Kindness and Cooperation: Teamwork for Kids Includes Fort Building
Posted May 3, 2017 by Fort Magic
Let me ask you a question, “What is the best way to develop the teamwork for kids?” If you answer sports, family chores, backyard games, these are all correct answers. Did you think of fort building as a possibility? Fort Magic wants you to know that you already have one of the greatest tools for fostering teamwork in your kids right at home thanks to your Fort Magic kit. Whether with siblings, your entire family or neighbors, building a fort offers plenty of lessons in working together, resolving conflict and respecting one another. In other words, kids learn kindness and cooperation. Check out how the magic happens with a Fort Magic kit.
Working Together
Every step of fort building, from design to completion, requires children to work together as a team. Without joint effort, the design lacks cohesion and it may not stay together at all. Children help one another by stabilizing walls and sticks with multiple sets of hands.
Of course, this process all goes better with a bit of kindness. Over time, children learn that arguing means a fort takes longer to build or it never gets built at all. On the contrary, kindness makes the experience more pleasant for all involved and it moves the project along
The feel-good emotions associated with this cooperation fuel future building efforts and kind interactions. Plus, project by project and playtime after playtime strengthen the foundations of kindness and cooperation in your child.
Conflict Resolution
Teamwork may also lead to conflict. This is a natural part of learning when kids share ideas and work together. Collaboration and cooperation play important roles in our lives. Setting up circumstances to avoid conflict for our children deprives them of valuable development.
Working out whether to design a spaceship or pirate ship fort, who gets the role of the king of the kingdom or who gets invited into the fort all teach our children the fine art of negotiation, compromise, sharing and more. This practice develops cooperation skills.
R-e-s-p-e-c-t
Is that Aretha Franklin tune playing through your head now? This song could be the anthem for teamwork in fort building, even in conflict.
Through the experience of sharing ideas and problem-solving, children begin to see the value of others’ thoughts and creativity. Think about it: Have you ever watched two children dreaming up an adventure? Each idea adds to the last one, and the excitement grows until they nearly explode as they run off to play out the dream.
As children work through difficulties, they find success together and respect for one another as their ideas and creativity develops. Soon, they realize the joy of cooperating with one another as there are simply more ideas.
Why Is All Of This So Important?
If the experts are right and kids are born givers, why worry about developing kindness and cooperation? Won’t it naturally continue to grow?
The fact is that by fourth-grade children become socialized to think of self rather than others. To combat this tendency, parents need to build everyday kindness lessons into our children’s’ days. The benefits of these opportunities go beyond character development.
Greater Returns
The saying goes that “Two are better than one.” I have also heard it said, “Two produce a greater return than one.” These words contain more truth than the platitude.
Working as a team gets more done with more hands on deck, but it also generates more ideas. It is true that the result of what we create together is unique and often superior to that which we conjure up with solo thinking alone. Kids who see this firsthand through their young years develop a winning foundation.
Empathetic Giving
Empathy refers to the ability to respond to the needs of others by becoming in touch with their feelings. This character quality transforms people by motivating them to make a difference in the lives of others. Furthermore, acting on this empathy brings positive feelings back to the giver.
For children to develop this trait, engaging in acts of giving rather than only being the recipient of kindness proves vital. Practicing kindness fosters empathy and reaps benefits into our children’s futures.
Life Success
Our children experience the positive impact of kindness as well. Caring children tend to be well-liked, and that which leads to less bullying behaviors improved academic achievement and a good outlook. In fact, research shows that kids who regularly perform acts of kindness gain, on average, 1.5 friends per month. Those who are kind and compassionate become successful.
Let’s be honest. This world could use a lot more adults who respect the ideas of others even if we disagree with one another. By teaching this quality to our children at young ages, being kind and cooperative with others becomes a lifelong skill. These traits give hope to the future of our country and world. Now grab that fort kit and get building!
How do you use fort building to teach your kids about kindness, cooperation, and teamwork? Share your ideas below!
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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.
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.
1+1+1=1: The 1plus1plus1equals1 Blog is a fantastic resource on Homeschooling and educational learning ideas from tots to big kids.
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.
