10 Fun Woodworking Projects That You Can Do with Your Kids

Are you needing to find a few distractions for your kids that don’t include spending an entire day in front of the TV?

There are plenty of great woodworking projects that will give them something to do in their free time.

If you’re looking for some fun woodworking projects that you can do with your kids over a weekend, here’s a list of 10 woodworking projects that are fun and easy to do.

10 Woodworking Projects Both You and Your Kid Will Enjoy

Many of these projects don’t require a bunch of tools to create, and allow them to get creative.

1. A Simple Birdhouse

The most well-known woodworking project for kids is the timeless (and always fun) birdhouse. There are many simple patterns for building birdhouses with easy-to-follow instructions.

If you don’t want to measure and cut the boards yourself, you can even find some birdhouse kits at your local hardware store.

Help them build the birdhouse using the pattern you have chosen, and let them decorate it. You can hang or mount the birdhouse right outside the window so they have a chance to watch the birds in their new home.

2. Birdfeeder

In keeping with our bird theme, a birdfeeder is an easy project that you and your kids can do in one afternoon.

There are many different patterns that you can choose from, including modifying your birdhouse pattern so that it remains open. Hang the feeder next to the birdhouse in your yard.

You can also cut a length of thick wood from your yard and transform that into a hanging bird feeder.

Drill a hole through the top of the wood and thread twine through it so it can hang, and then drill larger holes through the rest of the wood.

Make sure the holes are offset from one another down the entire length. Mix birdseed and peanut butter together and fill each hole with the mixture. Once you’re done, hang it outside.

3. Wood Sculptures

This project requires only a couple of things and your kids will love it. Buy a bottle of wood glue and wooden spheres and other shapes from your nearest craft store.

You can also use scraps from other projects that you’ve done. You’ll also need a square board to form the base of the sculpture.

Let your kids choose the shapes they want and start stacking them on the base, using the wood glue to hold everything together.

Once the sculpture has dried, let them paint it! They can also use buttons or beads to decorate the sculpture. Help them find a place in your home where they can display their work proudly.

4. Christmas Ornaments

If you’re looking for the perfect project for the kids to do around the holidays, have them make some ornaments for the tree.

You can either cut the holiday-themed shapes out of a piece of thin pine board or go to your nearest craft store and find shapes that are already pre-cut.

Grab some paint, buttons, sequins, and anything else your kids might want to decorate their ornaments with, and let them go to town.

Once they’ve finished decorating their ornament, drill a hole in the top of it and thread a length of colored yarn or ribbon through the hole.

Tie the ribbon together and hang it on the tree! This project is perfect for a snow day and is easy to do.

Just put on a little holiday music and have some fun making ornaments that can be enjoyed for years to come.

5. A Picture Frame

Picture frames are an easy project that require only a few basic items to make. On your next walk with the kids, have them find a couple of twigs from around the neighborhood.

Make sure they grab a few different lengths in varying diameters. When you get home, help them cut or break the twigs and arrange them on the table in the shape and size of the frame that they want.

It helps if they know what they want to frame before you get to this step, so you know how big to make it.

Once you’ve got the size right, grab a length of twine and secure each corner together, wrapping the twine around the twigs in an X-pattern.

Then secure their newly-made frame to the the photo or drawing they’ve chosen. You can either glue or tape the frame to the photo, depending on if they’d like to switch out the photo at any time.

If you’d rather skip foraging for materials, you can always buy popsicle sticks from your nearest craft store and use those to make a picture frame instead.

They come in many different sizes and colors, and are generally pretty inexpensive.

Have your kids pick the ones they want and help them glue them together. This option is great because it gives them the opportunity to shape their picture frame however they’d like.

They can also decorate the frame with buttons, seashells, or anything else they’d like to glue on.

6. Simple wood stamps

This project is an easy one, and your kids will love it. Grab some larger branches from the yard and using a saw, cut them into hand-held pieces.

Using sandpaper, sand one edge until it’s smooth. Then take a few thumbtacks and carefully pound them into the sanded edge in whatever pattern your kids would like.

You can also have them draw a pattern on the edge of the stamp that you can chisel out. Once you’ve done that – voila! You’ve got a unique stamp that your kids will love.

7. Simple wood decorations

Sometimes, the simplest projects are the ones where your kids can really showcase their creativity.

Have them draw out a simple shape on a piece of paper – arrows, or a flag, for example – and cut it out to form a stencil.

Let them use the stencil to draw it onto a thin board and cut the shape out for them. Then let them decorate their new wall decorations with paint and hang it up! You can add hangers to the back for easy mounting.

Many hardware stores carry picture frame mounts that you can secure to the back of the decoration, or you can use command strips and mount them that way.

8. Basic Wooden Box

This project is a little more involved than the others, but is simple enough for your kids to do in the living room.

Browse the internet for a box pattern that you like. Some patterns come with hinged lids or lids with mitered edges that secure them to the opening of your box.

Once you find the pattern, cut the piece to the lengths specified and help your kids assemble the box according to the directions using wood glue.

Clamp the pieces in place and let them dry overnight. Once the box has dried, let the kids paint and decorate the box and fill it with any treasures they want to keep safe.

9. Build Their Woodworking Skills

A fun idea for helping them learn how to use a hammer is to give them a block of scrap wood and let them practice hammering in nails or using a screwdriver to screw in bolts.

Give them a few options of things to do while you work nearby. Helping them learn the proper and safe way to use typical woodworking tools will help them in their handy pursuits later on.

10. Ant Farm

Building an ant farm for your little biologist is a fun project that you two can do together. First, figure out the size that she wants the farm to be depending on the type of ants she wants to put in the farm.

Then, pull together the materials for this project: two piece of clear plastic for the windows, enough 1×3 board to go around the edge of the windows, thread rod and nuts, and silicone door and window caulk to seal around the windows.

Cut the plastic first so you know how big you need your frame to be. You’ll need to cut the windows so they are equal sizes.

Measure the height of the windows and cut two pieces of wood that match the measured window length.

Then, cut two parallel grooves into each of the side pieces so the windows don’t shift when you assemble the ant farm.

Stand up the two side pieces with the plastic windows in place, and measure the distance between the two boards.

The number you come up with will be the length of the bottom board. Cut that board and make two grooves for the windows to sit in.

Secure the pieces together, but don’t tighten the screws. Make any adjustments if you need to so that the pieces are fitted properly.

Cut the board that goes across the top so it’s long enough to reach the outer edges of the frame. Next, secure the top.

Make sure that it is removable by embedding threaded rod into the two edges and using a nut to seal the top and keep the ants from escaping.

Finally, assemble your ant farm. Seal the sides and bottom edge to keep the ants from escaping and let the caulk dry for a full 24 hours before filling your new ant farm with ants.

Now You Have All the More Reasons to Bond with the Kids

A great way to get your kids out from in front of the TV is woodworking. These projects keep them occupied and help them refine their motor skills.

They’re great for bonding as a family and are easy and fun to do.

Keywords: woodworking projects

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