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Tents, Forts, and Hideouts: Special Spaces for Kids

May 14, 2012 by notjustcute Filed Under: Create, Learning through Play and Experience 8 Comments

As I mentioned in the Playful Learning Spaces Giveaway (and yes, there’s still a little time left to enter) there is a strong impact in a thoughtfully prepared space.  If you want your children to be playful, it helps to create an environment that invites children to play.  I can think of few invitations to play that are more compelling than a special space like a tent or a hideout.  You can set one up, say nothing, and almost instantly you’ll have children dragging blankets and animals in for a jungle tea party, darting in and out as they dream up dramatic adventures, or cozied up inside with a good book.

They’re the perfect prop for encouraging dramatic play and all its benefits, and the subject of many memorable scenes from our childhoods.

Here are a few ideas for tents, forts, and hideouts you might want to create with the children you love and teach:

I am a huge fan of these A-frame pup tents from Lindsay & Drew and keep trying to convince my handy husband that he really wants to make some with me for our boys.  I keep picturing them lined up in our playroom, out in our yard, and on the beach at the lake, with our giddy boys running between them.  They look quite simple to make and easy to store, transport, and set up.

If you’re a fan of the card table hide-outs, and feel a bit crafty, you can find a darling pattern from Empty Bobbin Sewing, here.  Or for those happy to pick them up ready-made, you may want to peruse Miss Pretty’s etsy shop.

For a similar style, you could also try this ingenious take by ikat bag where she makes a simple play house using tension rods and a hallway.  Taking out the angles and keeping it to straight stitches — that’s my sewing style.  The decorations may have to be hot glued felt at our house or drawn on by the kiddos themselves!

If you like to keep things a bit less ornate, you might love this PVC Pipe Playhouse from Angry Julie Monday.  (Ah, PVC pipes!  Takes me back to my college landscaping days!)  She gives measurements and instructions for creating a frame from PVC pipes (be sure to mark your cut pipes so you can easily put it together each time) and then you can simply drape it with blankets and sheets to create the perfect fort.

Of course, my husband (as he peaks over my shoulder) says all of this is cheating.  “Blankets and books,” he says, indicating his old-school rules.  In fact, he did just rig one up a month or so ago, draping a large blanket from under the top bunk mattress and across the floor, anchored with books at the bottom.  I’ll have to snap a picture next time.  The boys loved it, though it was a bit delicate for wiggly boys and had to be reset a few times before they simmered down and went to sleep.

There is huge value in having kids rig up their own forts with open-ended materials.  Plenty of creativity, math, science, and problem-solving involved!  You can encourage that by creating fort kits to have at the ready. Check out this Fort Building Kit from Meg and Andy Made (pictured above)  based on this post at Saltwater Kids.  (What a great birthday present idea!)

I hope that’s given you some inspiration!  If nothing else, grab a few kitchen chairs and some blankets, and build a fort today!

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Comments

  1. 3

    Julie says

    May 14, 2012 at 8:27 pm

    My kids love to build forts! All three of them even slept in their child-built fort this past weekend 🙂

    Reply
  2. 4

    Mary says

    May 15, 2012 at 6:48 am

    Those playhouses on Etsy are AWESOME! I used her pattern to make my kids two playhouses and they turned out beautifully. That Pirate Playhouse is super cute and the pattern is easy, easy, easy to follow. My son loves it and my daughter loves her cottage one too. That woman is insanely creative.

    Reply
  3. 5

    Angela Giddings says

    May 19, 2012 at 4:37 pm

    I absolutely love these playhouse ideas. Consider them stolen. They look so easy to make. My preschoolers love to play in forts and under tables and anything they can squeeze into.

    Reply
  4. 6

    Deanna says

    December 13, 2014 at 4:00 pm

    Just got my boys fort magic for Christmas anyone else have that?

    Reply
    • 7

      notjustcute says

      December 16, 2014 at 2:46 am

      I have some friends who have it and love it!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. What kid doesn’t love building and using hideouts? | Community Coordinated Child Care says:
    May 14, 2012 at 9:27 am

    […] This blog from Not Just Cute is a great resource for ready made or homemade tents, forts and hideouts. Click here to check it out. […]

    Reply
  2. Forts and Hideaways for Kids says:
    May 14, 2012 at 7:02 pm

    […] great minds at Not Just Cute put together a great resource for creating special spaces for kids. As we head into summer break, this is the perfect time to create our own forts and hideaways with […]

    Reply
  3. {enchanted} lovely links May 21, 2012 says:
    May 20, 2012 at 12:04 pm

    […] round-up of Tents, Forts and Hideouts!!! (Not Just […]

    Reply

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I’m Amanda Morgan. Here’s what I’m about…

In early education, there is too much distance between what we know and what we do. I bridge the gaps that exist between academia, decision-makers, educators, and parents so that together, we can improve the quality of early education while also respecting and protecting the childhood experience.

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