Spring Enchanted Fairy Garden

After our jungle unit, we were entering spring here in Louisiana, so I suggested we evolve our jungle into an Enchanted Fairy Garden.  We added more flowers to our vines, added colored tulle to our ceiling for mystical and magical feeling.  We created a garden as our hallway display (see Hallway Displays 3).  Then I made each child a fairy which hung in our room. I created patterns for hair choices, legs, arms, wings, heads, ears, and clothing choices.  Each child got to choose the colors of their fairy's eyes, hair, wings, and clothing.  As well as choosing the hairstyle, and the added features such as buttons, gems, hair bows, cheek and mouth styles.  While I had to construct the fairies, all the choices were the children's, which is why each one is unique.  

Our Fairies

Tutus and wings for the girls to dress up in.  The boys had Peter Pan and Mad Hatter outfits to wear.  The children played tea party in dramatic play, in their enchanted fairy garden.  Fairy houses were made out of styrofoam cups and paper painted bowls decorated by the kids.  The children also painted egg cartons to create caterpillars.  

We also made a "butterfly bush".  I painted the children's feet the colors they chose and used their footprints to make butterflies.

The children loved their enchanted garden, and were sad to leave at the end of the year.  It was so pretty, we hated taking it down after the school year ended.

I hope our enchanted fairy garden inspires you to bring some "magic" into your classroom this year.  

~Christa~

Hallway Displays Part 3: Enchanted Fairy Garden

  To end our school year, our last hallway display was an Enchanted Fairy Garden.  The sign above our display said: "Welcome to our Enchanted Fairy Garden where learning is MAGICAL!"  Our children made giant flowers, ladybugs, snails and dragonflies.  Giant mushrooms completed our garden.

  To make our flowers, the children painted a bowl and two large pieces of white paper with several different colors. I then cut each child's paintings into flower petals.  Then the petals were hot glued to the bowl each child painted. I used green bulletin board paper to make the stems and leaves. 

    In between the mushrooms, we added flowers the children had made showing how a flower grows and labeled with a flower's parts. (flower, leaves, stem, seeds, and roots)

  The one small flower in our garden was painted by my son, who visited us during the school year occasionally, as he was too young for our preschool program.  I'm excited because he gets to be in the three year old program this year.  :)

  We made our dragonflies two different ways - one was done using tissue paper to make them colorful, the other one was made with only glitter to look more like a real dragonfly.

  The dragonflies were made using tongue depressors, glitter pom poms, google eyes, glitter, paint, glue (school and hot), pipe cleaners and transparency sheets.  I drew the wings I wanted, then used the copy machine to transfer them onto the transparency sheets.  I was able to make four sets of wings per sheet. Each child made two dragonflies - one with tissue paper, and one without. The children used a paintbrush to paint glue on the wings.  They applied tissue paper and then glitter to one, and just glitter to the other pair of wings.  They painted two tongue depressors on both sides.  I used the hot glue gun to complete the dragonflies by glued the wings and pom pom onto the dried tongue depressor.  And then added eyes to the pom pom to finish the head.  Pipe cleaners were cut and bent to form small legs for the dragonflies.  The pipe cleaner legs were hot glued to the bottom side of the tongue depressor.

  To make our snails, the children used "paint dotters" to decorate the snails.  After laminating the painted snail, I added a pipe cleaner mouth, and pipe cleaner and ping pong eyes. (added using hot glue)


  I hope you enjoyed our hallway displays from the 2013-2014 school year.  Our new school year has begun, and I look forward to sharing the rest of what we did last year, and what we will do this year! 

~Christa~