a big shout-out this week to heath fits for sending me pictures of this recipe holder he made with his son a few years ago for mothers' day. the fun thing about this project is that it's suitable for children of all ages. the older, more advanced kids will probably want to cut and assemble all the pieces themselves while, for other kids you may wan to cut all the pieces yourself and let them assemble it and for the very youngest kids, you can give them an assembled recipe holder and let them paint and decorate it.
start with a scrap piece of a 2x4 and let the kids cut it down to any size they like. i'm clamping mine into my miter box and cutting it roughly into a square. now put a 3/8" dowel into your miter box and you're going to use this 45 degree slot to make a miter cut about six inches long. the kids might need a little help holding it in place or you can clamp it down. have the kids sand this block now, before they assemble it. and find the center point. to drill the hole, you can either just hold this for the kids or you can clamp it in place.
if you have a drill press, that would even be easier for the kids to use. i'm attaching a poece of tape to this 3/8" drill bit about an inch from the tip. have them drill the hole and stop when they reach that mark. add a dab of wood glue. and add a small drop of glue to the end of the dowel. i'll glue this clothespin on that angle. you could also use superglue or epoxy. regular wood glue will work pretty well if you hold it in place long enough for it to grab.