fairy houses

We have been (mostly) keeping up with the Along the Alphabet Path curriculum for Iris this year. Each week, we read a story about a little boy named Michael, who ventures along a wooded path, gathering flowers to make into a bouquet for his mother for her birthday. Each week focuses on a different "blossom baby" (fairy), saint, artist or art theme, etc. according to the letter of the week. We've had approximately 10 weeks of school and are only on letter F, so you can see we've not been that ambitious.

Nevertheless, She's been loving the fairies theme, and I've been promising her we'd make our own fairy homes, so today, after swim lessons, we drove to JoAnn's (the first time since we've lived here!) to pick up some unfinished wooden birdhouses, moss, faux flowers (at least fall flowers were 60%), and some pebbles. And, Jack selected some fabric for his Halloween costume, which he is SO excited about, dear boy (1. He wants it to be a secret; 2. It isn't involved at all, which is the only reason I agreed to actually sew it this year; and 3. when is he not SO excited about his Halloween costume?) Anyway, we picked up supplies, had lunch at Chick Fila since we happened to find ourselves far from home at lunchtime, and it was right there. After getting home and putting little people down for naps, we broke out the paints and supplies and set to work decorating their fairy homes and gardens (or bird home, in Jack's case, and he also decorated one for Toby to be put in his same little "village", as Abigail did with Opal's).

These were so fun to make, and they are super charming. I let them each paint a little peg doll fairy, but because I helped did all of Iris', Abigail wanted me to do her's, too. The kids spent a long time playing with them after they were finished. Until Abigail's little fairy got stuck inside, and we still haven't been able to free her.