Imagine being invited to a garden party.
You're wandering around in amongst the well established, thriving plants, then you turn around a bend and find a little home! You can see it's all made from nature and there's no doubt about the love that was put into it-there are even fresh flowers tucked here and there. How welcoming!
To me, fairy houses are a symbol of love for your garden and the creatures within it.
Plus the process is inspiring and educational! It's a well rounded art project. So here are the skills that an 8 year old boosted while working on her first fairy house...
*Problem solving-
Ella is already a great problem solver and this project deffinetly put her skills to work. It was difficult finding ways to attach walls together but through trial and error she figured it out.
*Building-
Whether you are making your fairy house out of twigs and leaves or wood scraps, etc. there will be 3D building skills involved! This is where concepts of space come in as well as understanding and learning about building techniques.
*Brainstorming-
"Wow, look Eden, we could use this thick bark for the roof! And maybe this could be a door handle. Hey, and then we could glue these together to make a chair!" In this case, brainstorming is taught to come naturally while we look for our materials.
Whether you are making your fairy house out of twigs and leaves or wood scraps, etc. there will be 3D building skills involved! This is where concepts of space come in as well as understanding and learning about building techniques.
*Brainstorming-
"Wow, look Eden, we could use this thick bark for the roof! And maybe this could be a door handle. Hey, and then we could glue these together to make a chair!" In this case, brainstorming is taught to come naturally while we look for our materials.
*Creativity-
There is no limit to what you can do with nature and Ella used these limitless possibilities to power her imagination and create her fairy house.
*Connection making-
'What would the fairies need in their house?, well, what do I need out of my house?' Ella's home becomes the foundation of her mini nature home. She planned what rooms to include and where they should be based on her knowledge of houses she's been in. She also picked materials from outside that she thought resembled outer trim, bowls, bathtubs etc.
There is no limit to what you can do with nature and Ella used these limitless possibilities to power her imagination and create her fairy house.
*Connection making-
'What would the fairies need in their house?, well, what do I need out of my house?' Ella's home becomes the foundation of her mini nature home. She planned what rooms to include and where they should be based on her knowledge of houses she's been in. She also picked materials from outside that she thought resembled outer trim, bowls, bathtubs etc.
............These may seem like big concepts to achieve in comparison to the project. But I believe skills like these are built through accumulation and therefor fairy house building CAN be the first steps to your cabinetry career!...........................