Build a Fort

Activity: Build a Fort

• Another rainy day?
• Build a fort inside!
• Sacrifice a corner of your family room for hours of guaranteed fun. Children love to play in forts!

Materials

• Couch cushions
• Pillows
• Blankets
• Stuffed animals
• Flashlights
• Books and small toys

Questions and Prompts

• The wall keeps falling down. I wonder why. How can we keep the walls standing up?
• Do you want a door? Or a window? How can we build one?
• Do you think I can stand up in your fort? Why or why not? Could we build it tall enough for me? Why or why not?

Time

• 20-30 minutes to build
• Hours to play

Skills Learned and Practiced

• Social-Emotional - teamwork, independence (taking ownership of the space)
• Language - pre-reading and writing (if you make signs for the fort!)
• Cognitive - planning, organizing, problem solving, engineering, imagining
• Physical - heavy work

Personal Note

My son always wanted to sleep in the forts that he and I built. He would take hours long naps and would sleep well beyond his normal morning wake-up time, even when I was working nearby in the kitchen. There's something about the small spaces - I think children love that it's their special space.