THE FORT

Every afternoon, my girls disappear for hours on end. They have been spending all those hours tidying up their old fort that has sat empty over the winter months. Our home backs up to a preservation area, so the kids enjoy all those woods most of the year. This is their favorite time of year for the fort - the trees are still bare and there are no thorns and underbrush in the way, no bugs, its perfect!!

There is nothing that makes me happier than seeing all my girls playing together, even when they are all five years apart.

They are so creative with all the things they have done out there.

They have found all sorts of things sprouting up in the woods and have carefully transplanted them to their own gardens in their fort.

Good times with neighbor friends..... it reminds me of all the hours I spent as a kid making secret places in the woods, raking out paths, and living in an imaginary land of our own.

There is such room for imagination and childhood growth when they play with each other in their magical lands.

The best swings and play things are the ones that God creates.

An interesting table.....

and of course, a place for cooking... (imaginary cooking of course)

I am a firm believer that kids needs hours everyday to just play and explore their world. That is when most learning and growth takes place. They need freedom to learn to get along with their peers without adults being around all the time, of course in a safe environment (I can see them from the kitchen window!) It's so easy to get caught up in the rush of life. I carefully protect our time these days, and am very careful not to "overschedule". It's so, so easy to do - we have learned the hard way!!

And no fort is complete without a lovely trickling stream running by....(which makes for endless loads of muddy laundry)... but this is the stuff that childhood is made of.