Home renovation is a big deal to adults.  It’s an even bigger deal to your kids — literally!  Their home may be the only place they’ve ever lived, and if you remember your own childhood view of things, everything was on a much larger scale.  New people, sounds, and shapes in your home may be much more noticeable to your children than to you.

This can be positive, exciting, and educational, but a little thought and planning goes a long way.

We will schedule a pre-construction meeting with your children — even toddlers can participate — at which we will go over what they should expect and play games with the construction drawings (can you find where you are?) and with the planned sequence of activities (which comes first, drywall or painting?).  With your permission, and under very carefully controlled conditions, we will schedule two or three sessions during the project in which your kids can help.  Even a small child can safely put recycled cotton insulation between two studs, and they will remember this every time they see the resulting wall.

A young boy we know gets quite a thrill out of the idea that his play/work session helps to keep his mom warm when she works at her desk.  Another teenager seemed to be “cool” around our project, but when his school assigned him to build a model house for one of his classes, his model home had a green roof — just like the real one he helped build at home!  We make children part of our life and work; we are often surprised by how much is heard and learned.