Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Ye Olde Dollar Tree

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I rewarded my son for his good doctor visit with medieval accessories from Dollar Tree.

Since then, I've been consumed with mommy guilt about buying this plastic stuff. We could have whittled our own sword and designed a shield with paints and cardboard.

It's not just supporting the petroleum industry or possible child labor that bothers me--I know that the low, low price came at a high cost for my son's education.

The making of "Knight Andrew" would have been more fun (and memorable) if we had done it with our own hands. Still, it's a pretty cool helmet for $1, and the sword makes its own battle noise.


To compensate for my lazy momdom, we checked out a Kaleidoscope Kids Book called Knights and Castles: 50 Hands-On Activities To Experience The Middle Ages.

We do trick-or-treat with family, but we are often invited to non-Halloween costume parties and church harvest festivals this time of year. Our plan is to choose a historical costume and spend the month of October studying its context.

Knights and Castles is full of fun facts, games, plays, and crafts to help us do just that. Perhaps next year I will plan a little better and resist the lure of Ye Olde Dollar Tree.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've never made my own helmet (my son got a beautiful one from my MIL for Christmas last year from Willow Tree Toys) and a shield from Magic Cabin, but I have made some awesome foam padded wooden swords. I'll be happy to share the design some time with you if you ever get in the mood to make one. They hurt a lot less than the plastic ones.

Meredith said...

Yes, I would love to hear how you designed those! It would be good to have several swords here at the house so the other friends don't have to use sticks :)

We're planning on Wild Oats tomorrow, thanks to your tip!