I saw the children's propensity to build forts within the first few weeks of starting at the afterschool program. Inside, outside, with sticks, blankets, cardboard boxes, gymnastic mats, chairs, anything to separate them from the rest of the world. The second thing I noticed was children's tendency to argue about these forts, particularly who should be allowed in. I came across "Children's Special Places," by David Sobel in another book, the wonderful "Last Child in the Woods," by Richard Louv. I was immediately intrigued to learn more about this all consuming desire to make forts. In this fairly academic work, Sobel, shares his research that he conducted in England and the West Indies in which he studied children's propensity towards fort play, particularly those of ages 6 - 12. I was fascinated by the author's observations about the differences between girls' and boys' forts. Sobel states that, when describing their hid...