Fairy Houses June 12, 2009

We read the book Fairy Houses by Tracy Kane- having gotten it by happenstance at the library. Turns out, as we’re reading the book, we realize that we have Kristen’s Fairy House- the DVD that chronicles the adventure between aunt (Tracy Kane) and niece that leads to the writing of The Fairy Houses Series of books (of which we have read all now). It was given to Sadie and Christmas and it hadn’t struck us to watch it. Well, once again, the universe is beautiful. The books and movie have led to some wondrous natural adventures and thrilling bursts of imagination.

As it goes, fairy houses can only be made from natural materials that are found and non-living (i.e. One cannot pick a flower for a fairy house. It must be a flower that has blown off of a plant onto the ground and, therefore, is no longer living but remains natural material. ).

Sadie had decided that the area next to the rose bush in the front yard would be a perfect location for a fairy house. Elijah had the structure in mind but we would need lots of sticks. Off to the wild area at the end of the street.

We found lots of beautiful flowers and the kids talked about how ‘happy’ the plants are that they are smiling with flowers. These would all be left for others to enjoy, however. We were following the fairy house rules!

Back to the house after several loads to begin construction.

There were lots of roly polies found and we relocated them to the fairy house area to keep the fairies company.

Complete with grackle feathers to signal the fairies to the entryway and a shell bathtub, this fairy house is complete!

But wait! We need one in the backyard! The base of the palm tree will work famously!

The trunk pieces where the fronds have been cut worked great for little rooms. Large leaves that we found on a walk were used for roofing, soft leaves shed from the lamb’s ear plant would be beds and blankets. This fairy house was quite elaborate and, apparently, appreciated! When the children woke up the next morning, fairy dust was found in several of the rooms and on the ground. Someone had enjoyed their hard work.