Lately, my son has shown quite an interest in sword fighting. He has a few foam swords that he uses daily to avenge and protect his sister, myself and the cat. My husband usually gets the role of the monster, grizzly bear, pirate or whatever foe my son needs to defeat that day. I love encouraging my children to pretend play. Pretend play is crucial for their imaginations and development. Not only does it enhance their creativity, but it helps them with social, emotional, language and thinking skills.
When my son declares a battle is about to begin, I encourage my daughter to join in and wield her own sword. I try to remind them that turn taking is a huge part of pretend play. If my son wants my daughter to pretend to be a ferocious lion, then she should be able to ask him to pretend to be her little sister. He may not be thrilled with the idea, but I explain to them that’s what makes pretend play so much fun. You can be anything you want to be!
In my kid’s playroom we have a huge (disorderly) bin of dress up clothes and props. It is stuffed with costumes, hats, purses and shoes. My kids love digging around to see what they can find. I love to see them expressing themselves through the different characters that they create. We recently had the chance to review the book, Clever Costumes by Shannon Witt. The costumes in this book put my dress up bin to shame. The sheer amount of creativity involved is astounding.
Clever Costumes uses easy to find and inexpensive items to create jaw dropping kid’s costumes. I sat down with both of my children on a rainy afternoon and they had a new favorite with each page turn. We decided to make the Stalwart Sword for my son, because a young crusader can never have enough swords – or so I’m told. I was amazed at how easy it was to make this sword. The best part was that I had almost every item in my house. And any items I didn’t have, were easily modified to work for the project. It was so much fun to say “Let’s make this!” and not have to run out to the store 🙂
If you have a dress up loving, costume loving, pretend play loving child – have we got the giveaway for you! We are giving away one copy of Clever Costumes! The book has over 50 simple costumes and projects to make with your child. It also comes complete with satin, duct tape, fuzzy fasteners and elastic cord. You won’t have any reason not to drop everything and start crafting your child’s costume of choice!
MAKE YOUR OWN PLAY SWORD
Materials
- Cardboard
- Paint stirring stick
- Aluminum foil
- Glue gun
- Electrical tape
Directions
Step 1: Drawn and cut out the shape of a sword.
Step 2. Cut the paint stirring stick down to the size of your sword handle.
Step 3: Wrap the blade in aluminum foil and hot glue the foil to the sword.
Step 4: Wrap the handle in electrical tape.
Good luck and have fun!
Daniele
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