Fairy Houses

Magic happens when you take a child outside and leave her alone with nature and her imagination. Fairies may conjure images of forests, thick with green trees and teeming with wildlife, but our fairy houses are located in the city! Urban fairies don't mind traffic, or sidewalks, or a gaggle of kids on bikes. They love the intricate details in any child-built house. Details like leaf hammocks with dandelion flower pillows, play areas carved from the dirt surrounding gnarled tree roots, and picket fences made of twigs and samaras (maple seed helicopters).

This fairy house was built at a school a couple of blocks from our house. Something about the exposed tree roots in the ground, the swirls of bark, the ant community busy at work nearby, made it seem the perfect place for a fairy house. So my daughter and friends got busy gathering natural materials to create their welcoming little abodes. 

During a bike ride yesterday, we stopped to visit the Little Free Library at the school, then sat down beneath the giant maple to read our new books. Of course we also had to visit the fairy houses. I sat and watched my daughter's excitement grow as she created more rooms, added more decoration, and wondered what the fairies would do in their house. We went back again today, not to look at books, but to add rose petals, take pictures, and check for evidence of fairy mischief. 

I found a fun website about Fairy Houses with books, pictures, and ways to connect kids to nature. Check it out, and get outside and let them build!