Calling all fairy lovers: the fairies of Vermont need your help! A recent rain storm has flooded fairy houses all over the state! We need some volunteers to build fairy houses in their yards, gardens and parks so that these fairies have a place to rest. 

What do you already know about fairies? Before we get started, we need to learn where they like to live, what they eat and what kinds of ~powers~ they have. 

Here at the Green Mountain Audubon Center fairies live in the woods, meadows and gardens. There's the Elderberry Fairy, the Coltsfoot Fairy, the Daisy Fairy and so many more! Fairies look like us, but they have wings and are much smaller. A fairy is no more than three inches tall! They are smaller than most plants and mammals! Despite their size, they use their powers from spring to summer to help flowers bloom. 

Part One: Making your fairy 

Let's craft our own fairy to build a house for! If you already have a fairy or doll you would like to use, that works too! 

To make a fairy you will need:

• 1 clothes pin 
• 1-2 coffee filters (or tissue paper) 
• Markers
• Water in a spray bottle  

Steps:

1). We are going to start with our wings! Grab your coffee filter and use the markers to design your wings. (Don't worry too much about the design because we will spray the coffee filter with water)

2). Use the spray bottle to create a tie-dye effect on the wings. Do as many spritzes of water as needed until you see the colors starting to bleed. Set to dry for five minutes. 

3). While our wings are drying, we will decorate our fairy's body. Grab your clothes pin and draw a face, clothes or any other feature on your fairy.

5). Check on your wings. If they are dry you can push them into the middle of your clothes pin (or clip them in the middle depending on what kind of clothes pin you are using). Tada! You've created a your fairy! 

Part 2: Building your fairy a home

No materials necessary for this project, we will only use natural items you can find in your yard or park! Fairies love to live among other plants. You can often find them at the base of a tree, among the flowers in the meadow or garden and in shurbs. Here are some examples of what homes can look like:

Steps:

1) Can you think of a good location to build your fairy a home? Encourage your student to lead you to a spot where they would like to build and ask them why chose it. 

2) Once you have chosen a location think about what materials you want to use to build. What materials were used in the examples? Do you see similar materials where you are? How big will your house be? It is important when we collect materials that we build with things that are not living. We want to leave healthy, living flowers, bark and berries where they are. 

3) Start building! 

4) To encourage fairies to visit the home you've built you can say this poem outloud: