Tents [winter break suggestion]

Tents are an opportunity for children to create their own safe respite...protected from the rest of the world...while they create a world for themselves which they have total control over. 

WHAT:

• Sheets
• Blankets
• Towels
• Table, Chairs, other furniture

WHY:

• The child is able to choose who enters their structure, giving them an appropriate sense of power which is particularly important for 4-5 year olds.
• Opportunity for the child to mirror all the behaviors of their adult role models in the safety of their tent.

While children can feel completely in control of their world inside of a tent or a fort, at they same time they are comforted by the fact that they know a parent or caregiver is close by.  Just like infants and toddlers playing peek-a-boo, preschool-aged children will play alternatively inside and outside a tent to verify the consistency of the adults in their world.