My kids and I did from a Home Depot workshop this week, and I just have to say: Home Depot is awesome! These workshops vary by store, but are usually on Saturdays, which means we can’t attend. But there was someone who set the workshop up during school hours for homeschoolers, and about 25 kids came. It was great!
The kids got light hammers, goggles, and a small bright orange HD apron. They got to write their names on their aprons, just like the store employees, and then they got the craft kits. Today, we made periscopes–you know, those things the use mirrors to bounce your vision around a corner or up over an obstacle? My boys needed some help with the directions and supervision, but they did them all by themselves. It involved hammering nails into the wood once it was lined up, inserting mirrors in pre-drilled slots, and securing them. Then painting them. One is still drying (hours later!) from the paint job ds4.5 gave it, in fact. 😉
While all this excitement was going on, there were a few demonstrations for the adults. I wish I could have really done them, but I had dd6months in my arms and ds2 in the stroller, and I was helping decipher instructions for the older boys, so I only got a side view of most of it. They installed a faucet and connected water lines (and let everyone else do it, too), punched a hole in a wall and fixed it, and did some tiling demonstrations–and answered everyone’s questions. So cool. My boys were enthralled, too.
Afterward, the kids got a reusable HD bag, a cactus/succulent plant, and a pin for their aprons showing the workshop they did. My 4.5 year old and 7 year old sons loved it. Oh, and did I mention the price? FREE! This was a great introduction to a lot of hands-on work, and all of the adult demonstrations were fascinating to the kids. It’s a great, practical lesson for life!
If you want to do this, I suggest calling your local Home Depot and checking when their workshops are (they have them for adults and kids). If they don’t have any you can attend, ask to set one up! They were surprised that there was interest in the middle of a day, but were happy to do it and we got a full class easily. There will probably be more of these in the future, and you can sign us up. Apparently, they also do it for school groups. My kids and I highly recommend it.
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