Garage stuff for young kids

[Varty Yo]

So im looking for ideas of little things me and my 5 year old can do together in the garage. Not full on projects just little stuff. She loves to use tools and "fix" stuff. I find her trying to connect with me more now by showing interest in thing i enjoy like "beer, land cruisers,star wars, fixing stuff" What have you guys set up for your little ones to work on? Like a busy board type thing.

 

[Vahispd]

That is great your Daughter wants to learn some garage skills. Any project that involves the two of you is good, and if it helps teach basic skills like measuring, understanding joinery and following instructions then it's a win. Teaching the importance of vehicle maintenance or how things work is good also.

Some ideas include pinewood derby cars, birdhouses, or even small boxes, trivets or gifts for family members (Mother's day is coming soon). Does she need any storage for her toys etc?

 

[wondo]

Honestly just let your kid be involved with what you are doing. I have good luck with having a project in mind and letting them set the pace. My son is 4 and will jump at any chance to "work" in the garage with me. A lot of times it's spending a half hour just jacking up a car and taking a wheel off so he can help pump the jack and turn the ratchet 3 clicks at a time or having something tore down on the bench and answering 100 "what's that for" questions. I would much rather support his curiosities and finish the project when he goes to bed.

 

[cleanspg]

A 2x6 with a bunch of nails half in and a small hammer is good for hours of entertainment and requires very little setup.

You can make a foam base so the nails never stick out but can be pounded back and used again.

Bird houses/bird feeders can be easy and fun and then they can see their handiwork and be reminded how much fun it was every time they are in the yard. With a five year old, you'll have to do most of it but they can help sand, glue and nail things together.

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[Jazz1]

My grandchildren were thrilled to use my manual bead roller. I had a box of small pieces of tin. 4,6 and 8 years old. That was after they figured out how to get 10 pieces gum with a single nickel out of my gum machine

 

[NYBODYMAN]

My 5 year old son is OBSESSED with being in the garage and using tools. He has been using an impact gun to remove/install wheels for about a year now. If I am doing something and hewants to participate I will give him something to do. One day he spent literally 4 hours drilling holes in a scrap 2x12. After he was bored with that, I partially screwed about 10 screws into the wood and he spent another few hours screwing them in and out and he absolutely loved it. He also loves to look through my tool box drawers and ask/tell me what everything is. I have started a tool box for him and he loves to go through his own tools. Get her some safety glasses/gloves/PPE and she will feel special. It's tough to get things done but I donn't care. I am cherishing this time.

 

[nadogail]

Idle hands are the Devils tools, keep them occupied pounding, sanding, sweeping or something.

 

[bdbecker]

A handful of hardware goes a long way. I'll get out a few different sizes of bolts and nuts (1/4, 3/8, 1/2) and have Stinker match them up. Another idea I've had, but not implemented, is to get a variety of threaded inserts and install them onto a board so she could use wrenches or ratchets to tighten them down. A cheap, small vise is also a fun tool for kids to mess around with.

A 2x6 with a bunch of nails half in and a small hammer is good for hours of entertainment and requires very little setup...

I predrill holes slightly undersized to the nail diameter - still takes work to drive them in but is a lot less frustrating for young nailers. I also put a few layers of bubble wrap between the board and the workbench to deaden the sound, mostly for my sanity.

 

[Johnno]

The first Saturday of every month Home Depot has there free kids workshop. Many people build the project at the store but can also take them home. All the parts needed are in the free kit. Many times we have taken them to go and built them at home. My kids love the projects they get to hammer and put things together and paint them. Each project comes with a pin for there mini Depot aprons also. We have built everything from bird houses, airplanes, table top games. This weekend is a garbage truck I think.

 

[BB Sig]

If you have space, build them their own work bench. Nothing fancy or big but one that fits their size for a couple of years.

Barry
North Florida

 

[gunguy]

+1 on the PPE. You may have to do a little hunting to get the proper size but it's well worth in terms of comfort and effective protection.

If you make it a habit of donning at least the eye protection as soon as you enter the shop, she'll pick it up and keep you honest.

Jim

 

[vavet]

+1 on the PPE. You may have to do a little hunting to get the proper size but it's well worth in terms of comfort and effective protection.

If you make it a habit of donning at least the eye protection as soon as you enter the shop, she'll pick it up and keep you honest.

Jim

This is absolutely true. My 7 year old is better about wearing his PPE than I am, but I always comply when he calls me out so he knows it's the right thing to do. Santa brought him a slingshot with ammo and a 12 pack of safety glasses in his size from Amazon. We might not always be able to find the pair he had on last, but always know where the box of more is.
He was really into Bob the Builder when he was younger. Bob sets a good example by always using his PPE, including his ear defenders. My son is very good about ear defenders too.
We have different categories of tools. There are some he can use without supervision (shop vac, broom, glue spreader, tape measure). There are some he can use with direct supervision (wrenches, ratchets, screwdrivers, hammer, drill press after I've set it up and clamped the workpiece, cordless drill and impact driver). There are some that he's not ready to use (power saws).
I promised him a while ago that I will eventually teach him how to use every tool in the garage when he's ready. He's pretty satisfied with using the vac to clean up for now. I made a clutzy move a couple week ago and pinched my finger in the tape measure as it was retracting. He wasn't in the garage with me at the time. It created a little blood blister on the side of my finger. I talked to him about it the next day and explained that even tools that seem safe can still hurt you if you don't use them correctly.

