Fort building has a rich tradition here at the Bay Area Discovery Museum. Some of it lives on in our Kids' Building summer camps (like the photo here).

Cover an old card table with a blanket, use an old box from a refrigerator, or find a natural spot. Children relish the opportunity to create a space of their own where they are in charge. Let them set the standards for admission and participation in their fort. Sometimes children crave a private space where they can be alone and still within eyesight of an adult.

The job of the adult in this case is to facilitate the experience and participate as an observer. Only join the game if you are invited. You can learn a great deal about your child by stepping aside to watch the choices they make without your input.

Children can use this experience to test their own ideas and learn to recognize the consequences that result from their decisions. As we've mentioned before in our posts about the risk-taking study and 5 Dangerous Things Your Kids Should Do, we think it's important for children to test their own limits - they can't grow without some trial and error!

What do you think? Do you have fort-building memories from your childhood? Let us know in the comments.

This entry was posted on August 18, 2008 and is filed under Jennifer Caleshu.
Tagged: parents, creativity
You can leave a response.