Not only do toads make wonderful familars for a young wizard, but they also eat lots of pests, so give them a place to hide from the hot sun with this fun outdoor project.

• medium sized clay flowerpot
• 6 miniture clay flowerpots 1-2 inches in diameter, with drainage holes in the bottom.
• 2 twigs or wooden dowels about 15 inches long and thin enough to fit through the drainage holes in the pots
• acrylic paint in white and other colours of your choice
• paintbrush
• trowel or large spoon
• small piece of of coloured plastic or vivyl (for your pennants)
• fine tip permanent marker
• scissors
• glue

Instructions:

Wash and dry the pots, set them aside.

Choose a design or motif for your castle (crowns, shields, flowers, stars etc) and draw them on the pots using pencil until your satisfied (if you draw light enough errors can be washed off) Then paint your designs on with white first, then set aside to dry.. this will give you clearer, stronger colours.

Find a shady spot under a bush in your yard or garden. Bury the big pot on its side, sinking it halfway into the dirt. Make sure the dirt inside is wet and crumbly, and put a few dead leaves and twigs inside.

To make the towers flanking the entrance to the castle, sink the dowels 4 inches into the ground at the entrance of the pot, one on each side. Holding one of the small pots upside-down over the dowel, thread the dowel through the drainage hole and lower the pot all the way to the ground ... push firmly into dirt. Thread a second pot over the dowel, but right side up, so that when it meets the first pot, they are resting bottom to bottom. Thread the third pot upside-down until it has rim to rim contact with the pot underneath. There should now be about 2 inches of dowel protruding from the top of the third pot.

Repeat this process with the second dowel and remaining 3 pots.

On the plastic or vinly draw the shape of your castle flags or pennants, decorate with symbols if you like. Glue these to the dowels by applying a thin line of glue to the end of the flag and wrap the glue end around the dowel. repeat with other dowel.

Keep an eye on the castle. When you see the dirt at the entrance looking worn , you'll know the castle has a new occuppant.

adapted from the childrens book 'Wizard Craft' by Lindy Burnett