6 Easy Woodworking Projects For Kids – Steps Included

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Woodworking is an engaging activity that will unleash your kid’s creativity and equip them with useful technical skills. Woodworking with your kids will also provide a wonderful opportunity for you to have fun with your whole family and build lasting memories together.

The beauty of woodworking is that each project can be broken down into simple steps to allow even young kids to participate.

Without further delay, here are six awesome woodworking projects for kids. All of them can be carried out very inexpensively, if not for free.

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1. Homemade Catapult

Kids, especially boys, love playing action games. A catapult can be a perfect toy for such games, and your kids will have lots of fun with it shooting at things.

Building a homemade catapult is quite easy. All you’ll need to build one is:

• six wooden stakes of equal length (about three feet each)
• several large rubber bands
• a plastic cup

Steps

Join three of the wooden stakes using rubber bands to form a triangular frame. This frame will form the base of the catapult which should be shaped like a pyramid.

Place the frame on the ground and attach each of the three remaining stakes vertically on each corner of the triangular frame with rubber bands. The top ends of the three vertical stakes can then be tied together with a rubber band to form a pyramid.

Cut three rubber bands to create long straight bands. Poke three holes on top of the plastic cup. Tie each of the straight rubber bands to a separate hole in the cup.

Finally, tie the loose end of one of the rubber bands to the top of the pyramid and the other two to opposite sides at the bottom.

Your homemade catapult will now be ready. Simply place a ping-pong ball inside the cup, pull the cup back, and let the ball go flying into the air.

Credit for this project goes to Teach Bedside Me. There you can find the building instructions in full detail.

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2. DIY Crayon Holder

Having a crayon holder will make it easier for your kids to store their crayons safely after use.

Building a wooden crayon holder is also quite easy. You will need three pieces of 1-inch thick wood, each measuring 3 by 9 inches.

Steps

Use wood glue to join two of the three pieces together on their widest side.

Draw two horizontal lines about one inch apart on the top part of the joined pieces. Using a pencil, mark out multiple spots on each of the horizontal lines about one inch apart.

Use a handheld drill to create holes in these individual spots running all the way through the joined pieces of wood. Each of these holes will be used to hold one crayon, so don’t make them too wide.

Once all the holes have been drilled into the joined pieces, use wood glue to attach the third piece of wood on the bottom side of the other two pieces to create a neat stack.

You can let your kids paint the crayon holder with a color of their choice. Painting their names on the side of the crayon holder will also give it a personal touch.

Credit for this project goes to Jaime Costiglio. There you can find images and more detailed instructions for the process.

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3. Nail String Art

Nail string artworks look stunning, and creating one with your kids will help to bring out their creative side.

For this project you’ll need a flat scrap of wood covering at least one square foot.

Steps

Use a pencil to draw out the outline of a human silhouette, an animal or anything the kids would love on the top part of the wood scrap.

Use a hammer to drive several nails at least one inch apart along the outline you have drawn. Once the nails have been hammered in place, find a long string and tie one of its ends to any nail on the wood scrap.

Wrap the string on the adjacent nail and tighten it. Repeat this process with all the nails around the board until the whole outline has been covered. You can then start to ‘fill’ the outline by tying a string on any of the nails and then wrapping it to a nail on the opposite end of the outline. Repeat this process in all directions until your outline has been filled with several crisscrossing lines of string.

Finally, hammer two nails at the back of your artwork then join these nails with a strong but flexible piece of copper wire. Use this wire to hang the artwork anywhere you’d like.

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4. Wooden Candle Holders

You and your kids can design simple DIY candle holders to use at your dinner table (or anywhere else) using wooden blocks.

Steps

Find a hardware store that sells pre-cut wooden blocks and purchase 1-inch wooden cubes or any size you like. Use a pencil to mark the top of each block in the center; this is where the holes will be drilled and the candles will be placed.

Use a handheld drill to drill a hole in each of the blocks, perpendicular to the surface. Ensure that you don’t drill deeper than 33% of the length of the cube.

Finally, let your kids paint the exterior surfaces of each candle holder using any color they like. They can even use small paintbrushes to inscribe their names or any messages on the candle holders. Once the paint dries off, the candle holders will be ready to use.

Credit for this project goes to Jenny Batt.

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5. Wooden Pumpkin Heads

Pumpkin heads are a favorite for kids during Halloween. Helping them to make one will surely make their Halloween even more special.

For this project, you will need a wooden block of any size that is not too heavy for your kids to lift.

Steps

Use sandpaper to polish all sides of the block to remove any splinters and level out any visible bumps. Use a wet rag to wipe off any dust from the block after sanding it. You can then paint the block on all sides using orange paint (or any color of your choice except black) and let it dry.

Once the paint has dried up, use a pencil to draw the outlines of facial features on the block. Let your kids use a small paintbrush to paint the facial features inside the outlines using black paint.

After they are done painting the facial features, find a long steel nail and hammer it on top of the pumpkin head, leaving a small section of the nail exposed.

Finally, tie a strong cord on the exposed part of the nail, and let your kids decide where they would like to hang their finished pumpkin head.

Credit for this project goes to CraftCue, where you can find more images and full instructions.

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6. Wooden Dice

This is a project that your kids will enjoy if they love playing board games.

You will first need a couple of plain wooden cubes of any desired size, preferably larger than the size of a normal die. You can purchase ready-cut wooden cubes from wood supplies stores.

Steps

Let your kids paint the cubes using any color they prefer. Painting each side using a different color will produce a more colourful result.

Find a colored sheet of paper that has a different color to the side of the die you’re working on. Use a paper punch to create tiny circular-shaped pieces of paper from the colored sheet. Finally, use paper glue to attach a different number of these circular pieces of paper on each side of the dice.

Once the glue has dried up, the dice will be ready to use.

Credit for this project goes to Parents.

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Final Thoughts

Just like all other projects that involve the use of hand tools, basic safety precautions should be observed when doing any of these woodworking projects for kids. To avoid unfortunate accidents, kids should never be allowed to use power tools and all these projects should be undertaken in the presence of an adult.

I hope you like these ideas!

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The Best Wood Cutting Solution

Would you be interested in a quality CNC wood router for use in your DIY projects? As you probably know, a wood router is a machine that can cut wood, but CNC technology can do it automatically and with extremely high precision.

If you landed on this page looking for project ideas for your kids, chances are your answer to that question is yes.

Well, I’ve got you covered. You can actually gain instant access to a step-by-step guide on how to build your own CNC wood router for a tiny fraction of the cost of a professional CNC woodcarving machine (which, as you may know, can be outrageously expensive). This includes:

• a step-by-step instruction manual on how to build your own CNC router
• blueprints and template illustrations for drilling holes
• a video tutorial showing you how to put together the tool from parts you can easily find in hardware stores

I picked up this program quite a while ago and was able to put together the machine for less than four figures! Now I have my own homemade CNC wood router on hand that I’m using to turn many of my dream woodworking projects into reality.

For more information on how you can gain access to this guide, go here! Alternatively, you can read my full review of the program.

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