Inspire Young Entrepreneurs With Fort Magic
Posted September 23, 2020 by Fort Magic
Through the years, many of us have been taught that hard work and discipline are the best ways to find success, especially for young entrepreneurs. And, while that may be true, there is also something to be said about making time for play, especially for our young children. We have some great ideas for your kids to learn business skills through fort-building.
Though many of us desire for our children to be happy, we also desire for them to be successful. With a Fort Magic building kit, you can not only provide your children with endless entertainment, but you can provide an opportunity for them to learn, grow, and develop skills that will carry them through school and into their careers. Teaching business skills to your kids now is the best way to do it.
An Argument for Playtime
It’s easy to be skeptical about the idea that playtime is actually educational, but in fact, it is the most natural and engaging way for children to learn. Playtime helps to stimulate the imagination and encourages curiosity along with experimentation and exploration. Furthermore, it helps children adapt and fine-tune their problem-solving skills allowing them to do so, not only faster, but better.
More specifically, construction play, like fort-building, provides an opportunity to develop spatial visualization skills that happen to be linked to both math and problem-solving practices. It also helps promote STEM skills (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), further enhancing problem-solving skills and developing more effective communication.
Building an Imaginary Business For Your Kids
For many children, playtime includes role-playing and imagining or creating their own companies or businesses. Not only can a Fort Magic kit provide a unique way to experience this, but it can also provide the necessary learning tools to inspire your young entrepreneur. Essentially, their fort can be whatever business they want.
Maybe they want to run a restaurant or design a manufacturing company. Regardless, these fort building kits for children, along with a little imagination, provide the right tools to create the business of their dreams.
Don’t Be Afraid to Get Involved
Though you don’t want to interrupt the creative process of playtime for kids, it’s OK to encourage them to think about what it would take to run their own business. This may include asking questions like: What product would they sell? How many employees do they think they would need? How would they sell or even market their product?
If running a restaurant: What food would they serve? Where would they put their restaurant? And, what would they do to set themselves apart?
Inspiring Young Entrepreneurs
While fort building and developing a company may just look like another fun activity during playtime, it really can have a lasting impact on how your child learns and develops. Below are just some of the ways this activity can help develop and inspire your future entrepreneur.
1. Collaboration and Communication
Two keys to being an effective entrepreneur include being able to effectively communicate and collaborate. During the building process, they may be working with others to build their “company.” This means coming up with a plan or vision and sharing those ideas while brainstorming and during the building process.
It also means there may be disagreements and differences of opinion. Your children will learn that communicating means sharing their own thoughts and ideas, while also actively listening to their partner. This time may also show that everyone is different and brings different attributes to the table. And, while it may be hard to navigate, this is ultimately a positive aspect as it provides insight or ideas another person may have never considered.
2. Creativity, Adaptability, and Problem Solving
Fort building, like entrepreneurs, requires a level of creativity, as well as the ability to adapt and problem solve. If the first attempt at executing the structure fails, your child must be able to find a better way of building it, while continuing to solve problems as they arise.
This allows for the development of creativity, as well as the ability to think outside of the box. It may require some imagination and determination, both of which are excellent attributes for future entrepreneurs.
3. Confidence
While a fort may fail initially, once the right structure is created, whether doing it on their own or with a friend or sibling, the confidence of your child grows. Success makes them willing to do it again and maybe even take more risks the next time.
Entrepreneurs must also be confident individuals that are risk-takers. Most of them tend to never have doubts about whether or not they will succeed, knowing that success will come from their ingenuity, skills, and hard work.
4. Discipline
Another aspect of fort building that can inspire and prepare young entrepreneurs is its ability to be disciplined. Building a fort, especially one that is more complex can take both patience and time. When one vision doesn’t work out, another must be created and executed requiring both hardworking and discipline. Like setting out to design a “business” or “restaurant” fort, great entrepreneurs are able to set a goal and then do everything in their power to see it through.
Photo Credits:
Meri Cherry: The Meri Cherry blog is a tremendously awesome resource on all things creative, artistic, and beautiful in the world of kids crafting. Full of gorgeous, fun, and inspiring ideas for your family playtime, you’ll simply love the hands-on-learning ideas she posts each week.
