Whenever people come to visit for the first time, they always ask about our tree blocks. The look and the feel of the blocks are so appealing that the kids, and indeed the parents, are always drawn to them.
These little blocks are so ridiculously easy to make. You could whip them up easily in an afternoon and your kids could be enjoying them in no time.
Our other tree blocks are quite large, coming from a poor old Eucalyptus tree that had to be removed from our front yard. I really like the natural unique details of the branch; the little nobs and the natural bends in the wood.
Eucalyptus trees however don’t have a thick bark, and while ours are quite lovely after a gentle sand, I really wanted some smaller blocks with the texture of a nice thick bark.
Now you can buy tree blocks but honestly they are so easy to make and free!
Next time you’re at the park or out on a walk just keep an eye out for a nicely textured fallen branch. Try to find one as straight as possible. While it is nice to have differently shaped blocks, if there are too many bends in your branch the blocks will topple over (we have a few like this and Jack finds them very frustrating). Also a straight branch means you’ll be able to stack the blocks.
Then just saw your branch into pieces, give the edges a light sand if you like and you’re done. Beautiful.
You can wax them if you like, our big ones have been waxed but these little ones, because of the beautiful natural bark, were left as is.
See. Easy. And aren’t they beautiful?
Have a go this weekend.
An Everyday Story 
Reblogged this on fromamummysheart and commented:
As a follow up to my wooden block post, why not have a go at making some free, natural tree blocks? This was on my list of toy resources for purchase, but now I see how easy it is to make them for free, I shall repurpose the branches that are sat out bback in my yard awaiting removal!
Love them Kate! We are doing the exact same thing this weekend with some of our fallen trees. i was trying to figure out how to finish them…didn’t think of wax! What do you use?
These little ones didn’t have any wax but out larger ones have just some bees/orange wax. They smell beautiful.
These are great and amazingly easy! This project has been on my list for a while, along with making some buttons from a small branch. I loved seeing how yours turned out. 🙂
I love the little wooden buttons too. I saw them used on a hooded cape and they look just gorgeous.
I was looking at buying these a few years back but when I saw the price tag it just didn’t make sense for what they actually are, sawn up branches! We have been collecting bits of branches for sometime. I look for nice straight chunky branches. I find the chunkier pieces are ideal for my age range at home 2 – 4 but I am planning to cut thinner branches for a collection that will be suitable for ages 5 and up. As an aside, have you seen the fairy tree houses? I would love to make one of those! Very expensive to buy but I think very possible to make…
They are expensive but I saw the guy on BHG make them last year some time, really really simple, and it turned out beautifully. Here’s the link. I’d forgotten about them 🙂 … a new project for hubby 🙂
These are wonderful! Please consider sharing this post on Waldorf Wednesday.
http://ourseasonsofjoy.com/waldorf-wednesday-link-up/waldorf-wednesday-20/
Thank you I will 🙂
Our son is still.in the oral stage. Any tips for how to make these safe for when he decides to explore using his mouth?
Sarah still mouths a lot of things. If you are concerned you could make the blocks a little bigger so they won’t fit in his mouth. It’s up to you of course but I don’t mind so much if Sarah mouths the bark, it is a nice sensory experience for her. They’re not dirty and the bark isn’t likely to come off so I let her explore.
So funny, I have a pile of branches just waiting for me to do this!
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