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Building a den together to cosy up in is a fun way to engage your child in conversation.
All you need is some blankets and cushions from around your home.
Try encouraging your child to describe what they are doing whilst they are building their cosy corner. You can try some imaginary play or snuggle down with a book.
Watch the video below for for ideas on how to make the most of this activity with your little one.
What are the benefits of den building for kids?
- Designing and building a den requires your child to use their imagination and creative thinking.
- Chatting through the process of planning and building the den provides lots of opportunities to chat and ask questions.
- Describing how they want their den to look helps children learn to convey their ideas through longer sentences.
- During building, kids learn how to listen and give instructions and how to problem solve.
- Children are able to build scenarios or stories around their dens, creating characters and plots to support their pretend play.
- Building activities support gross and fine motor skills, whilst developing good hand-eye coordination.
Top tips for den building at home
Take your child's lead when creating your cosy corner. This is a space which they can personalise with beanbags, toys, and cushions.
You don't need much to build a den at home. Blankets, sheets, wooden pegs, boxes or ribbon can all be used to create dens easily.
The space could be a corner of their room, an empty cupboard or even just space under their bed. As long as it鈥檚 their space to do what they want.
Let them personalise their den and then tell you about it. Ask them questions about their den, what it looks like and what they want to do in it.
Whilst building the den together, why not offer them choices? You could say, "Do you want to use the fluffy blanket or the purple one?"
You can also let them make choices and follow their lead once the den has been made too.
Who do they want to invite into their den and why? What activities do they want to play in the den?
This is not only great for encouraging longer and more complex sentences, but it also provides an opportunity to develop social skills. Model to them how they can invite people in, greet them in their space and share the things in it.
You can even get your child involved when you're clearing away the den. As you're cleaning up, you can ask things like, "where does this go" and use position words to build their vocabulary and understanding.
Image caption, Let your child take the lead in building their cosy corner and encourage them to talk through what they are doing.
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Games to play in a den
Once your den is built, there are loads of games and activities you and your child can try. We've listed a few below:
- Why not share stories together? The more you repeat a story, the quicker your child will increase their understanding and learn new words from it.
- A den is the perfect place to wind down at the end of the day. You could try some of these relaxing sleepy time games.
- Take some time to talk and bond with your little one in this place where they feel safe.
