Daisy’s Farm Gate

Daisy makes a farm for her large wooden sheep. A low card fence goes around the field. “The sheep need a way in,” she tells Dad. He brings a broad piece of card for a gate.

Daisy places the gate across the gap in the fence. She tapes its top edge to the fence. When she lifts it, the whole piece swings up. “That is like a roof,” she says, laughing.

She looks at the real garden gate through the window. It opens from the side. “Our toy gate could move that way,” she says. Dad helps her remove the top strip of tape carefully.

They put a wide strip of strong tape along one side edge instead. Half the strip sticks to the gate, and half sticks to the fence post. The flexible join bends like a simple hinge.

Daisy swings the gate towards herself. It moves sideways, but the bottom catches on the mat. Dad holds the fence steady while she tries again. “It needs a little room underneath,” she notices.

Dad trims a narrow strip from the bottom of the card gate. Daisy waits until the scissors are put away. Then she checks the space below it. The gate no longer rubs against the mat.

She opens it slowly and guides a wooden sheep into the field. Then she closes it behind the sheep. The side hinge bends smoothly, and the fence stays in place. Dad tries it from the other side.

Daisy brings the rest of the toy flock over. “Everyone can come through now,” she says. She leaves the gate open for Dad’s turn and shows him the small gap that made the difference.