAMMERTIME! (I know that was corny)
Jon helping Dylan hold that snowman steady
TA DAAAA!!!
Drew and his finished snowman
