Raise your hand if you have ever attempted a home renovation project. Now keep your hand up if things did not go as planned. Throw kids into the mix and you know all about the mayhem we went through when redoing our kitchen.
As intense as home stuff can be, at least the whole family can laugh about it when it is over. And laugh you will when you pick up the latest from Jeff Kinney. I’ve partnered with ABRAMS Books to share our home improvement story, as well as to tell you about the latest in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid #14: Wrecking Ball
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball is about what happens when an unexpected inheritance gives Greg Heffley’s family a chance to make big changes to their house. But they soon find that home improvement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Once the walls come down, all sorts of problems start to crop up. (Been there before.)
Rotten wood, toxic mold, unwelcome critters, and something even more sinister all make Greg and his family wonder if the renovations are worth the trouble. When the dust finally settles, will the Heffleys be able to stay or will they need to get out of town?
If you have gone through home renovations like we have, you can appreciate the craziness that ensues in Wrecking Ball. My kids cracked up remembering how hectic it was in our house when we replaced the kitchen countertops. Ah fun times… yes, so glad that’s over.
Why We Love Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball
Just like the rest of the Wimpy Kid series, this one blends the story with funny illustrations that help readers connect to Greg and his family. The kids love this one, they have read it a few times already. I think it has to do with the fact that they can relate to what Greg is going through with his parents’ home renovations.
For me, I enjoy reading these books with them, cracking up at everything that goes on. In Wrecking Ball, Greg’s family reminded me of the Griswolds and their misadventures. And if you know who I am talking about, then you know why I was laughing.
Wrecking Ball also called to mind the surprises one will discover when you start doing things around the house. Remember those countertops I mentioned? Well, we pulled off one splashguard and look what we found.
Thankfully, that awful dark stuff was not mold or mildew, it was just dirt. So, after some scraping and spraying I repainted the wall and replaced the splashguard. Greg’s parents weren’t so lucky, but I don’t want to give anything away! You just have to read it!
3 Ways To Get The Kids Involved In Home Renovation
1. Ask their opinions
This might be shocking to you, but brace yourself, kids have a lot of opinions. Even when you think they might not care, they do. Most of the time, they just want to be involved with whatever you are doing. When it comes to home projects, I guarantee they have something to say about them.
Our next big project is the upstairs. We want to tear up the carpet, put down hardwood, and redecorate their rooms. I asked the kids how they would design their rooms if they had the opportunity and nothing was out of bounds. Boy do they dream big!
He was all about his cars while my daughter wanted a castle. While putting a giant triple loop track in my son’s room won’t happen, we will make sure we design a “car themed” space. It will make him happy and he will know that that was his idea. Still trying to figure out the whole castle thing. The bottom line is, take their ideas and do something with them.
2. Take them to get supplies
We are all about DIYing over here. It saves money and gives you a sense of accomplishment. Doing things yourself means you need to gather supplies.
My son loves going to home improvement stores. He wants to help pick out paint brushes, get the paint mixed up, and he doesn’t mind when we have to go back 3 more times because we forgot something. Not only is it fun for him but it gives us time together.
These small little memories are things kids will hold onto as they get older. Trust me. I still remember helping my grandfather work in the garage, fixing up the old tractor. That memory brings a smile to my face every single time. Priceless.
3. Let them help
Now, I am not advising you let them handle power tools, saws, or anything else extremely dangerous. I do not even like using those things! However, in every home project there is something they can do.
It could be as simple as picking up the trash or more detailed like painting the walls. I’m telling you, let them do the baseboards, it will save your knees and back!
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball is available now wherever books are sold!
The book sounds like it is a great one for kids to enjoy. It is fun to have kids help in home projects and they will learn a little about how difficult it might be.
That sounds like a really fun book. We let our kids help in home renovations too. They got to write on the paneling before we covered it with sheetrock.
This sounds like a great book! And yes, we do try to get the kids involved in house projects when we can.
Oh my goodness, I can totally relate to the craziness of home renovations with kids involved. We recently built an addition on to our house, and we homeschool, so the kids were there the WHOLE time. They do really love to help, so we tried to find jobs for them, but occasionally they had to be told that the important job for them was to just stay out of the way. lol
What a great idea! There are so many do-it-yourself shows on TV nowadays that I’m sure kids would be interested in reading and doing a few home projects! Cute!
I love this book series. My kids would love this book. Wasn’t there a movie made not too long ago?
This sounds like a great book and I love how you have linked it to actually getting kids to help out around the home as well! The Diary of a Wimpy Kid seems to be a book series that is just so loved.
I think it’s such a great idea to include your children with home projects. It’s such a great learning experience.
My kids are such fans of the series. In fact, I’ve already pre-ordered the book. Can’t wait to hear what they think of it.
I’ve been waiting to borrow this one from our local library. My oldest loved reading these books. I can’t wait for her to be able to read this one next.
I loved these books as a teacher and I am so glad to see them become more and more popular. How fun!
My kids really enjoyed the Diary of The Wimpy Kid series when they were younger. I’m glad to know it is still being written. These are great suggestions on how to involve kids in home projects!
Oh that is a really great idea! My kids love the Wimpy book series.
What a cool idea to involve the kids for the renovations, they live in the house after all so it is great to make them part of the project
This book would be SO perfect for my kids!!! for one, they love to read and we’re also always doing home projects. The perfect mix!
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a great series for the kids. It has so many great lessons for them to learn and apply in life.
We are definitely familiar with the surprises you find when doing renovations. The previous owners took a lot of shortcuts. Luckily my husband is very handy.