Inspired by our Medieval kit from Koala Crate, we had to continue the fun with more games of knights and kings! Travis has a Disney plastic broadsword, so this Medieval mama couldn’t wait to show him how to make a shield to go along with it.

Start with a piece of cardboard roughly the size of your child’s chest, and trim the bottom edge into a point to make a shield shape.

Next we covered the shield in foil for a shiny metal look, securing on the back with masking tape.

It’s starting to look like the Middle Ages around here!

Travis adored the next step, outlining the edges of his shield in colorful duct tape. I knew I’d need all those colorful rolls that have been taking up space in our craft bin eventually!

Any pretty washy tape would work great here as well, and you can tape designs on the interior of the shield as well as the edges, if your child would like.

We then talked a little about coats of arms, and how knights used them to distinguish one another in battle. Travis drew a “lion” as his sigil.

Older kids may want to do some online research and pull up information about real coats of arms, or learn about the symbolism in many of the designs. You can draw a more complicated coat of arms on paper, and tape that onto the shield. If drawing directly onto the foil, make sure you use sharpie markers; washable markers will rub right off.

For the handle, tape two pieces of colored duct tape together, leaving one longer than the other. Apply the sticky ends of the long tape to the back for the shield in an arc. Now your knight has something to hold on to.

Behold brave Sir Travis!

Then it was time for a sword fight of course. Haha, that’s me wielding a Nerf bat to battle my son.