May 15, 2024

I share a letter to us from the Woodland Faerie Trail organizers.  

Greetings,  you are signed up to install your faerie home Friday, May 17th at 9:30 AM. You are located at number 22 Pixie Dust Path.  We have the name of your home as “Made by the children at Tigerlily Preschool”. 

The children examine this map with interest.

We circle our location, 22 Pixie Dust Path. I point out the parking lot, where we’ll gather on Friday with our grownups to install our houses in the garden. 

Children decide to make their own maps. 

L (looking at the trail map): Making the roads. 

Ll (also looking closely): And I’m making the numbers. 

R: I am showing the long way. 

I am thinking along with R about how his mark making might become more detailed to further represent the meaning he associates with a map now. I ask how will you show the start? 

He echos the numbers he and I just added when making out his requested play plan earlier this morning- first I will ____, second I will ____…

R: I am putting a 1. 

Ll: I’m using arrows. 

T explains her map. 

T: You start at the heart. 

M adds details to her paper too. 

M: A flower is the start. 

Ll: I did a lot of roads on it. Oh! I got to add the parking lot! 

R is thinking about the story of our clay work so far, incorporating that into his drawing. 

R: If you follow the road that’s where the kiln is. 

R: This will be my first time writing. I don’t mind if I write squiggle squiggle. 

Marie: If there’s a word you need, I can make that for you (on paper, to then trace himself or to copy onto his page).

R declines and says he will just make “the name of the house” himself in his own way. 

I print for people who want to see: 22 Pixie Dust Path

R, satisfied with his own effort: I’m writing it in my squiggle squiggle way. The maps are very important. I can not lose the map. 

Ll: Look, I did a P for Pixie Dust. And a compass. 

My head is full of the logistics of organizing our work, coordinating information for the families, planning for Friday’s installation day. It strikes me as wonderful that they’ve given the paths names this year and made a real map. It really must take work on the event coordinator’s part to figure out the plots and assign who goes where, placing all of us makers!

Marie: Aren’t maps interesting to think about? Maps are a way people can organize where things can be.