As a child, do you remember building a fort or cubby house out of lounge cushions, pillows and blankets or making a secret cave out of branches and leaves? Remember how great it was to have your own secret space with your own made-up rules?
Let’s be honest, doesn’t every child (and adult) want a tree house or a fort in their backyard – a place to escape, to imagine and to dream…
It’s a dream come true for the children at Mernda Early Learning Centre who are delighting in their brand-new fort and sandpits as part of the recent playground upgrade.
But, why are forts so great?
Through David Sobel, a trailblazing environmental educator, his research shows that children are playing less outdoors because they are online more and as a result, younger children are less likely to copy fort playing alongside older children. All kinds of play, including hide and seek, tag, freeze etc., get passed from generation to generation and this is happening much less.
Building cubby houses and forts typically starts in preschool-age children where they can be observed making pillow fortresses or constructing hidey-places using building blocks. Developmentally, lots of things are happening during this type of play:
Along with these developmental needs, there are a ton of other benefits to playing in forts and mostly because it’s just plain fun!
Children learn:
As parents and caregivers, we can help support children in their quest to seek out their own space – and you don’t need to wait until they reach preschool age. In supported and meaningful ways, small children love playing hide and seek, building and tearing down structures, reading stories in teepees or in quiet spaces under canopies.
Here are some practical things you can do to help kickstart things at home:
Resource: Children’s Special Places: Exploring the Role of Forts, Dens, and Bush Houses in Middle Childhood (Landscapes of Childhood Series) by David Sobel
Located at 5 Bent Street, Mernda, Early Learning Centre, Mernda welcomes families from suburbs including Mernda, Doreen, South Morang and Epping.
For enrollment enquiries, please contact Bianca at Ph: 03 9715 2199 or Email: [email protected]
Early Learning Centre Mernda is proudly owned and managed by Story House Early Learning Pty Ltd.
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Story House Early Learning
ABN 86 628 011 398