For the first fixer-upper house that my wife and I bought, our two boys were 4 and 7 years old. Some people might think that they couldn’t do much at that age. My experience is that children can learn lot, and sometimes help you in the process, if you adjust the work to their level and let them do what is interesting to them. At that age they like to try out as many different activities as they can.
My philosophy is let them hammer some nails, even if they bend them. Let them paint even if they spill a few drops (or gallons). Usually the paint ends up on their clothes, the ground, or sometimes the dog. One time, I took a picture of my kids painting a fence because they actually got some paint on the fence!
Let your kids cut tree branches even if the branches that they can cut are no bigger than a twig. (Of course, they’ll need close supervision for some jobs.) In other words, include them in any activity that they want to be included in. They are learning. If they make mistakes, take it lightly and laugh a lot. Keep them interested by giving them a lot of different jobs to do. Make them feel good about themselves. In the long run, that’s more important than all the fix-up houses in the world.
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