March 15, 2024

Thanks to a great partnership, children at the Parkview Early Education Center are literally learning hands-on skills for their future.

Earlier this winter, Pre-Kindergarten and Daycare students had a truly constructive visit from representatives at the Home Depot in North Olmsted, as the home improvement store took its Kids Workshops on the road.

Home Depot locations nationwide hold free, in-store Kids' Workshops on the first Saturday of each month. After signing up, families can work on a kid-friendly, do-it-yourself project for about two hours. Upon completion, the kids take the projects home.  

Preschool/Daycare Teacher Kevin Buehner, who experienced the Home Depot Kids Workshops with his own family, came up with the idea of bringing the program to Parkview.

“I called up the North Olmsted location, and reached out to their customer service desk to find out who I could talk to about coming out to the building in January and February,” Buehner said. “I let them know that we had approximately 20 kids, and they brought just enough for all the kids to work on the same thing. They came out with three employees and the school-aged kids just loved it.”

In February, Parkview’s Pre-Kindergarten students built kid-sized toolboxes. Earlier in January, Buehner had school-age students enrolled in Parkview’s afterschool Daycare program complete a kit. The DIY projects vary from month to month. Other projects include a birdhouse, planter, picture frame, and gift card box in the shape of an outdoor grill. 

“They worked on their hand-eye coordination, their fine motor skills and their imagination,” Buehner explained. “The week [Home Depot] was out, it also was our “Building Week” theme, so we were able to incorporate that activity to go with the curriculum that week.”

All the kits came with easy-to-understand instructions. Home Depot employees even brought smaller, kid-sized hammers and tools to help students at the EEC build their toolboxes.

“I can’t say enough about their employees,” Buehner added. “They get down on the kid’s level, and they’re helping the kids out if they need it.” 

Buehner hopes the collaboration with Home Depot continues well into the spring and summer. He has contacted the North Olmsted location about returning to the school during Spring Break. More significant projects could be on the horizon over the summer.

“Wendy, the contact at Home Depot, mentioned to me that they donate picnic tables to senior centers around the area,” Buehner stated. “She mentioned that to me and asked if we’d possibly like one. They would supply the paint, and the kids could do their own handprints on it. It’s just a matter of if we could find a spot, maybe in the Outdoor Classroom.”

“We were really excited for this opportunity,” Parkview Early Education Center Daycare Coordinator Susan Morrison said. “Young students don't often get the opportunity of working with real tools and creating tangible objects from scratch. We are always looking for opportunities to bring new experiences from the community into the classroom.  We look forward to having Home Depot come back to work with our groups in the future.”