As far as projects - I think it helps hold his attention if he likes the idea. My son and I built a shelf for a place in the attached garage to store sports equipment and general **** that tends to collect. It has a bungee corded area for sports balls and a pegboard side where he hangs his baseball bat. He helped me design it in Sketchup. He was really excited about building that.
He and I are working on a tic-tac-toe toilet paper holder we saw on YouTube right now. You make the # board out of 1x6 with the spaces big enough for a roll of TP. Then you make some X's out of 1x4 or 1x6 to go in the other spaces. He really liked it so we're making it for Mommy and it's going to be a surprise. That's the other thing he likes - making surprises for Mommy. That helps hold his attention.

The next thing on our agenda is a corner cabinet for our breakfast room. It's a very specific space it needs to fit into. It will hold games, cards, and probably some of his books. We have some material to get started on that, but we've been working on the TP holder lately. Again, he helped me design it in Sketchup, so he already has some buy-in on it.

He and I have been doing the Home Depot workshops since he was about 2. He received the 50th star pin for completing the 50th project back in January. I enjoy doing it with him. He enjoys it. My wife enjoys having a little quiet time by herself while he and I are doing it. It's a win-win-win. The great thing is that the things are rugged enough to withstand a little kid playing with it.

Good luck...and post up some pics!

 

[niget2002]

My kids both have ear muffs by the door that they grab on the way in if machines are on. They have full access to all the 'scrap' buckets. My son will sit on the floor out of the way and stack the blocks building stuff to drive over with his monster trucks. The daughter cares less about building stuff and more about gardening, so she's been helping with that.

My son did help me unjam a pair of pants from the chain of his bicycle the other day. He asked a lot of questions.

 

[Mike Folks]

Drill and tap some steel or Aluminum for 1/4-20,5/16-18,3/8-16 and 1/2-13 bolts, showing the kids the differences, letting them turn in, and turn out the fasteners.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Erector set (or similar hardware, parts). A selection of pipe and fittings (PVC or threaded).
I was checking out some pens with electrically conductive ink. Allows drawing simple but functional circuits.

 

[Varty Yo]

All great ideas guys! I just didnt have any real projects going on she could help. I know she will be happy doing anything in the garage. She loves wearing safety glasses lol.

 

[LeeG]

Get some cutoff 2x material in different shapes, like you'd find on a construction site. Add to that some small pieces of 1/2" or so plywood, and let them figure out what they want to build. Kids are creative. Wooden building blocks have been kids toys for ages. Expand on that and give her some nails to hold things together.

I wasn't much older than that when I made a recipe book holder for my grandma, and she used it until the day she died.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7920290&postcount=55

 

[TEXACMAN]

I usually had a small junk kitchen appliance or something electronic my daughter could take apart and salvage and recycle , it showed her how things work and she loved to keep the circuit boards etc. When i was young my dad built this wooden box that had different doors and drawers with different latches, knobs , a few gears that turned, bolts on one side with nuts to screw together etc...wished i had it around to show it to yall. That taught me to use hand eye coordination learn how things worked etc... I remember it had a secret compartment to put hardware bits in , fun for hours.

 

[Mattlt]

Are there any younger siblings? Have the 5-year old build a sort of activity center. I've seen them built with all sorts of hardware: Barrel bolts, hinges, door knobs, latches, clips, springs, etc. Walk down the hardware aisle or a search on Pinterest and you'll come up with all sorts of ideas. You could present it as a project to "help" make a project for a younger sibling - the 5-year old will probably enjoy it too. They could even add and remove pieces from it from time to time.

Now I just looked up to see what Texacman is talking about. Very similar idea!

 

[bcoke]

When I was 5-12 years old was always at dad'sside "fixing" things....dad grew up in the depression so we never hired anyone to do anything.......he was a machinist/mechanic and would tackle anything........well he replaced all the plumbing in the old house [all galvanized pipe,unions,elbows,etc.] and replaced them with sweated copper.........of course he saved all the old iron [under the workbench] well at 5 or six I would place a section og pipe threaded on both ends in the vise.....and "build" out from there threading elbows-unions pipe until I had structure that would make a petrolium plant look good.....hours of adding to it and changing the shape...fun fun......the first power tooll I could use was a drill [corded of course] than anout 7-8 he bought a used big saw and i would cut out shapes from scrap wood [ birds .ducks,chickens cats etc] paint them than take some of his big nails [bent of course ] to straighten and cut off the head ,drill a hole in the bottom put the nail in and place in the garden........what good times , when he tried to work on the car I would try to anticipate what he would need [open end wrench, socket ,screwdriver etc] and have it ready to hand to him........He passed at 95 and i still miss him [I am 72] he always let me use any of his hand tools with one rule "if you want to use it again wipe it off and PUT IT BACK".......once I reached 10-12 the drill press, table saw,router, lathe became available to me under supervision...................enjoy them while they are young as they will learn how to be with their children and do things........priceless

 

[justinthurn]

She's not quite 3 but ppe and screws are definitely a hit!

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[tool_scrounge]

The Whitney #2 hand punch with the assessory stand is amazing for small kids. It shows how using leverage small kids can punch holes in sheet metal. The stand helps to minimize pinch fingers. Two generations of kids have punched holes in a lot of metal with this punch. With interchangeable dies they are quite useful. There are a lot of import clones, but the real thing is the best. They are common on the used market and come with an assortment of punch sizes.