Category: Everyday

The Fort Kit: Great gift for little builders

When my little boy opened this gift on Christmas morning, he didn’t realize how much he was going to love it.  It doesn’t look flashy, but don’t let that fool you.

Fort Kit Box

I feel pretty good about a lot of ideas I’ve had over the years, but this one was brilliant.  My kids use this kit on a daily basis.  They are always building forts, tents, hide-outs, etc. This kit took their building possibilities to a new level.

clothespins

The fort kit is simple.  I ordered heavy duty clothespins and a strong set of various sized clamps.  These clamps are tough!  The kids can clamp blankets to bunk beds like no rope or rubber band ever could. It’s really helpful to have many different sizes.

Clamps

I put the clothespins and clamps in a toolbox so they can get carried all around the house and yard, ready for building projects galore!  You could add some flat sheets to the kit, but I just let my kids grab whatever blankets/sheets they need for their current project.

Fort Builders

Happy building!

Find more creative gifts for people your love!

Mommy Marketing (to your kids)

Get ready for something BIG!

Don’t underestimate the importance of selling your fun ideas to your kids… especially the ones they might not label as fun. Being a mother is a lot about marketing. You’ve got to talk up your job charts, your goals, and sometimes even upcoming vacations or holidays.

One of the doors in our kitchen is often covered with mom’s advertisements. If we have a vacation coming up– it’s on the door to get everyone excited about the trip. If summer is around the corner (or in full swing), the summer calendar is spread across the door with jobs and goals for the break. At Christmas time, the calendar with activities and service opportunities is there to see. No one in the family can claim they don’t know what’s going on or what is expected when it’s pasted on a door they pass 50 times each day.

 

 

Bitty Boat Races

Boats

This year it was unseasonably warm on Presidents Day.  It was 60 degrees in February!  We had to take advantage of the beautiful weather.  The cousins spent the night and we had a full day of adventure ahead of us!  …But what to do?

Boat Builders

The kids toyed with the idea of a cooking activity like the TV show, “Chopped”. In the show, chefs are given a box of surprise ingredients. They have 30 minutes to make a meal using the items in their mystery box. Our kids decided they could do something similar with a boat-making contest.

boat out of junk

Boat Builders 2

I gathered containers from the recycling can, balloons, straws, popsicle sticks, plastic cups and paper plates. I separated the items into boxes. We gathered a pile of tape, glue, scissors, and extra supplies in the kitchen for general use. The kids divided into partnerships of two and each group selected a mystery box. During the first round, the timer was set for 20 minutes. When the timer rang, the kids all stepped away from their boats. They had so much fun that they decided to have a second round.

Boat Builders

In the end, we had six boats made by three teams. We took them to the park and let them float down the creek.

Floating Boats

The kids had a great time rescuing their boats and “helping” them along with sticks, as the water was not moving quickly. They even put a tissue in each boat so they could measure how much water got inside the boats.

The adults and smaller kids had a great time cheering from the bridge.

Bridge

Afterward, we had a picnic lunch and played on the playground.  It was a terrific day.

Playground