Kids love forts. I remember setting up couch cushions and blankets to make a fort when I was little. In the winter when there was snow, I always wanted to make a snow fort, though there wasn’t usually enough snow to make much of a fort. I made forts out of sagebrush. My dad built a fort that my sister’s bed sat on top and then later they put a fort on top of the roof for us to play in. I wish I could have those forts for Alex now, but unfortunately most of the forts my dad built are long gone now as he used the materials on other projects when we outgrew them.

Alex has had a variety of forts already. Perhaps one of the first forts any kid has is when they climb under the blankets in the bed and you hold the blankets up a little so they have room to move around. Later I stacked up pillows and propped the blanket to make a slightly larger fort. Alex thinks either of these are great fun plus they take little time and cost nothing.

I bought a really cool kids tent on sale a while back that had a tunnel the kids could climb through. Alex had a lot of fun with the tent, but the tent poles cracked so much that I can no longer put it together unless I get new poles. The tunnel is still good though and only takes a second to set up. Alex got a new tent for Christmas that is really simple to set up. It folds into a little circle and when Alex wants to play all I have to do is shake it out. It is smaller then the original tent I bought him, but it has holes in the side to attach the tunnel, so it is a pretty good substitute since the other one is broken. Speaking of tents, Alex has been camping a few times and he loves the real tent.

Cardboard boxes make great forts. Any time we get any large items we keep the box for a little while so Alex can play with it. Not only can Alex play inside the box, but he can color and decorate it as well. Eventually the boxes end up in the recycling since our house isn’t quite large enough to store them.

I daydream about getting Alex a play structure for the back yard with a fort. He’s still a little young, but he does love playing in the park. I have also seen really neat bunk beds with slides and castle tents covering them. Perhaps when he gets a little older…

For now, when I want to let Alex play in a bigger fort, we head over to the park or Inflatable Kingdom where the bouncers make great forts.

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