Just Another Manic Monday (or Wednesday)

A Crafty "Tutorial" and what's that? More books about Knights and Dragons?! Seriously? Yup.

May 22, 2024

Hello beautiful humans! I am learning that Mondays are the wrong days for me to publish my newsletter, especially in the spring because our weekends are full of beautiful things like adventures and outings, parties and pools, magic and minor meltdowns. (Who is melting down the most, the kids or me?? I’ll never tell). So, I am going to start dropping into your inboxes on Wednesday mornings. Do you love it? I love it. (I got it at Ross).

I hope this change doesn’t even cause a blip in your radar and that you continue to check out amazing kid-lit books for those small children who you happen upon in life.

I have got a fun newsletter coming up for my History of Learning to Read Series all about Dick & Jane, so keep your eyes peeled for that. This week I spent most of my spare time scouring the internet for party package deals and last minute deciding to create 15 cardboard shields and foam swords for kids to decorate at the 5th & 3rd combination Knight and Dragon birthday bash.

My 5-year-old’s loves playing he is a knight, and my 3-year-old very firmly identifies as part (mostly) dragon. Do you want a quick 15 step “tutorial” on how to make amazing cardboard shields and foam swords for your own knights? Let’s go!

After deciding super last minute that this will be your party activity and trying to find quality craft shields for decorating both at local craft stores and on Amazon, realize that nothing is quite what you are looking for and decide that if you are going to do it you are going to do it yourself. GO BIG OR GO HOME. Realize this on Wednesday before your Saturday party.
Know in your head that you will likely use that large cardboard box in the garage that your sons’ new bike came in. Keep this knowledge in the back of your mind as you go about your day making snacks, cleaning snacks, making lunch, cleaning lunch, etc etc. Do not even look at the box to determine whether or not this will work but maintain a false sense of confidence that it will be perfect.
See a pile of cardboard on a nearby street on your morning walk/jog which you are being really good about doing because you told your sister you’d run a 5K with her when you go up to visit in one month and you are woefully unprepared but trying to get there. Consider lugging the large parcel of cardboard with you for the final two blocks but decide against it so your neighbors will still talk to you. Task your husband with grabbing it on his way to work that day. Make sure he forgets to unload said cardboard until the 11th hour so that even if you did manage to turn intention into action (cue laugh track), there would be no actionable material.
Friday afternoon have your husband look for the images of “shield-like decorations — you know, lions and dragons and stuff” so he can print them out using the school printer. Thanks taxpayers!
On Friday night, at 9 PM, after the kids are in bed and you are already pretty exhausted, go take a look at that cardboard situation in the garage. Then, DIVE IN.
Set up your working station (ie, scatter everything on the living room rug you think you might need) and start by tracing and cutting out your first cardboard shield using nothing but flimsy hand-me-down scissors that possibly came with the house? Nobody knows the origin story of these scissors. They just appeared one day. When the scissors protest against the strain by popping off their little red screw-covers, tell them that is inappropriate and make them work harder.
Remember that you also have to cut out the printouts your husband brought home and decide that you and your scissors may be better equipped for that job. Nimble fingers. Flimsy paper. Task your husband with the cardboard and suggest he try to find the box cutter. Ignore any sighing.
Try putting on 30 Rock in the background to “watch” hoping that Tina Fey will do what she does and bring levity to every situation, including this one. Wonder if this is what Taylor really meant when she sang “Death by a Thousand Cuts.”
Check the time. Only midnight. Many hours to go before the battle at dawn….head down, carry on. Avoid being clocked by the sheilds your husband is flinging across the house at you as you dig out the hot glue gun.
Send your hubs to bed, box cutter bruised. Put on your Libby romance book, refuse to check the time, and plug in that hot glue gun to afix every shield with a functioning handle. Things are getting hot. Literally and Literaturally.
midnight rendezvous with my trusty scissors, romance novel, and hot glue gun.
Decide that shields are all the kids are getting! You are done! The kids will love them! The party starts in less than ten hours. You have to sleep. Collapse into bed, hot glue gun residue peeling off your fingertips.
Dawn breaks, birds chirping, the glorious sound of the coffee maker kicking into life, your children padding barefoot with tumbleweed hair moving through their morning routines. It is with a certain surrender that rattles through your underslept body that you understand the pool noodles and spare cardboard will be your extra morning party prep task. No true knight has ever held tight a shield without a brandishing their trusty sword. And so you and the boxcutter and your bruised thumb sit with a sigh. You are making swords at dawn.
Set up an inviting art table at the party only to realize it has obviously shrunk since yesterday. Where to put all these sheilds, swords, crowns and supplies?! WING IT! Supplies include: paint sticks, shield decal cut outs, glue sticks, markers, stickers, jewel decals, some random flower papercuts you had leftover from a baby shower you helped throw. It is a free for all.
Explain the rules of shield creation to the kids: “Have at it! There are no rules!” Creativity has free reign at this table. Except gently encourage them to not horde the sparkle jewels like dragons horde treasure because there are a lot of kids coming and we need to share the sparkly jewels. Wonder as you watch the sparkly jewels rapidly deplete if there is a learning opportunity waiting somehow, like “you gotta show up first to get the sparkles.”
Revel in the success of the happy children who spend the entire two hours of the party playing at some distant fort, trudging through magical realms, and defeating terrible dragons, returning to the art station time and again to add new flare to their sheilds, swords and crowns. WORTH IT.
Happy little jewel horders creating their sheilds
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LIT TIP

