Discover the joy of creation with Plank Projects by Build With Me—where young builders aged 5 and up can embark on a hands-on journey of imagination and skill! Our unique DIY wooden kits, crafted from untreated New Zealand pine, invite children to engage in the exciting process of cutting, building, and personalizing their own projects.
Skip the pretend toolkits and give children a real construction experience!
With guidance, kids as young as 3 can grasp the basics. From real hand-tools sized for mini humans, to soft untreated wood, we’ve made it easy to kickstart their woodworking hobby.
Our ready-to-build projects are designed around their interests, like dino’s and helicopters, making it fun to learn.
Start learning the basics with our projects and graduate to imagining and building from scratch with our bulk boxes.
There’s nothing you need to go and source, we’ve done the hard work for you.
You’ll have us in your corner, introducing tools and techniques in the right order. So… let’s get building!
Loved by 1000s of kiwis
★★★★★
I bought this for the tamariki I work with and we were all so happy with it! It is so easy to use and works like a real tool, not just a toy.
– SAMANTHA P
★★★★★
This mini kit is awesome! I homeschool my neuro divergent 7 year old and he loved making this kit as part of our dinosaur unit. Great for practicing those gross and fine motor skills! High quality for a reasonable price.
– AMANDA
★★★★★
The perfect set for our preschool carpentry learning. The tools are the perfect size for small hands and great quality. Highly recommend.
– INGRID AMBROSIUSSEN
BESTSELLER
BuildBox For Education
Bring carpentry to your centre or restock with our best-selling BuildBox packed with over 1300 blocks, shapes and nails for hours of hands-on fun.
Help your kiddo build their creation following our step by step guides. Every kit includes all the materials needed to complete the project.
2. EMBELLISH
Once they've put their creation together, they can paint, decorate and personalise it. There’s no such thing as too many googly eyes.
3. PLAY!
Let ‘em play! Add more kits to the collection to expand their skills and build imaginary worlds.
Kids don’t want more toys. They want a fun challenge.
If you’ve been around kids for 2 minutes… you’ll know that’s how long it takes for them to lose interest in a toy. Or skip the channel. Or say “I’m bored”...
Kids have more things to play with than ever. But there’s something missing...
They want you. Your company, and interest in them. They want to be able. To do things big people do. To keep up. They want a challenge...
That feeling of surprising themselves, mastering something, and excitedly telling each person who walks into the room...
Whether you had the chance to build with wood as a child, or wish someone had given you the opportunity, making treehuts and tinkering is part of our Kiwi DNA.
It’s up to us to share that with the next generation.
Let’s give them real tools to learn practical skills, grow self-esteem, and creatively express themselves. It’ll be worth it.
That look of concentration as they hammer in a nail, the delight as they see a build come to life, and the hugs for taking the time to help them...
Be the favourite aunty. The fun grandad. The greatest dad or mum. The bestest friend with the bestest birthday present in the whole wide world. Just as importantly, arm them with skills they’ll use forever.
★★★★★
My five year old grandson loved this for his birthday. He got mountains of lego and it was so nice to give him something that wasn’t plastic. Very fast service, couldn't recommend this more.
– ANGELA SAUL
Hi! We’re Matt & Lou…
…your off-site building supervisors! We’re making woodwork easy for friends, family, and educators of little ones.
It started in 2014 when we ran a free building workshop for children in a local mall, and everybody asked us to keep the fun going. Or was it when Lou was teaching construction skills at her childcare centre, and on the hunt for kid-friendly supplies?
Maybe it harks back to the early days, both growing up with a hammer in our hands and a love for tinkering. All this lead us to launch Build With Me, using Matt’s engineering skills to create project kits for little learners.
We’ve used our experience to design kits that introduce the right tools, in the right order, with guidance as you go. In this world of plastic toys and screens, we love giving the next generation a chance to explore carpentry.
We’ve seen it fuel relationships, grow into a hobby, and become a lifeskill. You’ll love it, too. Go on… build with them!
FAQs
Our child-sized tools are designed for purpose are weighted and sized for safe and easy use. Stubby hammers are weighted for easier hammering and stubby screwdrivers are perfect for small hands. Sharp saws with fine teeth make cutting wood successful (ensure wood is held still using clamps or a vice). Adding rulers, measuring tapes and carpenters pencils adds numeracy and design elements to a wood-work area. Ensure tools are stored somewhere dry and out of reach when not in use so they don’t rust.
Our woodworking kits come with simple, step-by-step instructions that can followed by children as young as 3 years old (with some supervision and guidance). Look out for video walkthroughs online for a guided experience.
Our kits primarily use soft radiata pine to make nailing and driving in screws easier. Often offcuts of wood donated to early childhood services are too hard or have been treated with chemicals, untreated dry wood is important. Providing children with a variety of shapes and sizes allows children opportunities to use their imagination, be creative and explore design.
We recommend setting up a dedicated space for building so that you can supervise effectively and feel confident children will use the area for its purpose. A woodwork table is ideal with some tool and materials storage closeby.
Woodworking experience always helps but we've designed our kits to be as easy and accessible as possible for both kids and adults. We recommend reading the instructions properly before starting the activities so you and the children have a good understanding of how the kit is built.