My dad is the handyman of handymen. He can fix absolutely anything with whatever he has in the toolbox or garage. My sister inherited some of his talent. Unfortunately, I did not. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t introduce my kids to the world of building and tools and the gigantic aisles of home improvement stores – thanks to Home Depot Kids Workshops!
This past Saturday, I semi-confidently took my daughter to a Home Depot Kids Workshop in Springfield, Missouri. I was a little worried that I’d have to plumb my own toilet or build a backyard shed from scratch, but I figured that if it was titled “Kids Workshop” it couldn’t be too bad. We could hear the workshop before we even saw it. Talking, laughing, hammering…. lots of hammering. We got our supplies from the nice lady at the beginning of a very long table, and found a spot to begin our project. There were A LOT of people there. I seriously did not expect the amount of parents and kids that I saw when the event had only begun 15 minutes before.
Everything we needed was packaged nicely together, and the instructions were easy to follow. This month’s project was a Valentine’s beanbag toss game. My four-year-old daughter helped me put the nails in place, but I hammered them in since she had a bad memory of her finger getting smooshed the last time she visited her grandfather. But once we finished building, she did the rest completely on her own. She painted her creation and then added the provided stickers (side note: if you can’t find all of the supplies needed on the table in front of you, ask the people who are monitoring the event. I accidentally almost swiped paint from another child, and was scolded by a too-serious-for-a-kids-event dad).
Thirty minutes later, my child was so proud of what she had made, and couldn’t wait to show her dad and sisters. She loved her new game and I loved her sense of pride and accomplishment. My only regret was that I forgot to bring wet wipes to clean both of us up after the painting 🙂
I can’t wait to take her to another Home Depot Kids Workshop! She learned new skills, built a new game to play, and we had some fun mother-daughter bonding. She even received a pin and certificate of completion. I might send her dad with her next time, since my nails were hammered a little crookedly, but we’ll definitely be back.
What You Need to Know:
- Once a month on the first Saturday of the month
- FREE
- Stop in anytime between 9 am – 12 pm
- Registration required online at: https://www.homedepot.com/workshops/#store/3012
- Address: 2104 E Independence Street, Springfield