Inspire A Love of Learning With Fort Magic
Posted January 31, 2020 by Fort Magic
Fort building is a tried and true part of childhood that has been tested for hundreds of years. Who knew that the act of fort building actually promotes healthy social and emotional development in kids and prepares them to be adults? You can use Fort Magic to inspire a love of learning and foster that imaginary play in your kids.
Benefits of Imaginary Play for Children
Pretend play is a vital part of childhood, especially from the ages of about 2 ½ to 7 years old. There is a good reason that children this age regularly engage in pretend play and spend most of their time making their stuffed animals go on outings and talk to each other. There are many benefits of pretend play that will impact your children for the rest of their lives.
1. Helps with Social Skills
When children are engaged in pretend play, it makes them aware that others have different thoughts than they do. Kids also learn the value of compromise when they are playing with other kids. They might play what others want to play for a while and then get to play what they want to play.
Through pretend play, they learn the importance of this give and take behavior that is important for life. They get to start to see things from a different perspective and how fun it is to cooperate and collaborate on ideas with other kids. Kids also get to learn about their tone of voice, eye contact, and other important social skills.
2. Increases Language Development
Kids who engage in pretend play also have a much wider vocabulary. They learn about proper tenses and verb uses. Kids feel safer to experiment with language as they make their figures talk. It provides a safe environment where they won’t get made fun of for improperly using words or saying words wrong.
3. Healthy Emotional Development
Kids also learn emotional regulation through pretend play. Kids that are allowed to spend the majority of their time in imaginary play are less likely to have behavioral problems, less likely to act up, and be overall healthier emotionally. Pretend play also provides the opportunity for kids to express their feelings and work through their emotions.
4. Encourages Critical Thinking Skills
Pretend play helps your children develop critical thinking skills as they are presented with problems and then act through those problems until they come up with a solution. They feel safer and more willing to face problems since it’s their action figure on the line and not themselves.
They also face other problems when they are engaged in imaginary play. Another child might want to start playing something else or they might need to work together to find just the right tool for their game. They might just be solving problems right now such as finding a proper stable for their horses but they are learning skills that will help them solve bigger problems as an adult.
5. Promotes Fine Motor Skills
Pretend play also helps them develop fine motor skills. As they work with play dough or paint with small paintbrushes or hold smaller crayons they are developing those fine motor skills. They also learn hand-eye coordination as they build with blocks or solve puzzles with their hands.
How to Encourage Pretend Play in the Classroom and at Home
The things we do as adults, whether naturally or on purpose, foster this pretend play in kids. Parents who read to their kids and who explain to their kids how things work in nature, for example, also have kids who are naturally inclined to spend more of their time in imaginary play. A classroom that encourages pretend play also fosters imaginary play. This can be done by setting up the classroom with structured time for kids to play together. This time can be at recess or even time set aside at the end of each day for kids to go to different stations such as a kitchen station, a playdough station, and a fort-building station.
Inspiring Pretend Play with Fort Magic
You can see how fort building is the ultimate childhood activity that is perfect for fostering the imagination. Kids can work together to build whatever their minds can come up with. They will learn critical thinking skills as they work to fit pieces together until it works. They will also learn how to work together and use ideas from other kids.
After they have built their fort, they can use it to play a restaurant, school, art class, etc. The magical part of fort building is that it provides endless opportunities for imaginary play. All you have to do is give your kids one Fort Magic building kit and they can engage in pretend play for hours. Then, then the next day, they can spend hours building out and acting out different ideas. The more they use that creative part of their brain, the more ideas they will come up with.
Photo Credits:
The Artful Parent Blog: One of our absolute favorite creative blogs for children and families. The Artful Parent blog is filled with simple ideas to fill your family’s life with art and creativity. A must-see blog for sure.
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.
