The Wonder Years shares many Montessori-inspired activities that can be made at home. This lacing board is simple to make and is perfect to help your preschooler practice his lacing skills. Click here to learn how to make one AND how to introduce the activity to your child!

I love this set of personalized name blocks from Melissa at Chasing Cheerios!. These would make a great gift for any child, especially those just learning to spell their name. What a fun way to practice putting the letters in the right order! Older kids could take it a step further by rearranging the letters to see how many words they can spell using the letters in their name, and the younger ones could simply enjoy stacking and playing with the colorful blocks! Go to Chasing Cheerios for the how-to!

I’m so excited about the new blog from the editors of Small Magazine. The online magazine is a continual source of inspiration and their new blog is sure to be the same. This whimsical dragonfly mobile is their first tutorial and I totally love it. Check out Smaller for the tutorial.

This toy car launcher from Dabbled looks like a blast to play with. You may be able to find all of your supplies with just a quick trip to your garage! Click over to Dabbled for the Instructables tutorial.

Have a spare coffee table laying around? With just a few adjustments you can turn it into a kid-sized art table!

Mini Cuties tells how she and her husband transformed this:

into this!

Some modifications include holes for hanging cups that help keep the space organized, and a roll of drawing paper mounted to the side. Click here for more details!

I love the natural beauty and rustic look of these flutes made from Elderberry sticks. They play from both ends and are a great way to cultivate a love of nature and music in children. Visit Urban Organica for the details.

There’s no need to spend a small fortune on a play kitchen for the kidlets. Here’s a quick round-up of some DIY kitchens.

*Click on photo to view original source.

From Ikea Hacker:

From Flickr:

Little Jane flipped a curbside cabinet upside-down (photo tutorial).

From Ohdeedoh

From Etsy

Instruction kit for cardboard kitchen

From Craftster

Repurposed entertainment center

I’m always afraid that I’ll post too many projects for toddlers, or girls specifically…since that’s what I’m naturally drawn to…having two small girls of my own. So, I was elated when I came across this rubberband gun tutorial on Blue Yonder. This seems like such a fun afternoon project for a parent to do with an older child.  Have fun, but don’t forget to give a thorough lesson on safety before letting your kid loose with one of these things. ;)  Link

Amy Cluck created this cute wooden plaque from velvet stickers she picked up at a craft store. Perfect for a child’s space and infinitely customizable based on the stickers. Simple ideas like these are my favorite!

Brrrrr. Baby, you’ll freeze out there. Check out these instructions from Ohdeedoh on how to make an indoor swing and keep the kiddos inside for a bit.