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By Amanda Boyarshinov 2 Comments

D.I.Y Knight Shield for Pretend Costume Play

Pretend play comes natural in our house.  My three kids are always re-using boxes and bottles for new stories.  The idea of making a cardboard sheild for their pretend play came at the request of a 4 year old knight who wanted to make a shiny dragon shield.  We used left over paint, cardboard from our recycle bin
Make a DIY Knights Shield for preschool pretend play.

I decided to take the easiest route possible – cardboard and GOLD SPRAY PAINT! In less than 20 minutes of working together, he had a costume (well enough of it for him to be satisfied) and I was ready for my second cup of coffee!

Supplies Needed:
Spray paint
Cardboard
Pencil
Access to a computer and images (or just draw your own)
Tag board
Scissors
Tape

I cut one shield template out of cardboard and then had him trace his.  Tracing is a great precursor to writing and lets little ones practice their fine motor skills.

Then, we hopped back on the computer to find a dragon (per his request) he pointed to the one he liked and I made it as big as possible, while still fitting on a piece of paper.  I printed this on tag board and cut it out.

We wanted a black dragon surrounded by gold, so we painted the shields black first.

Then, I set the dragon over the black and spray painted gold around it.

When the paint dried, I lifted up the golden dragon to reveal the black one underneath.  And although you may think the gold dragon on black background was planned, you’re wrong. I ran out of gold paint.  No worries – the thought of bringing 3 young kids to the store for new paint called for a quick adjustment.  I sprayed the cardboard totally black and just glued the gold painted template on!

When they were completely dry, I cut a rectangle out of the cardboard, bent it and taped it on.  Nothing fancy – but hey, who needs fancy when you are crafting with an anxious 3 year waiting to play knights.

Make a DIY Knights Shield for preschool pretend play. Eco friendly costume. Make your own dress up costume.

Let me just tell you, that I have an enormous fondness for gold spray paint – it makes any paper or cardboard object instantly a treasure, in this case REGAL!

In any case – if you are like me and need something fancy in just a few minutes… stock up on the gold spray paint!

More Knight Shield Ideas:

  • Make Jane Make has this cute knight costume 
  • Bruggie Tales takes the cardboard route
  • Storm the Castle makes an AMAZING shield too (also a fan of gold spray paint!)
  • Kiwi Crate grabs for tinfoil to make their shield.

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Filed Under: Arts, Kids Activities Tagged With: 3-5, Activities for Preschoolers, Amanda, Art projects, Costume, Creative Crafting, Make

About Amanda Boyarshinov

K - 12 masters reading teacher, author and mom to 3. Amanda is a National Board Certified teacher with oodles of experience in early childhood education.

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Comments

  1. Natalie F says

    September 4, 2013 at 11:31 pm

    That looks positively regal. I am sure your son is still treasuring it!

    Reply
  2. Emma @ P is for Preschooler says

    January 27, 2014 at 1:56 am

    This is awesome! I love the dragon on it – makes it look very official!

    Reply

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