Tag: week 1

Tipi Tent

Would you like to learn how to make a very easy house for your rabbit or a fairy out of sticks?

You will need:

  • 3 or more straight sticks  of the same length
  • A pipe cleaner or two
  • Extra things to decorate your house

First let’s practice wrapping.

Hold out your two fingers and wrap the pipe cleaner around them several times.


When that is easy you’re ready to begin.

  • Gather your materials
  • Step 1: Make an X
  • Step 2: Wrap the pipe cleaner around the top like this
  • Step 3: Add the third stick and wrap it with the remaining pipe cleaner
  • Tada! If you wrapped it tight enough you’ve just made a tipi tent
  • See your rabbit can go inside.
  • Then decorate with sticks, ribbons, yarn, leaves, whatever you want!

Note:
Your tripod will only be secure when the sticks are driven into soft ground (dirt or playdough)

Experiment lots until you get it secure and stable so it  doesn’t knock over when you put your toys inside of it.

Add more sticks to the sides. Decorate!

To the grownups

This is a skill that is repeatable on a larger scale to build a full size fort (with long enough sticks) or den. We will continue to build upon these skills to build several different forts.

Nature Journals

In your first weekly kit you will find a homemade nature journal. In case you need another one for siblings here is a super quick tutorial about how I made it.

You will need:

  • Sheet of cardboard
  • Box cutter
  • Hole Punch
  • Plain white paper
  • Yarn or string

I made nature journals out of box flaps but this led to very irregular and randomly sized journals which meant I couldn’t cut one size of paper and that I wasted a lot of paper trying to make it fit in the journals. Cardboard is free, paper is not. So…..I don’t recommend this.

What I do recommend is cutting or folding a piece of plain letter sized paper in half and using that as a size reference for your journal. You want to make the cardboard a little bit bigger than the journal so it is protected inside.

After you’ve cut two pieces of cardboard the same size you are going to punch holes in it with your hole punch. You can measure to do this if you want, I’ve got a pretty good eye for symmetry so I just wing it.

Punch both pieces of cardboard and several sheets of paper.

Make sure all the holes line up.

Thread the string through the holes. Tie some knots and you’re done!

It’s a super fun first activity to personalize your nature journal by cutting and gluing or drawing things on it.

Maybe you want to write your name. Glue some photos from a nature magazine. Sky is the limit.

Here is mine and some of our fellow Adventurers.

Fairy Doors

Do you know where the fairies live?

I bet there are fairies in your back yard.

They probably live in the most beautiful, most hidden, quietest spot in your yard.

Far from where you are playing mud kitchen and building forts.

If you picture your backyard right now in your imagination can you see where the fairies might live?

In my garden I like to leave doors for the fairies to invite them to come into my yard. I’ll also leave round rocks that are good for sitting on just outside the door so they will have somewhere to sit and watch me while I work.

Maybe you can turn this piece of cardboard into a special fairy door and put it somewhere in your yard?

You will need:

  • cardboard fairy door
  • felts
    Optional
  • sharpie
  • things to decorate the door (sequins, felt, stickers, jewels)

To the grownups:

Leaned up against a tree a cardboard fairy door will last a surprisingly long time, so long as it isn’t being hit by a sprinkler.

It’s ok for a tired sad looking fairy door to mysteriously disappear. If your child asks you can simply reply, “Maybe it ran out of magic.” with a hint of excitement in your eyes.

They can always make another one. This is a simple playful way of using recycled cardboard and so easy to throw in a backpack and take with you. They could even be left around your neighbourhood if they are just cardboard.

Fairy Door

Would you like the fairies to be able to come visit your backyard?

They need a special magical door to get in.

You will need:

  • Cardboard door cut out
  • Felts
  • Paint (optional)
  • glitter (optional)

The more time to you take to make your fairy door the more likely it is the fairies will know it is special and made just for them. Where is a beautiful special place in your yard? That’s where the fairy door should go.

What can you create around the door to make sure the fairies know it is safe to come into your yard?

Be careful with your toys. Fairies are very curious and mischievous creatures.

You might find the fairies will collect toys you’ve left strewn about in the yard and take them home with them.

To the grown up

This is an invitation for your child to embrace the world of magic and wonder.

Along with the cardboard cut out set up lots of beautiful materials for your child to create their magical door.

Flat back jewels, small beads, glitter, flowers, small stones, clay. The sky is the limit.

In my craft kits there is a special glue that remains tacky as it is drying. Placing a little bit of this along the edges of your door would enable a child to string a row of pebbles or beads along.

You can cut a frame for the outside of the door and add dimension and depth.

Building fairy doors is a project that can be enjoyed and scaled up or down to meet the skill level of the whole family.

Rabbit Small World

Can you make a home for this rabbit and their family in your backyard or a box?
Where might they like to live?

rabbit small world

The rabbit in Peterson Creek lives in the hillside just below the musical bridge. If you look over the edges you can often see his trail. He hops through the grassy field when everyone is at home for the day. He hops far from his house, always mindful of the owl who also watches the field.

What do you know about rabbits?
What do they like to eat?
Where do they live?
Do they have lots of babies or just one?

You will need:

  • Rabbit
  • Items from your nature treasure hunt – rocks, pine cones, flowers
  • Magic Door

To the Grown Up

Small world play is a big developmental step for young children and they may need some support to get there. The purpose of this prompt is to begin building their imaginative skills and engage your child in a playful world of their own creation.

Questions to deepen play:

Can you dig them a burrow? (if digging is permitted)

What kinds of things might you add to their home?

Who lives next door to the rabbit?