The Best DIY Blocks for Kids

Discover how to make building blocks for kids and explore several DIY project tutorials in this helpful guide to homemade block sets.

Making DIY building blocks for kids is a rewarding educational project for parents, caregivers, and teachers. Homemade building block sets offer a fun, affordable, and meaningful way to promote children’s learning through hands-on play. All children should have at least one good set of building blocks. Building blocks are a classic, open-ended toy that supports and strengthens creativity, problem-solving, fine-motor development, hand-eye coordination, and the development of beginning math and engineering skills.

For parents, teachers, and caregivers, homemade blocks offer an affordable, adaptable, and enriching way to support children’s development while encouraging hands-on exploration and joyful play. When adults make blocks for use at home or in the classroom, they can be created to fit the age, ability, preferences, or learning objective of the children who will play with them. Whether you are a parent, teacher, or caregiver, making your own blocks allows you to customize sizes, designs, colors, and materials to fit the developmental needs and purpose of different age groups.

This informative guide shares tutorials for various homemade building block projects, offering practical ideas, step-by-step instructions, and expert tips for creating safe, engaging materials for children to explore, create, and build with. You might also enjoy learning how to color wood for building blocks, other woodworking projects, and crafts.

Benefits of Making DIY Building Blocks:

One of the greatest benefits of homemade building blocks is their developmental value. Block play stimulates learning across all developmental domains and is widely researched as a predictor of academic success. From soft fabric blocks for babies to sturdy wooden blocks made with recycled materials, homemade blocks encourage creativity, problem-solving, and imaginative play. As children stack, balance, sort, and arrange blocks, they strengthen hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and early math concepts such as counting, symmetry, and size comparison.

Making your own DIY blocks for kids ensures that you will have enough for everyone to play and create with. Homemade blocks also offer an opportunity to demonstrate resourcefulness and sustainability, rather than relying solely on store-bought toys, especially when made from reused and recycled materials, such as leftover fabric or wood scraps. They can also be customized to support children with various sensory or physical needs, and decorated with colors, letters, numbers, or patterns to enhance classroom themes or learning goals.

DIY Building Blocks for Kids: Project Tutorials

This amazing collection of DIY blocks for kids and adults is organized into different categories, so you can easily find the type of blocks you’d like to make. For example, you can make blocks with the letters of the alphabet, recycled blocks, basic wood blocks, interlocking blocks, colored blocks, painted blocks, house, city, and people blocks, natural blocks, outdoor blocks, puzzle blocks, and more–whew! Enjoy making one of the block sets below, or find inspiration to create your own DIY building blocks!

Safety Considerations:

Safety is an important consideration when making blocks for children to use at home, school, and child care centers. Blocks need to be large enough to prevent choking hazards and should have smooth edges. They should also be made with sturdy, non-toxic materials that are safe for children from babies to teens to play with. Sanded wooden blocks, sealed cardboard, fabric-covered foam, or tightly packed recycled containers can all be appropriate options depending on the age group. Using child-safe paints or leaving materials in their natural state helps reduce exposure to potentially toxic materials. Regularly inspecting homemade blocks for wear and tear, and cleaning and disinfecting them, ensures they remain safe for ongoing use. You might also enjoy these swimming safety tips.

DIY Blocks For Baby:

• Soft Rattle Blocks for Babies | While She Naps
• Homemade Personalized Fabric Blocks for Baby | And Next Comes L
• DIY Sensory Blocks | Red Ted Art

Alphabet Blocks for Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Kindergarteners:

• Awesome ABC Blocks | Mejia Mamma

DIY Recycled Building Block Projects:

• Toilet Paper Roll Building Blocks | Swoodson Says
• DIY Cardboard Tube Construction Set | Picklebums
• Cardboard Building Blocks | Sunny Day Family
• Quiet Blocks | I Can Teach My Child
• Jumbo Building Blocks | The SAHM Survival Guide
• Egg Carton Building Blocks | The Pinterested Parent (not pictured)

DIY Wooden Building Blocks:

• Make Your Own Wooden Blocks | Frugal Fun for Boys & Girls
• How to Make Wooden Blocks | How to Make Toys
• Toy Wood Blocks | Instructables
• Build Blocks | Instructables

Specialty DIY Block Project Tutorials:

• Color Blocks | And Next Comes L
• Sand Blocks | Adventure in a Box
• Wooden Mirror Blocks | Adventure in a Box
• Patterned Wood Blocks  | The Imagination Tree
• Sticky Blocks | No Twiddle Twaddle
• Wooden Pull Cart and Building Blocks | Woodworking for Mere Mortals
• DIY Pattern Building Blocks | Frugal Fun for Boys & Girls (Not pictured)

DIY Multi-Colored and Painted Wooden Blocks for Kids:

• How to Color Wooden Blocks | Rhythms of Play
• Dyed Rainbow “Grimm Style” Wooden Blocks | Fun at Home with Kids
• How to Make Wooden Monster Blocks | Adventure in a Box
• Painted Blocks by Kids | Art Bar
• Make a Building Monster Blocks | Adventure in a Box
• Wooden Gradient Blocks | Adventure in a Box

Homemade House, City, and People Blocks:

• Chalkboard City Blocks | Hellobee
• House Blocks for the Railroad | Adventure in a Box
• Stacking House Blocks | Mer Mag

DIY Natural and Outdoor Building Blocks:

• How to Make Waldorf-Inspired Nature Blocks. Make cheap and easy DIY outdoor wooden blocks from small tree branches with the DIY tutorial from Adventure in a Box.

DIY Wooden Puzzles and Games:

These DIY puzzles are made of blocks that can be incorporated into block play for even more fun! Create impressive designs and block stacks with the homemade wooden puzzles and games below.

• Waldorf Square
• Tetris-Inspired Puzzle
• Tetris Cube

DIY Building Block Set Project Tutorials:

Making your own DIY building blocks is more than just a craft project. Making homemade blocks for kids is an investment in your children’s (or students’) ability to engage in meaningful play and learning. Using simple craft materials and creative designs, you can give children of all ages versatile tools that grow with them and help develop skills like coordination, fine motor control, early engineering, and creativity.

Every kid should have at least one good set of blocks. As children build, rebuild, and imagine, they build their confidence and curiosity through play. The DIY building block project tutorials above share several different types of homemade sets you can make for kids. With ideas from this project round-up, you can make various crafts that encourage exploration and show children that learning can start with something handmade. Enjoy making one of the DIY building block sets above or find inspiration to create your own!

In my experience, children love to play with building blocks and rainbow peg dolls. Having little people to stack and position within block buildings and designs adds even more imaginative play options.

Your children or students may also enjoy their own sand and water table, chalkboard, mud kitchen, or sandbox. Please visit each DIY tutorial to learn more about each project.

Learn more about Nell Regan Kartychok, author of this helpful guide to making DIY building blocks for kids HERE, and Rhythms of Play HERE!