Kids want to imagination play all the time. It can be….a lot. If you are scraping the bottom of the barrel for what to pretend your lego character does next, look for inspiration in the stories you have been reading! Make storybooks come alive by acting out the plotlines with your legos, dinosaur figurines, stuffed animals, dress-up, Tupperware (anybody else’s kids always playing with the things that are not meant to be toys?), or your surroundings at the neighborhood park. Your couch cushions could become horses, a castle fort, or islands afloat in the sea.

FROM THE STAX

THE PAPER BAG PRINCESS by Robert Munsch Illustrated by Michael Martchenko

When a terrible dragon burns down her castle, steals her fiance, and leaves her with nothing but a paper bag to wear, Princess Elizabeth has to figure out how to solve the problem by herself. Using her quick wit and serious skill she defeats the dragon only to find her Prince Charming is a little less than charming in the end.

I love this book. I loved it as a child, I love it as an adult. I am thrilled to read it to my kids and to pass along the message of resilience, the value of being clever and self-assured, and the twist ending that always puts a smile on my face. Princess Elizabeth proves that nobody needs a prince to get things done. Go girl.

THE STORYBOOK KNIGHT by Helen & Thomas Docherty

Leo basically only wants to read and is less ready to slay dragons and foes like he should. When his parents send him packing to find a dragon, Leo makes sure to take his favorite books along too, which prove to be an unexpected asset as he travels through the realm and faces all kinds of beastly foe.

With a sing-song rhyme and a book loving adorable pacifist protagonist, what isn’t there to love about this book? We love that it teaches kids the power that sharing a good story has the potential overcome conflict. Plus my littlest loves a book with rhyming rhythm.

LANCELOT by Hudson Talbott

Lancelot, saved by the mysterious Lady of the Lake, raised as a champion, presented to the king, and found worthy as a knight, adventuring through the realm slaying dragons, rescuing damsels, meeting Elaine the Fair, being driven mad by his love of Guinevere. The legends are here, condensed into an exciting and easy to follow narrative. My youngest (nearly 3) likes to describe the delightfully detailed pictures in her own words, while my oldest follows the story of betrayal and battles.

We keep checking out these types of titles and I always find them to be surprisingly enjoyable. The style doesn’t initially appeal to me, but once I start to read I find both the text and illustrations to be full and rich, with depth and texture. They feel like books that are written for the love of the story, and not for pandering to the audience. These books also fuel the best imaginative play and encourage my budding storytellers to use powerful language and go on epic adventures.

BABY DRAGON by Amy Ehrlich Illustrated by Will Hillenbrand

Baby Dragon has to sit on the riverbank and wait for his mother, who said she would be back in the morning. But the waiting is proving to be very hard. He had to turn down his friends who invited him to swim and to play, he promised to wait right where he was for his mothers return. But when Crocodile comes by with the oh too tempting offer to take Baby Dragon to his mother, how can Baby Dragon resist?

Let me clap for a book whose main lesson is: listen to your mother or get almost eaten by a crocodile. Thinking of trying out that reason for the next time.

DUNCAN THE STORY DRAGON by Amanda Driscoll

Duncan loves stories more than anything. Or at least he would, if he could ever get to the end of one. Problem is, he gets too excited and can’t stop himself from burning every book he is trying to read. One day, he meets a little friend who has big ideas on how to solve Duncan’s fiery problem.

Everything is more fun with a friend. Even reading a book. My oldest has started to read to my youngest and my heart explodes every time. No fire extinguisher necessary.

any book purchased through my bookshop.org links will help fund this newsletter at no extra cost to you, so thank you for your support!

What is the latest obsession in your household? If you drop a comment below I may just curate a short stack of suggestions based on whatever topic is hot in your household in the upcoming weeks! Goodness knows I could use a detour around the castles! Know a knight and dragon loving family? Consider sharing Library Stax so they can get some great book recommendations!

Are you a wait ‘til the 11th hour kinda person, or do you (sensibly) try to manage your time and spread big projects over a couple of days?

Thanks so much for being here. I hope you are having fun as spring starts warming us all up and filling our world with color. See you next week and happy reading y’all!