For any carpentry or home improvement job, your best helpers may be just a room away. Kids are people too-and carpenters, and brick layers, and painters. But to get them to help, you first need to get them involved. How about starting with a project they may care about too? Like a doghouse for Rex or a caddy for their CDs. Don't let them touch a thing however, without their own workingman's gloves, like the Stanley Kids Work Gloves. With reinforced knuckles and fingertips and a safety cuff, these gloves will keep your new helpers productive and protected.

TIP: Some handy tips for your working with your 'handykid:' Start with a relatively small project that can be completed in a weekend. Kids will enjoy seeing and using the results of their labors. Let children be involved in the project planning. Kids (just like adults) will be eager to see their ideas put to use. You can throw in a little budget planning by letting them help draw up a materials list. Tools should be properly sized, but functional and well-designed. Show kids the proper techniques for using tools and let them practice nailing, hammering, sawing, etc. Insist that kids use safety gear! Start with protective safety glasses and their Stanley Kids Work Gloves. For sanding or using chemicals, they (and you) should wear filtering masks. Teach kids that neatness counts-nothing is more dangerous than loose tools and material scattered around. Involve them in the clean up and tool maintenance. And this one, learned from experience: Especially when working with teenagers, let them pick the music. You can always wear earplugs and we guarantee they'll stick around longer.

This site has lots of family projects to get you started. Before you know it, the kids will be helping you build an addition!

If you're feeling really ambitious, consider building a tree house with and for your kids. This site has fairly detailed starter instructions