Knights and princesses

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK, MONTH, YEAR

Throughout the week, children will become knights and princesses. Each day, during circle time, crown a king and a queen for the day. Determine a privilege for the king and the queen (example: they are exempt of cleanup, they may stay awake at naptime, etc.) A model of a crown to be crafted by the children can be found in the crafts section.

Transform yourself into a king or queen and welcome your little knights and princesses into the royal family. Have children kneel down before you. For the princesses, hand them their crowns and declare: "I make you a princess. For this week, you shall be called Princess (child's name)". For the knights, touch their shoulders with a cardboard sword and declare: "I make you a knight. For this week, you shall be called Sir (child's name)".

CIRCLE TIME

We suggests an imaginary game to begin each day. (Open thematic letter - knights and princesses). Print the letter. Prepare a flamboyant box (silver or gold) to represent a treasure. Place the box in an easy to find place in the daycare. Once they have found it, read them the letter and follow the instructions throughout the week.

AREA SETUP
Place a chair covered with red fabric in the daycare. It will be the throne. Lay out a red carpet in front of the chair. Hang a veil over the throne and set vases with flowers on each side of it. You can prepare baskets of plastic fruit.

PICTURE GAMES
The pictures may be used as a memory game or to spark a conversation with the group. Use them to decorate the daycare or a specific thematic corner. (Open picture game - knights and princesses) Print, laminate, and store in a "Ziploc" bag or in your thematic bins.

ACTIVITY SHEETS
Activity sheets are suggested for each theme. Print and follow instructions.

(Open activity sheets - knights and princesses)

VARIOUS WORKSHOPS

Have fun with these great workshop ideas provided by Caroline Allard.

Construction or building blocks:

• Knights and castles
• Horses
• Variety of blocks for children to build their own castles
• Display pictures of castles on walls to provide ideas
• Cone-shaped glasses, muffin cups, cardboard rolls and other recyclable items will encourage creativity

Arts & Crafts:

• Decorate the arts & crafts corner with castles to inspire children in their creations
• Cardboard, tissue paper, empty egg cartons, recycled materials, and lots of imagination to create castles of every size and shape
• Pipe cleaners and tissue paper for flags
• Cardboard cones and tissue paper, sparkles, and other decorations to make princess hats
• Cardboard mask and silver colored paint to make knights' masks
• Tempera paint for creating dragons, castles, princesses, and knights along with their entire universe
• Models of princess shoes which can be decorated with sparkles and paint
• Strong cardboard to make swords, don't forget to decorate
• Print the Educatall crown model and have children decorate with pearls, shiny beads, ribbons.... Aluminum paper is perfect for shiny crowns.
• Strong cardboard is great for making armor and a shield
• Empty rolls of paper and cone-shaped glasses make towers. Add a piece of square cardboard between the towers and you have a castle to decorate and play with
• Sparkles, stones, pearls...make jewellery for the princess! A brooch, a ring, a crown, a hairpiece...

Drawing:

• Castle, princess, knight, horse, or medieval times coloring pages
• Metallic markers
• Gel crayons with black or dark paper

Role Play:

• A large box (refrigerator or appliance box) easily becomes a castle. It can be used as a closed quarter or used only to make a wall to mark off the area. Children will love decorating it!
• A chair covered with red fabric for the throne
• Ribbons for decorating
• Jewels and dresses for princess costumes. Don't forget crowns and high-heeled shoes for the occasion
• Suits, scarves, big shoes, and hats for knight costumes
• Place a vanity with accessories in the area for princesses to comb their hair and make themselves pretty for the ball

Manipulation:

• Memory game with knights and princesses using Educatall pictures or a store-bought version
• Puzzles related to the theme
• Modeling dough for sculpting princesses and knights. Add small plastic soldiers for creative play
• Multicolored beads to make beautiful princess necklaces
• Different fabrics such as silk, fur, satin, etc.
• Jewellery for admiring and manipulating. You can include a magnifying glass
• "Lite-Brite" game. It glows just like precious gems

Pre-reading:

• Books about castles, princesses, knights, medieval times! They are easy to find at your local library. You may also want to ask parents to loan some.
• Dragon stories
• All fairytales with princesses
• Read along CD's about princesses and knights

Pre-writing:

• Castles for tracing
• Games where children find the errors including pictures of princesses or knights
• Hunt and seek games
• Various activity sheets related to the theme
• Game with Educatall word flashcards

Motor Skills:

• An obstacle course where children must crawl like a dragon or run like a knight holding a sword to rescue the princess
• A treasure hunt. Children must find all the gold pieces along their way.
• Medieval Olympics. (Duel, throwing stones, etc.)
• Dragon Tail game (Pin the tail on the donkey)
• Knights' duel with foam swords! Children will want to do this over and over again. If they succeed in making their opponent's sword fall to the ground, they will be king for the day!
• Castle Fight: two teams, two castles, and lots of crumpled pieces of recycled paper! Just for fun.
• Organize a grand ball and have children attend daycare dressed up for the occasion

Sensory bins:

• Sandbox or sand table for building sand castles
• Container filled with colored marbles
• Container of clay to build durable castles
• Bin filled with straws. Children search for precious stones.

