Enchanted Reading Forts Ideas

Posted August 15, 2019 by Fort Magic

A great way to blast off into a summer reading program is to get your kids excited to learn! Creating a fort will not only be fun but it’ll provide a separate reading space for them to read all their books. Here are some ways your kids can use a Fort Magic building kit to create their reading forts and get them excited to read.

1. Fort Over the Couch

You can use a fort building kit to construct a fort right over the couch. Use a more sheer material to cover it once your kids are done with the fort structure so that it’s light enough inside to read. They can go sit on the couch while they read and close the door to their fort so they can escape to their little hideaway. You can also use the fabric clips to attach a strand of lights to the inside of the fort to create light if it’s dark outside.

2. Use Books as A Fort Wall

You can use the very books they will be reading to create a fort wall. First, you’ll want to stack up all the books to act as one wall of the fort. Next, build your fort structure coming off of that one wall. Now, they can snuggle up with their cozy blankets and pillows and grab their next book right off the walls of the fort.

3. Backyard Reading Fort

Have your kids construct whatever fort design they want. The nice part is that with all the room in the backyard, they have the room to sprawl out. They can also easily build a different fort design if they change their mind or get bored of the one they have.

You can set up the inside of their fort with large bean bag chairs and soft, oversized pillows. Create a cozy, inviting space inside to encourage them to crawl inside and start reading. They can escape and enjoy the quiet time, listening to the birds as they check off books from their summer reading list.

4. Fort Over the Hammock

If you have a free-standing hammock or if you have space around your hammock, encourage your kids to set up their reading fort directly over the hammock. You’ll want to make sure there’s enough space on either side so that the hammock doesn’t hit the sides of the fort.

Once they’re done, you can set up a small table inside to put their books and beverages on. Place some large pillows and a blanket (if it’s cooler) in the hammock.

5. Create a Themed Reading Fort

If your kids into one particular book series then you can create a themed fort based off that book series. For example, if your kids love Roald Dahl you can let them use their imagination to create a fort based off a Roald Dahl book. You can have them use food items such as melted chocolate, peanut butter, and jam to paint the inside of their fort and create the iconic, edible wallpaper from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

This is an opportunity to not only get their creativity flowing but for them to have a lot of fun coming up with ideas for their forts. You can even stock their fort with themed snacks to go along with the books they are reading. When they are ready to move onto the next series, then it’s easy to take their fort down and have fun coming up with the next fort.

6. Create a Fort in their Treehouse

Every kid loves the lure of a treehouse but what can be more fun than a fort inside of their fort? If their tree house is big enough, then they can set aside a corner of it to create a small fort to be their reading nook. This will also give them a chance to have a getaway from the other kids who might be enjoying the treehouse.

7. Create a Reading Club Fort

You can use any of the ideas above to construct a reading club fort. Just make sure the fort is easily accessible for the kids that will be coming to the reading club. You can take your child to the library to get them involved in picking out the books for the reading club library.

Once you build the library inside of the fort, make sure you stock it with plenty of pillows and comfy seating. Your kids can go around the neighborhood and invite kids to join their reading club. They can enjoy hours of reading together in their reading fort and even bounce ideas off each other about the books they’re reading.

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.

Play At Home Mom Blog:  This super-amazing blog is definitely one of our favorites.  Loaded with fun ideas for DIY playtime, with an always-present educational spin.

Fort Magic Customer Photos via Facebook:  Visit our Fort Magic Facebook page to see our customer creativity shine with fun pics and videos of families enjoying their Fort Magic kit during playtime.

Fort Magic Customer Photos via Instagram:  Visit our Fort Magic Instagram page to see our customer creativity shine with fun pics and videos of families enjoying their Fort Magic kit during playtime.