Indoor play building a blanket fort. Little M loves the thrill off building a fort and then snuggling up inside with her soft toys. She enters a world of imagination and comfort often reading to her favorite stuffed tiger or playing make belief. She has creative ‘license’ to use whatever she wants in the house to get the fort up. In this instance she used dining chairs, blankets and throws and these giant clothes pegs / clothes pins. Affiliate below:
I love these huge blanket clothes pegs/ clothes pins because of the resistance it offers to get those little hands working.
There are many ways to construct the fort and the fun is in the challenge of keeping it up and secure with what is available to you. I love it because it builds on problem solving and spatial awareness. Its through trial and error that the child gets to the final secure fort. All of these skills are super for the foundation of handwriting.
Key Areas developed:
Position in Space / Spatial Awareness: The ability to perceive the relationship of an object to yourself and/or relationship of self to others.
Motor Planning: Think about catching a moving ball! This requires timing the movement, predicting the ball’s speed and direction and reacting to the ball by moving the body and arms in an appropriate response.
Sequencing: This is the ability to carry out two or more movements in a smooth and coordinated manner. This can range from gross motor games such as hop scotch to fine motor skills such as handwriting.
Bilateral Coordination: ability to use both sides of the body together in a coordinated way. Both sides could be doing the same thing together such as jumping with two feet (symmetrical movement): coordinating two different movements at the same time such as cutting with scissors (assymetrical movement) or taking turns to do the same movement such as pedalling a bike (alternating movement).
Hand Strength: The large and small muscles of the hands and forearms require good strength, stability and mobility. These work together for good finger dexterity needed when using writing tools such as chalk, pencils and crayons.