CULINARY ACTIVITIES

With children's help, make a dragon fire salad! Simply grate carrots and add grapes with mayonnaise or salad dressing. Children will enjoy!

Using small and large marshmallows, build a castle you can eat afterwards! To color marshmallows, simply moisten and put them in an air-tight bag with Jell-O powder or juice and shake gently. Children love the look and the taste!

Make your lunch a royal meal: decorate your table with confetti and a special tablecloth, use plastic wine glasses... 

WORD FLASHCARDS

The flashcards may be used during circle time to spark a conversation or in your reading and writing area. They may also be used to identify your thematic bins. (Open word flashcards - knights and princesses) Knight, princess, castle, crown, throne, horse, carriage, king, queen, servant, gold, opera

LANGUAGE GAME

The messenger
This is a variation of the telephone game. Children sit in a circle. You have a message for the king. Whisper the message to the child sitting to your right. This child repeats it to the child sitting to his right and so on until the message has traveled around the circle. The last child to hear the message says it out loud to verify if the message is correct.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MOTOR SKILLS

1, 2, 3, Princess!
One child is the princess. This child stands with his back against the wall. The other children are lined up against the opposite wall. The princess turns to face the wall and taps three times on the wall counting: "1, 2, 3, princess!" The other players move quickly towards the princess' wall but beware, as soon as the princess turns around, they must stop and remain still. If they are not completely still, the princess sends them back to the starting point. The first child to reach the wall becomes the next princess. Variation: 1, 2, 3, Knight! The game is the same, but the boys may prefer this title.

The rose
The rose (a plastic flower or a pink scarf) is hung at one child's waist. Children move about the daycare. The object of the game is to steal the rose. The child who succeeds attaches it to his waist and continues moving about. The first child to have stolen the rose three times is the winner.

House of cards
Provide children with several sets of playing cards. Sit down with them to show them how to build castles.

Knight Obstacle Course
Build a maze. Include obstacles such as a rope, two chairs children must crawl under or climb over, etc. You can also place a bucket of water on one chair and have children crawl under without spilling the water. Use whatever you have on hand. Children can participate in the creation of the obstacle course. Maximize the different ways children move about (crawling, jumping ten times, jumping in hoops, walking on a rope, hopping, spinning, etc.)

Statue
Designate one child to be "it" and have him try to "tag" the others. When he does, children become statues. Other players may rescue the players standing as statues by passing under their arms.

The duel
Draw a large square on the floor with colored electrical tape. Have two children stand in the square and hand them each a foam cylinder (used in swimming pools) to be used as swords. Children have a duel by hitting each other, sword to sword. Be sure to explain the rules clearly and supervise closely.

Stone Castle
Build a large stone castle for the princess. Instead of using traditional blocks, use sponges.

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Colorful sand castle
Deposit 30ml of sand onto a paper plate. Grate a piece of colored chalk over the sand. The sand will gradually become the same color as the chalk. Use the colored sand to build a giant sand castle.

ACTIVITY IMPLICATING PARENTS
Invite parents to read a story you have chosen with their children related to the theme of knights and princesses. The next day, children can recount what they enjoyed most about the story.

COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES

Knights and princesses hunt and seek
(Open knights and princesses - hunt and seek) Print and laminate. Children pick cards and search for the elements in the scene.

Knights and princesses story and memory game
(Open Knights and princesses - story and memory game) Print, cut out and laminate. Place the cards face down on the floor. Children pick three cards each and invent a story in relation to the illustrations. Trick: To solidify the cards, glue each illustration onto the top of a frozen juice can.

Colorful castle
This is a color association game. (Open colorful castle) Print one copy per child. Children color their castle by associating the symbols to the correct colors.

Concert for a princess
Children stand in a circle. Have one child leave the room and designate a conductor among the others. Each musical instrument will be mimed by the performers, with or without a violin, flute, piano, drum, guitar, or trumpet. The player who left the room must guess who the conductor is.

