Building Birdhouses With My Nephews
This past summer my wife and I had my three nephews stay with us for a few days while their parents were away at a work conference.
Theses boys are full of energy (and I mean full!) so we always try to have some fun crafts or projects ready to go when they are here.
This year I decided to try to have the boys make some birdhouses.
I have another nephew, Owen, who is in this age bracket but he was at a soccer game so he was not able to get in on the project. But, I still have all of his parts waiting for him.
The houses were made out of 1 x 6 white pine. We did not apply a finish because we ran out of time, but I did tell my sister that she could paint or stain the houses.
It is also perfectly fine to just leave the houses natural. That way they tend to weather and blend into the surroundings.
Having cut all of the parts for the birdhouses ahead of time, I initially tried to let the boys use a hammer and nails to fasten everything together.
However, I soon realized that this was not going to work if I was going to keep my fingers intact!
Moving on to plan B, I got out my Ridgid air nailer. The job progressed at a much better pace.
As I look at theses pictures, I realize that I should have stuck some safety glasses on Wes. I promise all other safety precautions were taken!
I had each boy do as much as he could with his own house.
We made sliding bottoms so the birdhouse can be cleaned out each spring.
Overall I think this project was a great success. The boys seemed to really enjoy themselves. Hopefully, dad was able to get each birdhouse hung up in the back yard.
Leave a Reply