Summer Homeschool Forts
Building a backyard fort is the perfect way to practice a few engineering principles and create a great place for a summer homeschool fort hangout. Use simple materials such as sheets, tablecloths, clothespins, and garden stakes, as well as environmental elements like tree branches and rocks for an easy, endlessly customizable afternoon project.
Summer Homeschool Forts Charms
Make-A-Fort shares some DIY fort ideas and outlines the basics of the supports, fabrics, and materials needed to allow your students to create their own temporary shelters, playhouses, hangouts, and more!
Fort building is almost a rite of passage for children. What child hasn’t piled pillows and boxes, pushed furniture around, and draped blankets over everything to create their own secret hiding place? Make it a challenge and a perfectly engaging way to practice design skills and creative problem solving with this fort-building homeschool STEM activity.
If you have the space, building a more permanent wooden fort is a great way to teach your children about tool use and safety, physics, engineering, reading and following instructions, and following through on a longer project–all excellent skills to take into adulthood and a perfect activity to add to your summer homeschool!
For younger kids, a cardboard box fort like this is a great way to exercise their creativity. Boxes for large appliances like refrigerators and dishwashers are a great size to work with. The mom in this post used old Christmas lights to add some extra sparkle to her daughters’ cardboard fort.
For even more creative learning ideas for your summer homeschool, check out this Homeschool Living—”5 Things to Do in Your Summer Homeschool.”
