Hammering away at Home Depot

home depot kids
By Dawn Padfield

What better way to bond (hopefully not literally) with your kids on a Saturday morning than with a hammer, some nails and wood glue?

On the first Saturday of every month Home Depot offers free "Kids Workshops" where you can channel your inner carpenter and relive your shop class glory days.

Your kids will probably have fun, too.

home depot kids smocksWe went to a couple of these workshops as a family and they have been a lot of fun. On your first visit, each child gets an orange Home Depot smock, collector's project pin, and a wood project complete with step-by-step instructions on how to put the little thing together. The fact that I was able to put it together relatively easily with my 4 year old's "help" is evidence that these projects are very user-friendly.

Past projects have included race car ramps, Mother's Day planters (guess what I got for Mother's Day) and birdhouses. This Saturday you can make a "picnic caddy" (just in time for a 4th of July picnic) and August's project is a snazzy little message center.

The projects are handed out on a first come, first serve basis, so try to get there on the early side. Last time we missed out on the project because someone (and I'm not one to name names... but I am married to him) was taking his time getting out of the house. They were gone by 11 am.

Thumbnail image for home depot kids racetrackIf you don't want to do the project there, they will give you one to take home with you. Home Depot's site says the projects are designed for ages 5-12, but from what I've seen there is no age requirement. Pre-schoolers were working alongside grade-schoolers, no problem.

Lowe's also offer a similar workshop every other Saturday -- the next one is July 11. The "Build and Grow" workshops are from 10-11 am. Online pre-registration is required. According to the sales rep I spoke with, they prefer that your child is in 2nd grade or older.

Why are these workshops free, you ask? I had the same question until we spent a ton of money on home repair paraphernalia after they got us in there. As the saying goes, "there is no such thing as a free lunch" ... or, in this case, a free birdhouse.

Comments

Nice. Thanks for the information. When my son gets a little older I'll definitely bring him to this. I want to encourage him to be crafty, and I can't make much of anything. Well, besides debt of course.

There's really no age requirement at Lowes either. I've been taking my 4-yeard-old daughter to the Build and Grows at the Glenmont Lowes all summer. Lowes online registration is pointless too; no matter how many times I've done it, I have to fill out the exact same form with pen & paper when we get to the store.

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