Okay, admittedly, those wonderful teepees were already there, built by bigger kids, maybe from a Montessori school or scouts, but Lyons Cub carried several sticks and branches to “improve” them. In his former kindergarten, Amare Montessori in Clarksville, TN, they had big branches like that to build tents with, too. Then, he showed mommy around in his finished house, presenting his window, sofa, fire-place, stable, corral, and horse. Of course, he was “Yakari” from his favorite Indian stories, and his horse (his aunty) was “Kleiner Donner (Little Thunder).”
This outdoor activity was a welcome rest from screen time and bad-weather-indoor-play. Finally, he could run around, balance on tree trunks (developing his gross motor skills), collect acorns we want to make toothpick figurines with, listen to birds, admire fungus, make touch-me-not seed pods pop, and look up into the sky through the domes of tree crowns.
How do you build a teepee? It’s not too difficult; just collect long, sturdy sticks and erect a tripod, which you fill up with the rest of the sticks. Don’t forget to leave a big enough hole for the door. For added sturdiness, build your teepee around a living tree (like these tents were built). Real teepees don’t have horizontal support beams, but of course, you can add those for extra security, especially when children are concerned. Then, fill in the open parts with little branches and leaves (if you want to make it water proof).
This is the best teepee I’ve seen in that forest in a while. It even has a bench and a fire-place inside:
Seems like those teepees get rebuilt every few weeks. Lyons Cub loves to go hiking in that part of the forest!
