Fort Building – Week 4 of 52 Weeks of Experiences

WEEK 4 – Puddle Splashing and Fort Building

Continuation of our Week 4 where we managed to do two activities in one day, thanks to the rainy day. See Puddle Splashing here

So pretty bored on a rainy evening, I asked if Lexi wanted to build a fort. What else did we have to do?

She gave me an enthusiastic YAY! even though I am not sure she knew what I meant. So we asked daddy to drag five dining room chairs into the living room and stripped the guest room off its fitted sheet. Of course the sheet didn’t stay, so I brought out the “classy and subtle” blue masking table and taped the sheet to the chairs.

The first thing Lexi wanted to do with the fort? Jump on its roof which destroyed it immediately. So after explaining that we can only be UNDER it, she climbed underneath and wanted to breastfeed. An obvious thing right? lol

After she had enough of her “boo-boo-boo”, she jumped up exclaiming “YAYA so HAPPY!” (Lexi is so happy!) and we started playing around underneath the fort. I make the “best faces” when playing with her (ugh!)

Then she ran away from me and hid under a blanket continuing the rough and tumble play, hence the pretend sad face.

We played more, she brought all her Daniel Tiger friends inside and pretended to take a nap with them under her blanket.

Pretty quickly she lost interest in being inside of the tent and wanted to “help mommy” with the chairs. She was SOOOO involved in the act of putting the table on the chairs just right that I almost think it should have been its own activity.

Finally, she convinced us to let her fly onto the roof of the tent (we used to do that with her other tent) and you can see how happy that made her!

She spent the next 30 minutes playing with the tape and lining it up on the couch, so I am surely going to remember to use the tape as a distraction tool.

What I loved about this activity is that even though we started it as fort building and playing, it ended up being completely led by Lexi and her interest shifted on a totally unrelated subject- tape.

HERE IS OUR LIST (PRINTABLE VERSION OF BOTH LISTS)

1. Backwards Day
   (Daniel Tiger episode tie in, Backwards Day book tie in)
2. Ride a pony/horse
   (Berenstain bears book tie-in)
3. Go to the airport and watch the planes land.
   (Curious George episode tie-in, Curious George book)
4. Go to a music shop and explore the instruments
   (Daniel Tiger episode tie in)
5. Go to a train museum SEE OUR WEEK HERE
6. Jump in Puddles (Weather contingent) (Hello, Fiends book) SEE OUR WEEK HERE
7. Feed ducks at the park (Curious George book)
8. Dance in the rain (Weather contingent) (Olivia book )
9. Plant something from seed and watch it grow OR plant a garden
   (Curious George episode tie in,  Little Critter book, Curious George book)
10. Climb a tree
11. Gather shells (Berenstain Bears book)
12. Ride a trolley (Daniel Tiger themed)
13. Go to the lake to look for tadpoles
    (Curious George episode tie-in, Curious George book tie in)
14. Go on a scavenger hunt in the woods
    (Curious George episode tie in, another Curious George episode tie-in Berenstain bears: nature’s guide (this is a great book for a scavenger hunt and it rhymes)
15. Fly a kite SEE OUR WEEK HERE
    (a great rhyming Berenstain bears book, Curious George episode, Little Critter book)
16. Roast marshmallows by the fire
    (OLIVIA tie in)
17. Play in the snow (Location contingent)
18. Go to an aquarium
    (Berenstain Bears book, Little Critter book, Curious George book)
19. Have a picnic – complete with basket and red checkered blanket. (Berenstain Bears book – another great funny rhyming book)
20. Lay out and look at stars (Curious George episode tie-in)
21. Go camping unplugged (phones turned off)
    (Daniel Tiger episode tie in, Curious George episode tie in, Little Critter book tie in, Curious George book tie-in,  OLIVIA book tie in other camping books)
22. First movie theater movie (Curious George book)
23. Go to a petting zoo!
24. Listen to a thunderstorm (Weather contingent.)
    (Daniel Tiger Episode tie in, Little Critter book tie in)
25. Have a Family Movie Night with snacks  SEE OUR WEEK HERE
26. Run around the grass in a park, barefoot, as a family
27. Pick fruit at a farm SEE OUR WEEK HERE
    (Daniel Tiger episode , Curious George book)
28. Make Snow/Sand Angels
29. Make pinecone and peanut butter bird feeders and hang them in the yard
    (Curious George tie-in)
30. Draw with chalk on the driveway/sidewalk
31. paddle a canoe down the river
    (Curious George episode tie-in)
32. visit a tidepool  (Weather contingent)
33. Egg Dying (Curious  George book)
34. Go to see a boat show (at Christmas)
35. Go on a sunset cruise on a boat
    (Curious George episode tie in)
36. Make giant bubbles in the yard SEE OUR WEEK HERE
37. go to a waterpark
38. go to  Botanical gardens
39. Go bowling
    (Curious George episode , Curious George book)
40. Jump on the bed/couch/furniture together (5 Little Monkeys book) SEE OUR WEEK HERE
41. Get long newsprint/butcher’s  paper and trace/color your hands, feet and bodies!
42. Make cookies together
43. Play Hide and Seek
44. Build a fort out of blankets and pillows (The Fort that Jack Built book)  SEE OUR WEEK HERE
45. Go to the Zoo
    (Curious George episode, Curious George book)
46. Go on a family bike ride through the woods
47. Make newspaper planes
48. Get a few giant cardboard boxes play pretend with them!
49. play tennis
50. play miniature golf
    (Curious George book)
51. Ride a roller coaster SEE OUR WEEK HERE
    (Curious George episode , Curious George book)
52. Ride a train
    (Berenstain Bears book tie-in)