SOCIAL AND MORAL ACTIVITIES

Special Day - Masked Ball

(Open perpetual calendar - masked ball) For the occasion, we suggest you organize a fancy clothes day. Your masked ball should include the usual; music, decorations, dancing, balloons, tablecloth decorated by the children, garlands, and crowns. A special snack could be composed of grape juice in plastic wine glasses, cheese and fruit brochettes, and a buffet for lunch. Don't forget to take pictures of everyone dressed up in their fanciest attire! You may want to invite parents to join you. There is no limit to your imagination. (Open invitation special day) Print and distribute.

Knights' and princesses' parade
Find a large cardboard box. Decorate it together to make a float. Paint children's faces. Use lace, fabric, and ribbons as costumes for the princesses. Add capes to the knights. Give each participant a musical instrument and parade about the streets of your neighborhood.

The knight
Place children two by two. One child is the horse and the other child (the knight) rides on his back. The knight places a certain number of fingers over the horse's head to form horns. Once the child playing the role of the horse guesses the correct number of horns, he becomes the knight.

London Bridge
Choose two children to form the bridge by joining their hands above their heads. These two players secretly choose a color; gold or silver. The other children stand in a line and pass under the bridge singing:

London Bridge is falling down
Falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down

My fair lady

When you sing the words "My fair lady", the children forming the bridge lower their arms capturing another player under the bridge. The prisoner must choose a color (gold or silver) and stand behind the player who had originally chosen the same color. The game continues until all the children have been captured. Count the children in each team, gold and silver, and declare which team wins.

I have a fancy castle
Divide the group into two teams. Each team faces the other, standing at one end of the daycare. One group at a time, they move forward and backwards reciting the following song:

• (The first group moves forward and backwards saying)
  I have a grand castle, la la la, la la la la la. I have a grand castle, la la la, la la la la la
  
  
• (The second group moves forward and backwards saying)
  Our castle is much grander, la la la la la la la la. Our castle is much grander la la la la la la la la
  
  
• (The first group moves forward and backwards again saying)
  It will tumble down la la la, la la la la la. It will tumble down la la la, la la la la la
  
  
• (The second group moves forwards and backwards again saying)
  How could that happen? La la la, la la la la la. How could that happen? La la la, la la la la la
  
  
• (The first group moves forward and backwards again saying)
  We will remove a stone la la la, la la la la la. We will remove a stone la la la, la la la la la
  
  
• (The second group moves forwards and backwards again saying)
  Which stone will you remove? La la la, la la la la la. Which stone will you remove? La la la, la la la la la.
  
  
• (The first group moves forward and backwards again saying)
  We will take (Example: Julie's) stone la la la, la la la la la. We will take Julie's stone la la la, la la la la la.
  
  
• In this example, Julie would change groups and the game would begin all over again. The group which was second previously begins the second round.

ARTS & CRAFTS
(Open king's and queen's crown) Print the model. Trace it onto a piece of cardboard covered with aluminum paper. Cut out and decorate with anything shiny you have on hand. Next, measure children's heads, adjust the size, and staple the crown.

Princess costume
Drape children with lace curtains or pieces of fabric. Add jewellery. Paint small stars on their cheeks and add sparkles. Don't forget the crown!

Knight costume
Use a black garbage bag. Cut it so it is open on the sides like a cape. Make a loose knot. Add the crown!

Jewellery
(Print jewel models) Cut a 2 cm wide strip of colored construction paper. With glue, overlap the diamonds on the strip of paper, alternating colors.

Mask
(Open mask - masked ball) Provide children with flamboyant colored material to make their masks: feathers, shiny paint, felt, sparkles. Tie a string behind children's heads.

Sword
(Open sword) Cut out the model in very heavy cardboard. Children paint and decorate their swords as they wish.

Harp
Arrange rubber bands around an empty styrofoam tray originally used for meat or vegetables. Children make music with their harps.

COLORING PAGES
(Open coloring pages theme - knights and princesses)

SONGS & RHYMES

I'm a knight
Sung to: Mary had a little lamb

by: Patricia Morrison

I'm a knight in shining armor,
Shining armor, shining armor
I'm a knight in shining armor,
I'll marry the princess

We'll gallop away upon my horse,
Upon my horse, upon my horse
We'll gallop away upon my horse
Into the sunset

We'll live in a fairytale,
Fairytale, fairytale
We'll live in a fairytale
In our own castle

Ever seen a princess?

Sung to: Have you ever seen a Lassie
By: Patricia Morrison

Have you ever seen a princess,
A princess, a princess

Have you ever seen a princess
With a crown all aglow

Have you ever seen a princess,
A princess, a princess

Have you ever seen a princess
Dance on her toes

Have you ever seen a princess,
A princess, a princess

Have you ever seen a princess
Curtsey just so

Have fun!

The Educatall team