Inside: Looking for easy wooden craft projects for kids? You’ll love these simple woodworking ideas you can create with your child.
This guest post is brought to you by Hannah Norris from WoodworkingLand.
Woodworking with your kids can be a very educational and entertaining experience. Whether it be building birdhouses to shelter your anti-pest companions, small decorations for your home, or make-believe toys, kids absolutely enjoy pretending to be adults and doing grown-up stuff.
While it may sound like a good idea to put your child to work with you on upgrading your workbench, smaller and simpler projects that don’t really require any particular DIY skill are the best way to go.
Try one of these wooden craft projects with your child this weekend! You’ll be surprised at what you can create together!
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5 Easy Wooden Craft Projects for Kids
Today we’ll talk about the top 5 wooden craft projects for kids and their parents, so let’s start from the top:
Desktop Wooden Catapult
Catapults are fun and interactive! This craft can be used for a variety of games – line up tin cans and compete who can topple the most, practice taking accurate shots into a basket or cups, or try to destroy each other’s kingdom.
There are endless ways in which a small catapult can be used!
This project won’t require more than an hour, and you’ll only need the most basic tools to finalize it.
Check out the full catapult tutorial on FamilyHandyman.com.
Birdhouse
Birdhouses will reward you with a few hours of fun with your kid while providing shelter for the beautiful little winged creatures. This is a woodworking project you can enjoy from your yard year-round!
There are numerous blueprints you can follow, but the most basic one includes crafting a square base and a tiny roof. Decide on the style of birdhouse that best fits your needs, make a plan, and get to crafting!
Visit theSpruce.com for more tips and tricks to build a birdhouse with your child.
Children’s Growth Ruler
Kids grow fast, and they love to see how much taller they’ve grown since the last time they’ve checked. Instead of nicking or scribbling on your doors and walls, you can make a wooden growth ruler instead.
This is arguably the easiest woodworking project a child can work with you on, as it only requires a fairly tall plank, a measuring tape, and some basic sanding tools.
If you don’t have bigger planks at your workstation, you can piece several of them together. The width doesn’t really matter, but the length does. Use the measuring tape and a sharpie to translate the tape’s measurements onto the plank.
You should also make sure to sand the plank properly so as to eliminate all potential splinters and make the edges smooth.
As a cherry on top, you can let your child paint or draw on the ruler. You can either glue it to a wall, nail it, or simply leave it unattached.
Check out more giant growth chart ideas on Wholefully.com.
Crayon holder
Kids love to draw and paint! An excellent way to bolster their creativity and motivation to continue making their art is to craft a storage box for their crayons. This is a remarkably simple woodworking project that can be done in less than half an hour with the simplest tools.
Building a crayon holder requires little more than a 1×4 plank, super glue, and a power drill. Cut the plank into three identical pieces, sand them, and glue them together. Alternatively, you can use screws.
Measure the diameter of the crayons and use your power drill to create slightly wider holes. Since your child may not participate in cutting and drilling, you can let your child paint the exterior of the crayon holder.
Get more personalized crayon holder ideas at theSweetestDigs.com.
Wooden Sword
Kids will pick up anything and pretend it’s a sword, from spoons and cutlery to pieces of wood they may have found outside. So why not make a real wooden sword for your little ones?
The most basic wooden sword is remarkably easy to make, but if you want to make a replica with all the details, you may need to invest a bit of time into this project.
You’ll need a measuring tape, a pencil, a curved ruler, sanding tools, any handheld cutting tool, and a 0.7-inch-long hardwood panel.
Cut out an 8×32-inch hardwood piece; a hand saw would work just fine for this particular step. Use a pencil to sketch out a sword using the curved ruler. Make the tip of the sword angled, but not exactly sharp. The handle should be roughly as wide as the blade.
Cut out the blade guard. Its ‘wings’ should be slightly angled towards the tip of the blade. Finally, sand the entire sword to fine-tune its edges and details. You should sand the grip a bit more than the other pieces, as it needs to be comfortable for a child to hold.
If the grip still feels rough, you can wrap it with fabric a couple of times over. You can also paint the sword in any color you wish, or at least apply a lacquer finish as it will make the sword sturdier.
Visit WoodworkingLand.com for more tips on making a toy sword.
Your Turn
Creating and building together is a great way to spend quality time with your children. Which one of these fun wooden craft projects for kids will you tackle with your family!
Share your favorite woodworking ideas for kids in the comments below!
