Fall is here, I actually took out my wool socks the other day, a sure sign that cold weather is fast approaching. Since snow is sure to fall soon I thought taking the kids out and having some fun up in the woods sounded like fun. I received a magazine the other day (don't you just love magazines that show up in your mailbox and you have no idea why you get them?) and in it there was a small reference to fairy houses, so I thought that might be a fun project for the kids to do together...a sort of "team building" exercise. It started off well, everyone was excited and practically dragging me out the door. I managed to grab a shoe box to collect things with before we went out, so as we walked up the hill we kept our eyes peeled for things that fairy's might like and things we could use to build useful fairy things...like fairy tables and fairy chairs. The kids were really digging it...and so was I...getting outside and spending time in the woods is one of my favorite things, when they were little it was so hard to do, our woods aren't very "little kid" friendly.
We decided to place the fairy house at the bottom of the big maple we call "Grandmother Tree". There are lots of little coves and nooks that fairies would love to play in. We stared off by driving a few sticks into the ground to try and hold up the bark we collected (from dead trees)...it wasn't working. I finally walked up the hill a bit to a fallen tree and started grabbing moss covered bark from around it. Zephryn and I discovered that something was living inside the fallen tree..you could see where it walked in and out..and there was sawdust where it had finished hollowing out the log..we collected quietly so we didn't disturb whatever it was that lived there.
Once we started using the longer pieces of bark as a sort of lean-to the houses took shape pretty quickly. We built a small table and chair out of sticks and bark in one area, beds in another and even a sitting room. The kids had a blast. And even though they bickered a bit, they still had moments of asking for help and working together so it was, what I consider, a successful team building excursion.
Now they're collecting berries and apples and things to bring up and leave for the fairies..and if they're gone in the morning, well then I guess that means the fairies enjoyed their new digs and the food they gave them :-)
6 comments:
Don't you love it when the kids can work together nicely without too much arguing? That is one cuuute fairies' house!
What a great idea. I love the picture of the finished product. And who knows, the fairies just might take up residence. Or the critter that lived in the log might move in.
I'm jealous...that looks like a really fun time. Homeschooling really allows for extra fun times with the kids. By the time mine get home on the bus we are running to sports. When we get home it is quick, quick, quick...eat, homework and bed. I hardly see them during the school year. Sad.
I love these! We may have to steal, uh, *borrow* this idea from you ;D If you don't mind sharing - which magazine was it?
Our fall weather is wacky at the moment. A few days ago it was in teh 90's. Today we had the heat on. Our closets are full of t-shirts and sweaters and we don't have enough hangers for both seasons' wardrobes!
It was a fun project :-) They keep going up and leaving berries and food inside and then checking to see if it's gone. The magazine is Family Fun. I have no idea why I get it..it just started showing up in my mailbox, but its got some interesting ideas. :-)
I am going to do this with my daughter, as soon as all the water from Tropical Strom Fay dries up! We are still a wet mess in Florida.
We are in Ohio and it's 48 right now. It was 92 when we left FL. You should have seen us trying to find something to wear besides shorts and flip flops! LOL
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