Yesterday, the boys and I went to a small, local farm and garden festival.  For the children, they had a spacious area designated to Fairy House construction and design.

After being shown an example, we were to locate an empty space where we wanted to start building.  I spotted an old tree stump that had been partially hollowed out from rotting away and we agreed it would be perfect spot.  I made the first trip to the table of materials but after that, the boys made all the selections, going back and forth, at least twenty times.

It was thrilling to watch how engaged both boys were with the whole process.  Little one loved adding tall dried flowers to the small holes in the top of the stump.  While, Older one was busy telling me a story about each piece he added.  “This is the place where they can come in and out.  And this is how they can climb up to the top.  This is a fishing pole so that they can catch fish.  These are the lights for the night time when it’s dark.”

We had so much fun building our Fairy Castle that it was hard to leave it behind. On the way out, Older one told me he wanted to build another Fairy Castle at home.

So, after nap time, we got to work.  We started by locating some containers and then walked around the yard to collect materials.

There’s more work to be done as it was decided that we should make a “whole Fairy Batman Village.”  We added “a blocker” so everyone would know where the village begins and so that no one can “knock it down.”

Older one also came up with a list of other must-have’s for our village.

1. People
2. Cars
3. Gates
4. A park
5. Monster truck

Reggio at Home

One of the reasons I was so excited that the boys were so interested in this activity at the farm was because I knew it would be a perfect project for us to start at home.  It is an all encompassing project topic as there are so many academic and developmental elements going on, including math (list making, counting out pieces), science (using natural materials), language and literacy (storytelling, labeling), fine motor skills (balancing pieces, fitting small items into small spaces), sensory experiences, planning, problem solving, cooperation and concentration.