Just like the traditional Native American teepee that inspired it, this backyard shelter can be assembled and dismantled in a jiffy.
| Prep Time: Afternoon or Evening | |
| What you need: | |
| 9- x 12-foot canvas tarp or drop cloth
Measuring tape Colored marker Scissors White cotton rope Ten 8-foot-long white PVC pipes, 3/4 inch in diameter Hacksaw (optional) 2 chopsticks or similar strips of wood | |
| Seasons: Spring, Summer | |
| Materials: wood | |
| Instructions: | |
| 1. |  Fold the tarp in half so that it forms a 9- x 6-foot
rectangle. |
| 2. | Measure in 1 foot along the fold and mark the spot. |
| 3. | Cut a 6-foot length of rope. Have your child hold one end of the rope at the marked spot while you tie the opposite end around the colored marker. |
| 4. | Step away from your child until the line is taut and move the rope in an arc, marking a line on the canvas as you go. |
| 5. | Cut the tarp along the line and then cut out a 12- x 6-inch rectangle to the left of the marked spot at the top of the teepee. |
| 6. |  Loosely tie together three of the PVC pipes two feet down
from the tops with a piece of rope, then stand them up like a
tripod. |
| 7. |  Lean the remaining poles against the tripod so that they
are evenly spaced. |
| 8. | Drape the cut canvas around the tepee frame, overlapping the top a bit. Make 2 sets of holes through both layers of the overlapped portion and thread the chopsticks through them to hold the canvas in place. |
| 9. | To secure the lower edge of the canvas to the frame, first snip a small hole about 1 inch from one of the tarp's bottom corners. |
| 10. |  Loop a short length of rope through the hole, as shown, and
tie the ends around the base of one pole (this pole will become
part of the doorway). |
| 11. | Gently stretch the canvas around the PVC frame so that the canvas extends past the first pole to create a door flap. |
| 12. | Snip a small hole near the lower edge of the canvas where it falls on the remaining poles and tie it in place using the same method as before. |
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