Turn Your Rainy Day Around —With a Fort!
3 TRANSFORMATIVE BLANKET FORT TIPS
3. Pick a theme — and a name. Is your fort in the jungle? On a beach? In the woods? Pick a theme and decorate accordingly! You can bring in beach towels and toys or cut leaves and trees out of construction paper. Don’t forget to name your fort, too. The more creative you get, the better.
April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, but when the rain keeps pouring, there’s only one thing for a family to do: Build a blanket fort!
Blanket forts have been a low-cost, low-tech form of entertainment for centuries, and over that time, generations of enthusiasts have perfected them. Use these tips to transform your next rainy day into a family adventure: 1. Build heaviest to lightest. Once you’ve gathered your materials — including blankets, sheets, pillows, binder clips, and movable furniture — it’s time to build. Start “heavy” with the largest piece of furniture, like a couch or table. That will be the anchor of your fort. From there, arrange the other furniture in a circle around the anchor and drape it with blankets. Use heavier blankets for the walls and the lightest sheets for your roof to avoid a collapse. Use the binder clips to hold the sheets and blankets together! 2. Light it up. Light is crucial for you to do activities in your fort! Dig out your holiday string lights if you have them or bring a lamp or two into the space. You can also use flashlights and even glow sticks to make things especially fun!
So, now you have your fort — what should you do in it? We’re glad you asked! The answers are almost unlimited, but here are a few favorites:
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Drink hot chocolate
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Make a craft project
Tell ghost stories
Have a family jam session (if you’re all musical)
Read (out loud or separately!)
Do a puzzle
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Eat your favorite snack
Play a board game/card game Pretend you’re on an adventure in another country
Snuggle
“Camp” overnight
Perform a shadow puppet show
3 STRETCHES TO HELP LOOSEN A STIFF NECK
The average workday for many Americans consists of hours upon hours of looking at a computer. Then later, many of us like to spend our free time watching television or spending even more time on our computers. If your computer or TV isn’t set to the perfect level, you may start noticing issues with your neck. A stiff neck can be incredibly painful and at times, even debilitating. If you experience neck pain regularly, you can do simple stretches to improve mobility and minimize pain. Some of these stretches may be painful or difficult at first but, over time, will become easier. Try to do them once a day until it gets more comfortable. Then you can do the stretches more often for an extended period of time. NECK ROTATION Keep your back straight and your shoulders still while you slowly turn your head to the left as far as it can go without feeling an increased level of pain. Once you’ve reached your limit, hold that spot for five seconds before returning to the
starting position. You can then repeat the stretch on your right side. If pain continues to increase, only turn your head part of the way. NECK EXTENSION Keep your shoulders and back stationary while you gently extend your neck by looking upward. Continue to bring your head backward as far as you can without increasing pain. Hold this stretch for five seconds before returning to the starting position. If you’re doing the stretch properly, you’ll feel it along the front of your neck as well as the muscles in the back of your neck. NECK FLEXION This stretch is the opposite of the neck extension. You’ll want to slowly lower your chin toward your chest and look downward with only your head; don’t bend your neck forward. Flex your head as far as it can comfortably go and hold that position for five seconds before returning to your starting position. When done correctly, you’ll feel the stretch throughout the back of your neck.
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