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Learn How to Make a Fairy House. This is fun project will keep your kids busy for hours. Simple DIY ideas using natural items or craft stuff you already have. Make magical memories with your children. A great activity for all ages!
An outdoor fairy house built by Rachel and Mom” ©2013 Wesley Fryer and made available under cc license
I work at a small library in a rural community. One summer our very talented Summer Reading Program coordinator spent an afternoon making fairy houses with the children. What excitement! We mounted an expedition to the nearby woods to gather materials. Then constructed homes fit for fairy royalty.
The library is my gift to subscribers. It contains eBooks and printables, to support you in your parenting journey. Scroll down the page to the free printables.
I expected the younger ones to enjoy this activity, but everyone loved it. Boys, girls, and all ages from preschoolers to tweens had fun that afternoon. This still remains one of the most popular events we ever held.
I loved how the children excitedly shared their creations. The young architects eagerly showed me their fairy houses. Even the shyest child couldn’t wait to tell me about the special features they built for the fairy owners to enjoy. It was wonderful.
Related: 25 Insanely Fun Activities To Get Your Kids Outdoors This Summer
HOW TO MAKE A FAIRY HOUSES
YOU WILL NEED
- A container to collect materials. We also used the container as a base for the houses.
- Your imagination
- A collection of natural building materials. these might include fallen leaves, bark from dead trees, twigs, pine cones, stones, feathers, dropped flower petals, nuts, seeds, seashells.
- Craft supplies (optional). These might include, fabric scraps, silk flowers and leaves, ribbons, craft sticks, beads, shells, gravel, jungle bells.
- Glue gun (optional)
If possible visit a park and ask everyone to search for materials that can be used to construct and decorate fairy houses. Emphasize that only found materials can be used, as fairies do not wish you to destroy or pick anything living.
If you are unable to go to a park, you will probably find enough materials in your back yard and you can still do this activity with crafts supplies.
INSTRUCTIONS
You have your building material, so you are ready to start building! There are two options
- Build your house outdoors. Find a suitable place to build and work together to construct and decorate your house. If you have several children you may want to create a fairy court with several dwellings.
- Build your house indoors. This is what the children at our library did. We made shallow boxes from card stock, which acted as bases. The children built their houses around the bases using the materials they had gathered outside. We also provided some surplus craft supplies to add a little pizzazz.
For more inspiration watch the start of this short video that features a fairy village built from natural materials
Try to use what you have on hand, rather than buying anything extra. It just adds to the fun! You might also need a hot glue gun for indoor building.
LET YOUR KIDS TAKE THE LEAD
Although you will be working on this project together, I would strongly encourage you to let your children take the lead. Try to focus on the process rather than the end result.
It really doesn’t matter if the finished house looks a little lopsided, as the fairies won’t mind a bit. The most important thing is that you all have fun together and make connections. As you work encourage conversation about who might live in your house.
- What are their names?
- Tell me what you think they look like
- I wonder what work they do?
- What do you think they do for fun?
Encourage your children to make up stories about the adventures of these little people and prepare to be amazed by your young storyteller’s imaginations.
THE BENEFITS OF MAKING FAIRY HOUSES
This activity is a lot of fun and it is so good for kids to engage in these kinds of activities
- Your children are outside enjoying the natural world.
- It gets them away from the screens for a while.
- Encourages healthy, imaginative, and creative play.
- But best of all it creates a wonderful opportunity to make memories and build connections.
And you get to make a fairy house! What could be better than that?
I hope the photographs I have enclosed will provide some inspiration. I would also encourage you to visit The Fairy Houses Picture Gallery. It has some lovely photographs of fairy houses built by people of all ages.
This is such a cute idea! I love it! My daughter is obsessed with fairies right now and a fairy house for her tiny Tinker Bell toys will be just the thing to keep her busy.
That’s wonderful! She will really enjoy making this. Have fun!