Lucas and Henry built a fort. They spent several weeks spending hours in the woods with their friend Tye building the fort and playing in it.
Fort building is a great way to learn by playing. There are several skills you can learn from fort building.
- Team-building- Lucas, Henry, and Tye all had roles in building the fort. Lucas was the leader and builder. Henry also helped build, but he was the scout looking out for people and dogs who might discover their fort. Tye collected wood for the fort in addition to helping build. Skills like cooperation and negotiation come from playing in a group setting.
- Creativity- The boys created something from their imagination. A lot of learning in schools these days is having kids copy work or memorize facts. Having kids create things from scratch is an amazing exercise to help strengthen their individuality. It also builds their confidence so that they can figure things out on their own.
- Critical thinking- Lucas, Henry, and Tye built the fort from scratch. The boys had to spend time figuring out where to build the fort, how to build the fort, and what materials to use. No one was there to help them make those decisions.
The kids were sad to leave the fort behind, but we hope they will build many more forts in the future.
