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Make a Fairy House
by Kate Hofmann
In backyards and woodlands and other out-of-the-way corners, kids are busy building fairy houses. What's a fairy house? It's a very small dwelling that's big on imagination—and it's all made from things you can find in nature.
Will fairies really move in? Well, build one and see! Or you could build for another kind of creature. A mouse house, a toad abode, cricket cottage, or beetle bungalow would be just as much fun to make. Here's what you do:
1. Gather the goods. Twigs, bark, pine cones, leaves, stones, acorns, flower petals, and many other objects make perfect building materials. You can pick flowers from your own yard, if you ask first.
2. Pick a place. A hidden site is usually best to keep your house safe—unless you want to put it where passers-by might spot it and smile.
3. Build away! Twig walls? A roof of bark or one thatched with leaves? A pebble path? A pine-cone fence? The options are endless. You might even furnish your house with, say, a nutshell bathtub, acorn lanterns, or a leaf hammock.
4. Look ahead. Time and weather will take a toll on your house, so you may want to take a photo to remember it. Of course, you can always make more—anywhere you go! At the beach, driftwood, shells, and seaweed can become a sandy village. When winter comes along, snow and icicles turn into new building supplies.
For more ideas, check your library or search online to find photos and books about fairy houses. But most important of all, just let your creativity loose!
We'd love to see photos of your fairy houses! Send them to:
Ranger Rick Magazine; 11100 Wildlife Center Drive; Reston, VA 20190
or email them to rick@nwf.org
Some kids in Washington state built over 300 fairy houses for wildlife! Read more about it here!
photo by Susan McElhinney
fairy house by Michele Reyzer