The girls are spending more and more time in our new back yard. Before the swingset was set up, they spent a few days building this:
This is a fairy house. They each got a book on fairies for Christmas from one of their Great Aunts: Fairy Houses and Fairy Flight, both by Tracy L. Kane.
There are, apparently, all sorts of rules for building fairy houses. My 7-year-old knows them all by heart. She is greatly concerned that the moss she used as carpeting is a nonapproved material, since she technically “picked” it from some stone slabs insteading of just “finding” it. I’ve tried to assure her that it was an honest mistake, and that I’m sure the fairies will overlook it and come to live here anyway. But I’m not sure she believes me.
Here’s a closeup of the interior:
Now you tell me: what fairy wouldn’t want to live here? Looks like the fairy-lap-of-luxury to me.
This is what we do when our school work is done for the day.
This is why we homeschool.
We love making fairy houses! One of our favorite rambling around the yard activity. You can tell your daughter that we break the rules all the time and the fairies visit anyway. We can tell by how trashed the place is the following day. (Crazy partying fairies.)
LOL! Thanks, Mommylion. I’ll let her know. And I’ll keep an eye out for those crazy partying fairies.
Heck, I count building fairy houses as part of homeschool. My logic: building a little house out of twigs or somesuch is part of a Girl Scout Junior badge (I forget which one — naybe architecture?); Girl Scout badge work can be counted towards homeschooling; therefor, fairy houses are homeschooling.
Excellent point, Gail.
Now I’m thinking, though, in light of Mommylions infamous party-down fairy population, that our next structure should be some sort of dance party place. Like Studio 54 Fairy Style. We could get some crystals and suspend them from the branches above and let them twirl around like a disco ball. Set up a little nectar-bar on the side. Maybe get a couple trolls to act as bouncers.
Hey…it could work. It could.
With a place like that you could end up luring our party fairies your way - as if the snow here isn’t be enough incentive for them to head out.
I don’t know about the trolls though. My daughter has taken to wearing her shirts backward (as in Spiderwick books) to keep herself safe from the trolls. Sound like shady characters to me.
“isn’t be”…ugggg.
Oh! Hooray! Tracy Kane’s Fairy House are pretty special around here! Tracy gathered her inspiration from an Island right off(well “right” off means 14 miles) of the peninsula we live on! I made my first trip to this Island last summer and got to see all the fairy houses first hand. I’m taking my daughter next time….there is some concern on this small island that the natural habitat is being destroyed to make fairy houses, so of course, one rule is to use things that are already laying around, discarded by nature. One day, near our home, when we were out walking at a “very secret place” we found the area dotted with fairy houses. It was amazing and magical!! It’s our own special hideaway. If you come visit we promise to take you there!
Wonderful post! Homeschooling is grand!
I agree, great post, and it totally counts as school. It’s just another way of working with and learning about the world, real and imagined. And yes, homeschooling is great. Today it feels like the only possible way to have a real life with my kids.
I love fairy houses! Theirs is a spectacular one. I want to go the fairy island. that would be so neat. Post more as they make them and get more elaborative. I love the progressions of fairy houses!-K
That should be elaborate. Sometimes I make up my own words…
Beautiful. Can’t wait until my daughter starts building fairy houses. What a lovely profession.
Hey there. You all isn’t be so worried about sounding all elaborative here.
Here’s where the trolls run the spellchecker.
Bring on those grammar-policin’ trolls.
That’s beautiful! If I was a fairy, I’d certainly drop by for tea.
That’s SO why I wish I had a girl sometimes. Baby Boy spends all of his free time erecting elaborate torture devices for me - and I always feel obligated to try them out.
Oh well, at least you get to interact with your kids and you don’t have to worry about losing an eye, or a limb, or whatever the tortured body part of the day is . . . LOL.
It makes me want to be a little girl again. I used to do similar things, although I did not have a book to inspire me.
Nope. I had Little Kiddles.
“Here’s where the trolls run the spellchecker.”
Dh and I laughed so hard over this. There are trolls all around the net lately. Godless ones at Katherine’s and now grammar trolls here. Weird.
What wonderful fun. I am the fairy dreamer in the house. I have quite a collection from the boys. I am in the same boat as Mom #1. How I would love to have tea with the fairys!!
Looks like a perfect fairy house to me! I will have to keep it in mind when building one in my fairy garden! We were thinking of making one with flowers growing over the top. But this one looks much nicer.