Cardboard Tree House

 

   When I first saw the instructions for making a cardboard tree house in the October 2011 edition of Family Fun Magazine, I just knew my little ones would love it. So while they were having afternoon naps last Monday, I quickly printed the templates (you can download them here) and constructed our tree house in about 45 minutes. The original had three stories, but I had enough cardboard for only two AND I was just not up for adding the paper towel chutes. I think ours came out pretty cute all the same!

    The following afternoon, while the bambinos were napping, I set it up on a piece of green felt and added Sweetpea's Sylvanian Families. They woke up to find some sweet, real-life friends visiting us, and around here friends are always better than any toy, so they didn't pay too much attention at first. But when we were on our own again, some serious playing got underway!!

    Sweetpea gave the whole set-up one look and declared that the  tree house was on a farm and that the Sylvanian Families daddies are all farmers. I was asked to fetch the plastic farm animals from the toy closet while she went off to her brother's room for play planks, which were immediately turned into corrals and paddocks for the animals (who were neatly arranged according to breed!) She added a bridge, and one of ArrowBoy's cars became the preferred mode of transport for the Sylvanians.

    Arrow waited until his sister was done playing and had packed away her 'props' before he moved his wild animals into the tree house!

   My children can be quite unpredictable in what they like to play with and what not, but when Sweetpea thanked God for the lovely tree house during family devotions that evening, I was so happy to have taken the time to make it for them!

Linking this to ABC and 123's Show and Tell