How to make a fort in your living room

I'm sure many Ottawa moms and dads were wondering what sort of activities to do with their kids today as the city was hit with a bout of freezing rain.  Mini me is still battling a bad cold so it was the perfect day to stay home from work.  But how to entertain her?  She seems to have lost interest in colouring and painting (is that even possible?).  So we started off by making cookies and then I remembered something my brother used to do all the time when he was little.

Build forts!

My daughter is still a little young to really appreciate the intricacies of fort building and the hours of imaginative play that follows but I thought I would give it a shot anyway.  Turns out it was a great idea! 








We started off with using the couch, some chairs and some blankets.  It was decent but didn't leave much room underneath for playing.  We needed something BIGGER!  With a lack of big furniture in my little house, the dining room table seemed to be the best option.  I positioned the dining room chairs around the table then laid different blankets over the chairs and table.  On the table I had a variety of items that were heavy enough to hold down the blankets.  I tied the other end of the blankets to the chair rungs with clothespins.  NOTE: Keep a close eye on little ones who may want to tug on the blankets.  We had a few close calls!

It was an ugly fort but at the end of the day it did the trick and we kept it up until supper time!

  Even the dog seemed to like it!