Fun with 2 r's

The R's I am talking about are Reading and wRiting!. Alexander is now in grade 1 at school and the expectations (from school) jumped dramatically. What we found was that although he was only just 6 he was already getting homework. It may only be a reader or two and some writing practice but when its every night it becomes more like a chore than time to enjoy the written word together- which is why we use the fairy door.
What is a fairy door?

Our fairy door is a dolls house door from The Dolls House in Camberwell. I buy a raw door, numbers and the handle which comes with a key. I use 3M removable stickers to connect them to the wall and you can put them anywhere - mine is near our toilet which is a common thoroughfare, but others are in the bedrooms.
This isn't my idea - they are around other places, so I looked on the internet for how they are used and some of the "rules" behind them. The main rule is that only the fairies with the key can open the door and their fairy dust means that they can enter into their beautiful home. We cannot force the door, if we do, the fairies will feel that you are attempting burglary and they will leave in fear.
I wrote a little book.let which is a backstory and explains how they moved to the city and what the door means which helps explain the concept of fairies to a male household.

Why use a fairy door?
I use it for two reasons. The first is to encourage imaginitive play. Alexander is still young enough and innocent enough to enjoy the idea of fairies. They are only little for such a short time, that it is really nice to watch him enjoy and interact with our fairies.
The second is really developmental. We communicate with the fairies through written word. This means that if we want to know anything about them, we have to write to them and ask. We draw them pictures, and their magic fairy dust can reduce the size of the image and they decorate their home with them. This is great writing practice. The fairies write back with tiny letters either on their computer or hand written on special ivory paper. Everything from them, or if we make something for their home, it is little which helps develop the boys fine motor skills.
It is also about patience. The fairies aren't about instant results. If we write a letter, we need to leave it at least overnight, if not longer. They regularly check the door for any correspondence. Then if they do leave us a letter, we enjoy reading it together and taking any action. The fairies are up to date with all the happenings in our house. They know if your bedroom is messy, and a lost fairy in your room is a good reason to tidy it up!!!
Finally for us - a boy filled house - it is really nice to have something a little feminine and they all really enjoy the mystery.

How did we start?
Actually the photo here is when we had first mounted the door. We hung the key on the handle and Alexander knew the fairies name was Amelia, but he wanted to know more, so he made a little card asking her some questions, and the communciation channel was open.
We knew Amelia had been as there was fairy dust (glitter) left by the door. She had taken the key and also left her first tiny letter. They are now kind of like pen pals - yet our fairy has intimate knowledge of our home and sometimes leaves specific instructions - particularly about tidying a bedroom!

Ongoing
Alexander really leads how the door is used. When he lost his first tooth he asked if Amelia knew the toothfairy and what she did with the teeth. It was a beautiful letter (I save them all) and after some time Amelia wrote back and Alexander was very pleased with her response:
The good white teeth are used to build our houses and furniture, and the yellow, rotten ones go into maracas!
I am also really enjoying the fairy door- she left her muddy gumboots outside her door the other day and the surprise on Alexander's face was priceless.