Build it… And They Will Come! We Hope!

The Saturday before Easter, the boys built a butterfly house at a local Home Depot Kids Workshop.  

 

Today, we took advantage of the beautiful Spring weather and invited a neighbor to join us in painting the houses to attract our colorful, winged friends.  Butterflies prefer bright reds, oranges, yellows, and purples, so those are the colors the kids opted to slather and splatter and stamp onto their butterfly houses.  

 

Tomorrow, we’ll add a clear coat to protect the paint on the masterpieces, place a few leaves and twigs in the houses (which are not painted inside so as to be safe for our visitors), and hang them up in our butterfly garden that is just now starting to show signs of green after the LONG, cold, snowy winter.  The boys are hopeful they will see a butterfly or two taking up residence in their colorful houses this Spring.  And, truth be told, so am I!

Home Depot hosts their FREE Kids Workshop once a month.  Visit any Home Depot  the first Saturday of each month between 9-12 to participate.  There is no need to preregister.  The May build is a cute little bench planter, perfect for Mother’s Day gift giving; June is a soccer game.  All participating children receive an apron on their first visit as well as a pin commemorating each monthly build they attend.

Lowes also hosts a FREE Build and Grow Clinic two to three times a month on Saturday at 10:00am at all Lowes locations.  The clinics are designed for children in grades 1 through 5 (with some flexibility) and do require pre-registration, so follow the link above to register for the next Build and Grow clinic at a store near you.  On Saturday, April 24, the kids will build a bird feeder!  All participating kids receive an apron, safety glasses, and a kid-sized hammer on their first visit.  Each clinic also sports its very own patch which can be collected and/or sewn on to the Build and Grow apron.