Fairy Houses
This project is magical for all ages (I’ve even been asked to help people create them at a faculty meeting.) For the past several years, I’ve taught a day-long fairy house workshop at my town’s Earth Day celebration. People of all ages enjoy making the fairy houses, but this year, the children struggled with the process more than ever.
I am seeing a marked decline in children’s fine motor skills. Their physical hand strength is tapering - it is difficult for them to squeeze the clay. Children’s discomfort with open-ended directions is increasing. When I say, “You can shape it however you like and decorate it with flowers that you choose,” they react first with anxiety.
If your child struggles with this project, gently encourage them to keep going.
When you lead children in this project, allow them to deviate from the directions at any time. The fairy house can easily transform into a tower, a trap, or a tank.
As your child customizes their project, they will develop narratives to explain the shapes they create. This is wonderful.
Materials Needed:
air-dry clay (white or terracotta)
A collection of natural materials (like Rosemary and Lavendar trimmings)
a piece of cardboard for each house
a wire to cut clay
Preparing for the Earth Day workshop.
HOW TO:
Take the students outside to collect natural items (leaves, acorns, stones, interesting junk).
. Cut the clay into equal pieces using a wire. Encourage the children to warm up the clay by playing with it as you cut each piece.
Everyone gets a piece of cardboard.
Lead the students in tossing the clay back and forth between their hands. It will become rounder and lose all corners.
Roll the clay on the cardboard to form a ball.
Insert your thumb into the center of the clay ball and pinch.
Turn and repeat to create a pinch pot.
When you have a vessel, turn it over. This is your house.
Encourage the students to pull and poke holes in the clay to create doors and windows.
Students may press natural materials they collected and crafting materials you provide into the houses.
From working with clay, children learn that they can shape their world. They build fine motor skills, hand strength, and the ability to work on open-ended questions without hovering grown-ups.
Note: If you keep the sculptures inside, they will dry and become more brittle. Outside, they will eventually melt in the precipitation.
Find a nice spot to create your village!
The next step is to start germinating seeds.
(Post to follow)
