Tag Archives: tree house

Luxury Loft

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It’s warm breezes and beautiful views in your custom story time tree fort! Shimmy up the ladder, try the rope swing, or just chill out on your plant-covered patio. Imagine it…then create it!

We read Secret Tree Fort by Brianne Farley (Candlewick, 2016). When two sisters are sent outside the house, big sister immediately starts reading, much to the chagrin of little sister, who wants to play. Irritated, little sister begins describing her secret tree fort that the big sister will NEVER get to see. As her descriptions become more and more grand (rope ladder, snack basket, water-balloon launcher, and underwater whale watching room), big sister believes her less and less. Called out, little sister finally admits it’s not real. But sweet big sister offers to help her build it, and they happily sit down together to draw up plans.

We loved the idea of drawing plans and then building, so we started our hands-on project by inviting kids to draw their tree forts…

And then we offered all the supplies to build it. Behold, cat fort!

Our supplies included toilet paper and paper towel tubes, craft sticks, wooden coffee stirrers, wooden beads, construction paper, fabric flowers, green tissue paper, and twine. We use brown craft boxes, paper cups, and some boxes left over from a 2023 gingerbread architecture program!

The results were amazing! From an elevated village:

To a preserve built to feed one young architect’s stuffed giraffe collection:

To this towering skyscraper of a fort in bold yellow with impeccable landscaping!

One quick hint: The forts absolutely depend on having a solid base. We recommend using cake circles, cake pads, or corrugated cardboard rectangles to keep everything firmly grounded. And hot glue. LOTS of hot glue!

Treetop Architects

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Design you own tree house complete with tire swing, water bucket, and stunning views of the verdant foliage. Best of all, it can be crafted with just about anything!

We read The Tree House that Jack Built, written by Bonnie Verburg and illustrated by Mark Teague (Orchard Books, 2014). Jack lives in a tree house with his animals friends who cavort and cause a bit of mischief throughout the day. But when it’s bedtime, everyone settles in for a peaceful night of moonlight and ocean waves. Raucous and then relaxing, this is an especially awesome bedtime story choice!

You’ll need:

  • An assortment of small boxes, toilet paper tubes, and paper towel tubes
  • 1 flat corrugated cardboard base (we used a 9.5″ x 13.5″ cake pad)
  • Green poster board
  • Scissors, glue and tape for construction
  • Markers for decorating
  • Hot glue

Building off your corrugated cardboard base, simply hot glue boxes, toilet paper, and paper towel tubes in whatever way works for you! We also offered natural craft sticks, wooden letters (leftover from this project), stickers, fabric flowers, and green paper crinkle for added texture. The results were fabulous!

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Note: the tire swing is a little snippet of foam pipe insulator you can get in the plumbing section of Lowe’s or Home Depot. It was definitely a big hit! And if you’re looking for a slightly more fantastical spin on this project, please see our fairy houses. Or at the very least, check out Katie’s hilarious real estate listings at the end of the post!

Pop’s Top 10: Literary Amusement Park Rides

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moby dick ride_2To each their own thrills, be it the humble log flume (Dr. Dana) or the insane 128mph coaster that basically turns your face inside out (Katie). Inspired by my Moby Dick sighting on the Wildwood, New Jersey boardwalk, Katie and I had a lot of fun researching this post. The only criteria was that each ride had to be physical, not a virtual, IMAX, or 3D experience. So strap in…here are our Top 10 literary-themed amusement park rides!

#10 MAD TEA PARTY

Image courtesy of Wikipedia, photo by Ellen Levy Finch

Perhaps the most classic is Mad Tea Party, an Alice in Wonderland spinning tea cup bonanza at multiple Disneyland parks across the globe. Whimsical and charming, it also gained significant notoriety for being voted “most likely to make you hurl” by unfortunate family members on a grand day out.

#9 SWISS FAMILY TREEHOUSE

Image courtesy of ITM

Also in Disneyland is the amazing Swiss Family Treehouse walk-through attraction based on the famous novel J.D. Wyss. Hmmmm. I wonder how long it would take them to actually discover me living in it à la Claudia Kincaid?

#8 SUPERMAN ESCAPE

Image courtesy of Wikipedia, by Chensiyuan

Leaping briefly over to comics, we have this awesome accelerator coaster at Warner Bros. Movie World in Queensland, Australia. It goes from 0-62mph in 2 seconds. Not quite faster then a speeding bullet, but WOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

#7 PETER RABBIT HIPPITY HOP

Image courtesy of Alton Towers

Located in Staffordshire, England in the Alton Towers theme park, this Peter Rabbit ride is just flat out adorable. Though the prospect of being taken “high into the sky” in a tiny plastic seat with my children and suddenly dropped is exactly the type of thing to give me nightmares 10 years on.

#6 VOYAGE TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH

Image courtesy of Water World

A clear nod to Journey to the Centre of the Earth, this watery dark ride resides in Water World, Denver, Colorado. It’s got inflatable rafts, animatronic dinosaurs, and the thrill rating is “high.” What could possibly go wrong, Professor Lidenbrock?

#5 A DAY OUT WITH THOMAS

Image courtesy of Strasberg Railroad

This one’s for my son! He’s now a teenager, but back in the day he was a massive Thomas the Tank Engine foamer. Considering the ride is just over in Strasberg, Pennsylvania, I might take him there for his next birthday. Seriously. He might be game.

#4 TOM AND HUCK’S RIVERBLAST

Image courtesy of Silver Dollar City

More water fun! Mark Twain’s iconic rascals get their day at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. Riverblast boasts 80 super soakers placed in strategic locations along the 567-ft river channel, making it “America’s Biggest Water Battle!”. Katie, game on!

#3 THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER

Image courtesy of Wikipedia, by Rstoplabe14

Couldn’t leave THIS off the list! The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Universal Resort in Orlando, Florida has an inverted coaster, a steel coaster, 2 dark rides, AND a full scale replica of the Hogwart’s Express. Plus butterbeer for later!

#2 DON QUIXOTE FERRIS WHEEL

Image courtesy of GaiJinPot Travel

OK, this one’s a bit of a stretch, but it’s SO cool we had to include it! The only ovular Ferris wheel in the world, patrons of the Don Quixote store in Osaka, Japan can enjoy a ride up and down the side of the building!

#1 DICKENS WORLD

Courtesy of Design You Trust

Before you get too excited, the Dickens World theme park in Kent, England closed in 2016. Here, you could watch live-action re-enactments of famous scenes, go through an interactive haunted house, take a Great Expectations boat ride, or turn the kiddos loose in the “Fagin’s Den” playground. Which, given Fagin’s role in the famous novel is, to say, rather…twisted.