Every once in a while I get closer to my 7-year son by doing a project. Last year we made a play fort, or a den. It does get played with, but the real joy was the design & construction – although it took a lot longer than I had bargained for!  We made designs on paper, talked about how triangles add strength, got the extended family involved for advice, went to B&Q for the raw materials, and then got to work. A whole lot of sawing, putting in screws (there are 84 screws, I’m told by my son!)  and some sweat later, we have something to remember for a long time.