10 days of group games: #5 - FORTS!

Whether or not you're celebrating holidays this time of year, most people are thinking about family right now. And many of us are going to be seeing extended family soon. In that spirit, we thought that it would be fun to post some of our favorite games to play with 2 or more kids that don't require too much adult guidance. Check in over the next 10 days for more fun game ideas!

#5. FORTS!

I don't think this one needs much explanation. Nothing sets a child's imagination going like a home-made fort. It's great for one kids or a whole group of them.

Here are some of my suggestions:

• Use binder clips for a secure hold. They're an easy way to attach sheets and blankets to just about anything.
• Find something to prop up the center of the fort. This is obviously optional, but a tall chair, a music stand, or a coat rack can make the fort so much bigger. The bigger the fort, the more fun you'll have!
• Create little cubbies of activity within the fort. The best one that we ever made was attached to Rowan's dollhouse (just in case she wanted to play with dolls) and her bed (which created a great cubby which she could use as a place for her stuffed animals, a lookout, a reading nook, or anything else she could think of.
• Let there be light! Make sure the kids have flashlights, a safe lamp, or some other light source.
• If you have a lot of kids around, think about making 2 forts. They can play 2 teamed games and the forts could be the home base for each team. Or each fort could be designed with a certain age group in mind.
• I know you're going to want to take this project over. This is one of those things that throws you right back into your own childhood and it's easy to want to just make the whole fort yourself. But try to supervise, help & guide your kids rather than take over the whole project.

Happy fort building!