Woodworking is a lot of fun once you become comfortable using some of the tools and resources needed for this sort of projects. The first project is always the hardest one and to make it easier you can start with something simple. A really great idea would be to craft something for the kids.

There’s all sorts of lovely and useful things you can make for them like various toys, decorations for their room and even some custom furniture. You can definitely find something that catches your interest in the examples below.

21 Easy Woodworking Projects For Kids

Lego coat rack

This colorful Lego-themed coat rack is a little something you can add to your entryway or to the kids’ room to give them their own dedicated place to keep their clothes and various other things. To make it you need a piece of 2×4 wood cut to the desired size, a wooden dowel, a few hooks and different paint colors. Cut the dowel into small slices and then glue them onto the coat rack to make it look like it’s made of oversized Lego bricks, then paint the whole thing in sections of different colors. Add the hooks and figure out where you want to place this new coat rack. You can find a more detailed tutorial on ryobitools if you’re interested.

A little bee house

If you have a backyard, a fun little thing to do with and for the kids is to craft a bee house for Mason bees which are quite friendly and solitary. This would also be a wonderful educational project. Mason bees don’t live in colonies and they happily move into natural crevices and holes that they then call home. They would surely love a beautiful little house built just for them. You can make this one out of wood and you only need a few basic tools for that like a drill for example. Check out feltmagnet for more details.

Hanging bird house

Another really great project for anyone with a backyard or an outdoor area near their home is a bird house which can be built out of wood. This one is small and it’s designed to hang from one of the branches of the tree. It also has a simple and cute design, with a lovely sloped roof, a little circular hole for the birds to fit through and a little dowel for them to use as a perch. You can make it out of a few pieces of wood, a piece of PVC pipe for the interior and some chains. There’s a tutorial on skiptomylou that you can check out.

Circular hanging shelf

You may have seen this sort of circular shelf before and thought it looked really cool and stylish but was too expensive or too difficult to procure. Well, it’s not if you built it yourself from scratch. Yes, you can definitely do that yourself and make something beautiful for the nursery or the kids’ room that you can be proud of. You can make this project easy by using these 23” round quilling hoops rather than try to bend and shape the wood yourself since that would basically be impossible. Check out newblooming to find out more about this project.

Wooden crayon holder

This is actually one of the easiest woodworking projects you can do and a super useful one as well. It’s a crayon holder that you can make for the kids. They can keep it on their desk and if you want you can attach it to a little portable desk too. The actual crayon holder is basically a block of wood with a bunch of holes drilled into it from the top. You can make it as big or as small as you want and then decorate it in all sorts of cute ways. Check out the tutorial on jaimecostiglio for more information.

A little tent

Tents are really fun for kids and something that you can make for them whether it’s for indoor or outdoor use. A simple tent frame made out of wood and some fabric is all you need for this project. Make a simple A-frame tent using a few pieces of wood or some leftovers from other projects and make the tent or tents look cute by using colored or patterned fabric. The kids will have a lot of fun playing or hiding inside. Head over to jennaburger if you need more info.

Simple storage for stuffed toys

Stuffed animals and plush toys can quickly fill the entire house once you have a few of them. This is a simple and practical storage idea for them. It’s basically a simple wooden frame that you can make as big and as tall as you want, with some rope or cord to keep the toys inside. It’s easy to get the toys out or to put them in and it’s a very flexible storage solution as well. Check out the plans and details for it on thehandymansdaughter.

Wooden poster frames

Part of being a kid and growing up is discovering the things you like and expressing these interests. Allowing kids to customize and decorate their rooms is a great way of allowing them to express themselves and become more creative. Hanging posters on the walls is something we’re all familiar with. You can help the kids take that to the next level with a few custom frames made out of wood. These would make the poster look a lot better and more stylish. Check out thehandymansdaughter to see how it’s done.

A small bookshelf

Once you’re comfortable trying some simple woodworking projects you can also move on to something a bit bigger, like making some custom furniture. A super useful idea can be to make custom bookshelves for the kids where they can store and organize all of their books, toys and various other things. We love this simple design shared on thehandymansdaughter because it’s both easy to make and kid-friendly. It’s also very customizable.

A pikler triangle/ climbing frame

A pickler triangle is a type of climbing structure for toddlers and little kids which allows them to explore and develop their motor skills as they grow up and discover new things. It’s both fun and educational and it’s also something that you can build yourself out of wood for indoor or outdoor use. The idea is to have a ramp that they can climb on this sort of ladder-like frame with multiple levels. The ramp can be lowered or raised. Check out the plans for this woodworking project on charlestoncrafted and learn how to make one yourself.

