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4B Daily News – Saturday, September 8, 2012 Bring magic to your yard Country Lifehome Homework centers garden the first day of school is right around the corner. Whether your child is just starting his first year of school or she's comfort- ably moving her way up the ranks, creating the optimal homework center for our little busybodies can be an exercise in trials and tribulations (I speak from first-hand experi- ence). It's hard to believe, but And, of course, every child is different. But there are a few universal ways to help optimize your child's homework space. MCT photo An iron fairy from Wilson Nurseries in Frankfort, Ky., is part of a fairy garden that includes Irish moss, a miniature orchid, glass baubles and a recycled pottery container as a pond. FRANKFORT, Ky. (MCT) — There is a sort of magic that happens in fairy gardens, those miniature landscapes meant to inspire tiny mythical creatures to visit your yard. Wilson Nurseries in Frankfort, Ky., regularly hosts fairy- garden workshops, where the air is often abuzz with an excited fluttering to and fro, as garden revelers gather build- ing blocks like moss, pastel pebbles and shiny ceramic mushrooms to assemble tiny masterpieces. Bright flashes of sparkling glitter, said to help welcome fairies, and sun- catching glass beads, like shimmering dew drops, add a glow. The muted hum of conversation and cheery chatter can be heard as the gardeners go about the task of creating fern- and fantasy-filled container gardens. Even if you're skeptical about the existence of fairies, it's hard to deny the obvious joy shared by these garden makers as they are gently guided in the art and craft of assembling a small sprite habitat to take home. Last Saturday, grandparents and parents with children, as well as longtime friends and neighbors, met for two hours under a tent inside the Wilson greenhouses where work tables and supply benches were assembled. Wilson's organizer and instructor for these events, Tere- sa Abell, tells of an interesting phenomenon that happens as fairy gardens are made. "People will start out not talking at all," she says, "yet by the time they leave, they have gotten to know each other, are having a lot of conversations and have made new friends." They share ideas, supplies and stories about just why they have come to create a fairy garden. Abell, who has been with Wilson Nurseries for eight years, began stocking fairy supplies about three years ago after encountering fairy culture at a wholesale market in Atlanta. The idea of holding workshops occurred to her as she was putting together a greenhouse display. It was a nat- ural fit. "I love gardens, and I love working with people," she says. fairy garden events over the past year has sold out. In addi- tion to the monthly scheduled workshops, groups of 10 to 20 people can request private events from June until March. Each participant, "from ages 4 to over 70," Abell says, The idea caught on, and each of Wilson's dozen or more Establishing a desig- nated study area is the first step. This could be a large table or desk—just something with enough space to allow your mon- key to feel that he has enough room. Also, provide comfort- able seating. You might not need to go the whole ergonomically-correct- office-chair route, but you still want to make sure the bottom beneath that bud- ding mind is contented. That way, squirming can be kept to an absolute minimum (in theory, at least). Obviously, make sure there's plenty of light around homework central (the familiar glow of the TV does NOT count). Whether it's natural light or electric light, provide enough light so that your kiddo isn't struggling to see. & finds his or her own niche. Container gardens, which can be grown indoors as well as outside in warmer months, offer accessibility to older adults with limited mobility or to those who are living in a retirement community or nursing home. The charm of fairy dust also has great appeal for chil- dren. Creating a special miniature garden is an easy way to begin growing a green thumb. Abell has many participants who start out knowing noth- ing about gardening, but in two hours, she says, "have developed a passion for it." fun. You get to feel like a kid — along with everybody else." The workshop's $35 fee includes a kit with a container, potting medium, three plants, mulch, pathway stones and a miniature metal archway and birdbath, as well as instruction and care. The fee is per fairy garden; it can be shared by a pair or group of participants. Collectibles — used marbles and dollhouse furniture, twigs and acorns, anything that would fit well into a miniature landscape — can also be brought from home. One workshop participant, Susie Oder of Frankfort, brought a small stone pre-Columbian artifact from her step- father's legacy of miniatures to set in her garden as a remembrance. Extras like hypertufa English cottages, glazed ceramic mushrooms and an assortment of small-scale benches, tools and seasonal decorations can be purchased at Wilson. Workshop participant Virginia Lyle, 8, of Frankfort felt Connie Hicks, who helps with the workshops, adds, "It's the fairy power. She was intently focused on designing her second fairy garden, paving a meandering path she had cre- ated with small pebbles in pastel hues and tucking in teen- sy-leaved plants into her low, wide container. Virginia's mom, Lola Lyle, explained that her daughter's first fairy garden was a project shared with a friend. Virginia wanted to return to make one just to keep at her own home. "This is a special mom-and-daughter time," Lyle says, smiling. grown up together in Lexington, worked side by side at another table. "The fairy garden display here just captures you," says Hopkins, who admits she couldn't wait for the workshop and even made a couple on her own in the interim. Linda Hopkins and Dottie Rose, whose families have The National Associa- tion of School Psycholo- gists suggests 10 minutes of homework time for each grade school level (10 minutes for your first- grader, 20 minutes for second-graders and so on). Consider placing a timer nearby so your school-age child can see for herself just how long she has left in the torture session parents call home- work. Your child's homework will require supplies (pen- cil, pencil sharpener, eras- er, ruler, scissors, colored pencils, etc.) so keep these nearby. If you're really ambitious, orches- trate some kind of storage system to haul the sup- plies to and from a closet or designated supplies area. obvious ideas to creating a solid work area, like a quiet house and minimal distractions. Think of the space around you when you're working at the office or at home. The fewer distractions, the better. And the same goes for your child with her homework. Then there are the Personal experience tells me getting a child to sit and do homework for more than two minutes can be like wrangling kit- tens. Don't get me wrong. I don't know it all. In fact, I'm still trying to figure out the best way to get my angel to do her homework (please see: EPIC BAT- TLES WITH HISSY FITS) on a regular basis and without tears. But what just a little research revealed is that homework needs to be part of the daily routine. And with this routine, it helps to incorporate your school-age child into the decision-making. She's the one who'll be doing the homework after a long day at school, so try to make the routine of home- work as enjoyable (or at least less nauseating) as possible. Until next time, Happy Home Improving!