Lockdown Projects with wilko | AD

Last Updated on 16 June 2020 by Colette

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Finding things to do and keeping ourselves busy and feeling productive has been key to our Lockdown survival so far. Whilst the kids have had plenty of work to do from school, they have also been left with lots of free time and I’m keen to make sure this isn’t entirely sucked into screen-time. Wilko have been supporting our Lockdown projects over the last week or so. With a wide range of products available to order online, we are sorted for rainy days when we’re stuck indoors with a range of craft products and for the brighter days we are getting busy in the garden.

Craft activities for children with wilko

Using a wilko canvas and a bumper craft pack, Amy and I decided to create a rainbow (something which has become an emblem of hope and positivity in recent times). We separated all of the craft items into colours first and then started to create a rainbow by gluing the various feathers, sequins, pipe cleaners and foam shapes into a brightly coloured rainbow collage. (We used a glue stick for this which would be fine on paper or card but for the more textured canvas I would recommend a PVA glue – especially for sticking things like pipe cleaners – they were tricky!)

Chloe was super excited to paint her very own wilko money box and spent a happy hour or so painting carefully – she really took her time with choosing colours and painting so precisely. She was very proud of the finished result and her new piggy bank is taking pride of place in her bedroom.

Ben isn’t so bothered by craft any more but he really enjoys drawing so was a thrilled with his wilko A3 sketchbook. First of all he did a large scale version of his favourite cartoon style boy (this is his standard doodle when he gets a bit of paper in front of him. Next, I challenged him to use a YouTube tutorial to learn to draw hippos ( my favourite animals!) was really impressed with the results!

Chloe is a keen writer so a new pen and notebook will always keep her busy – she decided to write a “COVID Journal” and wrote about the things we’ve been doing and how people are feeling.

Titivating the garden with wilko

We’ve lived in our house for 12yrs this summer and at no point in that 12yrs have we managed to make the garden a priority – neither for our time nor our money. We play at it occasionally – we weed, we lay new turf and then we run out of funds or time or motivation and it gets left again. Last year we had planned to finally lay an artificial lawn to try and make the most of our damp and soggy outdoor space but we travelled a lot and in the end we didn’t have time so spent the money on redecorating the living room instead.

Now that we are on Lockdown with endless days at home to fill – the garden has become a focus. Whilst the sun is shining and we need something physical to occupy ourselves we have been working to sort our outdoor space and make it somewhere we actually want to spend time. I’ve been painting the fence at the front and planting new shrubs – I’ve cleared a space for Chloe’s tomato plants this year and after finding that we had great success in growing, but not necessarily ripening, last summer, we have a greenhouse from wilko to provide them with some warmth and protection from the elements. This was really easy to put together – in fact Ben and Chloe pretty much did it by themselves and I just helped to put the cover on. We’ve weighted the greenhouse down with a few bricks on the base for now but I think once we get the growbag of tomato plants in, that should hold it down too.

Dave has been working in the back garden – digging up some old tree stumps and weeding. I’ve still got all the fencing to paint – this is something of a long term project! And Dave is going to be looking building some seating so that hopefully when businesses start to reopen we’ll be able to sort that lawn and have a really lovely back garden for the first time ever!

In the meantime Wilko sent us a bird table – which Ben was excited to put together himself. He’s been well trained in flat pack furniture and electric screwdrivers so Dave was confident he should be pretty much able to do it independently. In the end we only had to help him when he needed an extra pair of hands to keep things in place or for the top of the bird house that he couldn’t reach.

We have a cheeky local squirrel and I’ve noticed a variety of birds on the fence so I’m excited to see who might come to visit our bird table. We’ve tucked it in the corner so that it’s not in the way of the kids playing but also so I can see it from the kitchen window.

Whilst we’re all staying safe at home, I think it’s important to try and keep busy – be that getting jobs done around the house, crafting, baking or reading. I’ve found being productive in the garden has been really good for me – and if I can get the kids out there helping then it’s a bonus. Wilko have a wide range of products available online to help you make the most of this extended time at home – next on our list is to plant some seeds to bring some much needed colour into the garden.

What have you been up to so far during Lockdown? Have you got any projects on the go?