Anna Crowley Redding

Mackworth Island, Falmouth, Maine  – The children of Maine are working children. The girls and boys don’t work for money or food. They are an altruistic bunch and work for the joyful satisfaction of a putting a roof over the heads of Maine’s tiniest inhabitants… the Fairies.

When first light appears, the fairies wake. They take to the wind and attend to their magical duties. And while they are gone, the children flood the forest and build houses for the fairies to return to at night. For a fairy that gets no rest, is not a very helpful fairy at all.

The munchkin Mainers build the fairy houses out of sticks, sea weed, oyster shells, mud, and anything else they can find on Mackworth Island (a ten-minute drive from Portland that lands you a world away.)

If you are visiting Maine, this is a must. Parking on the Island is free. There is a mile and a quarter path that circumnavigates the forested island with the kind of sweeping ocean views vacationers spend a fortune to get.

Thank heavens it’s all free on Mackworth.

Three quarters the way around the island walking path, you’ll hit a clearing in the pines and suddenly you see it! An entire community of fairy houses.

Those fairies have one incredible place to live and fantastic devotees who look after them.

Building fairy houses is a Maine tradition going all the way back to some of the first Mainers: european settlers and immigrants.

But here’s a little fairy secret. You, too can build your own Fairy house wherever you live. The sound of the little architects’ giggles carries on the breeze and that’s how fairies know how to find it. All your munchkin needs is to look for supplies on a nature walk, pick out a spot in your yard, porch and in the dirt of a potted plant. That night, after the building is complete, a fairy will flutter in, catch some z’s and be off again as those first sun rays light up the sky!

Get busy! The fairies are counting on you!

PRESCHOOL PERKS

1. Fine motor skills
2. Construction techniques
3. Storytelling
4. Science/Nature
5. An invaluable spark to the imagination
6. Excercise
7. Sensory Play

ON A PRACTICAL NOTE:

1. While PARKING IS FREE, spaces are limited. So grab your croissant and cafe and get there early.
2. There is easy beach access – so bring your swim suit
3. Ticks are abundant in Maine, insect repellant and tick check a must
4. No Bathroom (that we found), prepare to be one with nature
5. Our BOB jogging stroller easily handled the path. No BIKES allowed
6. If you bring your children and build fairy houses, this will be a three-hour-mile so pack a lunch!

In the Maine, we see fairies!

Anna