Fun Weekend Ideas Include Fort Building and Family
Posted September 28, 2017 by Fort Magic
At the start of the weekend, parents can look forward to having some much-needed R&R, especially after a long and busy week. There’s just one problem: when you’re home, the kids are too. Without school to occupy them for the majority of the day, your kids will likely have a lot of free time on their hands. How can you fill these hours that seem endless to your children? With fun weekend ideas that include fort building and family!
Family Time and “Me” Time with Fort Building
The solution? Combine “family time” with “me time” by helping your kids build a fort — which they can later use on their own, while you get the rest you need. One of the best things about forts is their versatility, and while designing and building them can be a family activity, they’re also great hideaways for kids to read, play, draw or do any number of activities on their own.
Research has also shown that children learn through play, and encouraging them to release their energy in a constructive manner can help boost their development while also saving your sanity. And depending on how many kids you can accommodate, they can even invite their friends over and spend time playing together inside and around the fort.
If you’re ready to build a fort with your kids, start by getting a Fort Magic kit that allows you to build the fort designs your kids want, and by gathering together some sheets or fabric covers to stretch over the frame and make the walls and ceiling of the fort. Then, pick out a designated area of the house, get your kids together and start planning it out! Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Take It Outside
If it’s a warm weekend, why keep your kids cooped up indoors? Build the fort outside on your lawn or in your backyard, using designs like the Playhouse or the Sleepover Tents. Start by laying down a tarp or picnic blanket, and string up some lights in the yard if your kids are planning to sleep there overnight. Combining camping with fort-building is a good way to help your children with skills like planning, managing their time and thinking strategically.
After building the fort together, you can leave your kids to play hide-and-seek, make-believe, tag and lots of other outdoor games that kids will naturally fall into when they’re with their siblings or friends. This is also a great way to encourage kids to get some exercise, which can be hard to do over the weekend if they’re stuck at home all day!
At night, you can roast marshmallows together and tell stories, all widely known camping traditions. For parents who might be concerned about fires and little ones, consider an indoor s’mores recipe you can bring out to their fort campsite. If your kids are planning to camp out in their fort overnight, lay down some sleeping bags inside. Otherwise, keep it minimally furnished to encourage them to spend more time outside playing. And you can even include the family dog in the fun!
Build a Reading Nook Or Storytime Fort
What better way to nurture a love of reading than to create a fun, engaging place to read? Building a fort and telling your kids it’s the “reading fort” or “storytime fort” makes reading a fun, special activity that they’ll catch on to in no time. This kind of fort is perfect when filled with pillows, blankets and other soft objects that make kids feel comfortable and loved. You can suggest books to them or take them to the public library to pick out some of their favorites.
Create a Ground-Level Treehouse
If your kids (like many others) have always wanted to build a treehouse, you’ve probably worried about their safety (or whether you even have the time or know-how to make a treehouse in the first place). Thankfully, there’s an easier solution: create a fort that your kids can use as a treehouse down on the ground! A fort provides all of the same benefits — like a safe space where kids can be a part of their little world, creating secret codes and coming up with missions the way that kids do — without any of the risks, like falling out of a tree.
To give your kids some inspiration, get them started on reading the Magic Tree House series — soon, they’ll be imagining what it’s like to time travel while spending time in their own personal “treehouse” fort. This is an excellent way to combine some of the benefits from the other two ideas, and incorporate reading into the mix!
How do you keep the kids occupied, happy, and learning with fort building on the weekend? Share your ideas with us below!
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Photo Credits:
Learn With Play At Home Blog: An inspiring educational blog created by a primary teacher that strongly believes in making learning FUN & seamless through childhood playtime ideas and activities.
All For The Boys: An inspiring & fun blog with lot of “boy” crafts and activities (girls love them too!) A truly fun blog for the whole family to enjoy.
Delia Creates: Delia Creates is a gorgeous lifestyle and creative crafting/sewing blog that celebrates all things family and personal expression through lovely photographs and posts.
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.