DIY outdoor play kitchen

When it’s nice and warm outside the kids can spend the whole day in the backyard. You can help them enjoy spending time outside even more with projects like the one featured on ramblingrenovators. This play kitchen is pretty easy to make out of wood and it has these fun features like a pegboard, shelves and a little chalkboard. These let kids use their imagination and come up with all sorts of fun scenarios while playing.

Wooden treasure chest

This is definitely a super fun project even for an adult. Treasure chests are always cool and you can actually make one from scratch using wood and a few basic tools. The one shared on housefulofhandmade is not super big but it can hold a bunch of toys inside and it looks really nice with the curved top and the painted pirate logo. You can also stain or paint your own treasure chest when it’s done if you want to customize it even more.

An outdoor swing set

Everybody likes swing sets so you can’t really go wrong with this project. The kids will enjoy it for years to come and even after they grow up they’ll still have a ton of nice memories about it. You can quite easily build an outdoor swing set yourself but you need to make sure it’s super safe and secure. Head over to createandfind to check out the tutorial for this one and to find out all the important things about a project like this one.

A cute custom desk

Desks are not really fun or exciting from a kid’s perspective since they’re associated with homework. Still, you can really make the most of a project like this one and come up with a really cool and fun design for a custom kid’s desk. The one featured on handmade-haven has this lovely house-shaped frame and also a couple of handy open shelves for storing a few books, papers and various other things.

A multifunctional play table

As kids start to grow up they also start being more independent. It’s nice to give them a play table, a space where they can work on various projects and play either alone or with friends, where they can build Legos, train tracks, draw and so on. You can build such a table yourself out of wood and while you’re at it include some storage bins underneath as well for various toys and so on. You can find the plans and tutorial for something like this on jaimecostiglio along with detailed instructions.

Hanging storage shelves with bins

These wall-mounted storage shelves are a really great companion for play tables. They don’t take up a lot of space and in addition to the surface on top which can be used as a display area they also have these storage bins which you can slide in below. These can hold lots of things like Lego and construction blocks, pencils, books and so on. You can customize these shelves based on the type of bins you want to pair them with. Check out the plans on thehandymansdaughter.

A kid’s bookcase made of wood and pipes

The modern-industrial style is a pretty good fit for a lot of handmade furniture pieces, like this kid’s bookshelves from cherishedbliss for instance. It’s made out of plywood and metal pipes and it looks simple but it also has lots of character. It’s perfect for storing and displaying some of your kid’s favorite books and if you want you can paint it so it matches their room’s overall theme and decor.

DIY train table

Train sets are super fun but they can be quite annoying when the kids just make a mess through the entire house when they’re building them. This stylish train table is meant to give them a special place where they can do that, keeping the rest of the house nice and clean. The table has a big storage bin underneath for all the train tracks and everything else. You can make something like this yourself out of wood or plywood and some metal pipes and fittings for the legs. More details can be found on cherishedbliss.

Mini cabin bed frame

A custom bed with a fun design can change the entire bedroom. There’s a ton of fun ideas you can try when it comes to kid’s furniture, like this cabin-inspired bed from jenwoodhouse for example. It has a fairly simple design and it’s not a difficult project, not even if you’re a beginner with this sort of things. It would fit perfectly in a farmhouse-style home and it’s also nice and safe for toddlers, making the transition from crib to bed easier and more enjoyable. Check out jenwoodhouse to get the plans.

Playhouse loft over the bed

There’s not a lot of space in a kid’s bedroom but if you’re clever you can give them plenty of space to sleep, play and do their homework without making the room seem tiny. A cool idea could be to build a little playhouse over the bed, just a loft space where they can climb up and read, play with some toys and so on. It’s actually pretty easy to do and you can build the whole thing out of wood. Add a few accessories at the top like a small chalkboard, some shelves and some lighting. There’s a tutorial on jaimecostiglio which gives more details.

A handy step stool

A step stool is basically a must-have when you have a kid because they need it to reach tables, counters, sinks and so on. There’s plenty of step stools that you can buy but you can also build your own. It’s a fairly simple project and it’s all described in detail on hertoolbelt. To build a kid’s step stool like this one you need wood boards, screws, wood glue and paint. It’s simple, sturdy and super practical.