Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Theme for Preschool

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Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Preschool Theme!  Preschoolers love fantasy play and this theme "plays" right into that!  There is so much potential draw children into learning with this theme!

Let's get planning for some great make believe play and learning!

You can either scroll down through this page to see all of the preschool activities for your theme or click the link below to go to specific preschool activity types you are looking for.

You'll find more themes to help you with your planning on my preschool themes page.

CASTLES Art Activities Block Area Circle Time Activities Cooking Recipes Dramatic Play Ideas Easel Ideas Gross Motor Games Library and Literacy Math And Manipulatives Activities Music and Movement Sand and Water Table Science Activities Writing Activities Miscellaneous Ideas

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Art Activities

Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Theme Art

In the Forest

Provide large pieces of newsprint.  Encourage the children to work together to paint a forest mural.

Talk about and show pictures of what the forest looks like.

Paint trees, flowers, forest critters, paths.

When dry, hang outside your classroom.  This is the forest before you enter the Castle:  your classroom!

Or, hang on the walls in your dramatic play area!

Crowns

Materials Needed: cardboard crown stencils, large construction paper in a variety of colors, glue, miscellaneous arts and crafts, marker, scissors

The children trace their choice of crown design stencil onto large construction paper and cut it out.

The children add their own decor to their crown.

When dry, fit onto the child's head and staple.  (I usually tape the staples to cover them.  They sometimes will catch in the children's hair).

Note:  If you are using heavy craft materials (jewels or the like), you may want to use heavier paper than construction paper so it does not rip, such as tagboard.

Princess Hats  

Roll construction paper into a cone shape and secure after the children have painted and decorated.

Attach ribbons, streamers or transparent and glittery fabric from the top.

Knight Helmets

Needed:  1 plastic milk or water gallon jug for each child; craft glue; miscellaneous craft supplies

Cut the tops off and cut them to only cover the top, back and sides of the head.

The children decorate by gluing their choice of items on.

Magic Wands

Materials needed:  long paint sticks (the ones you mix gallons of paint with.  Most stores will donate them to you); markers; stencils of star shapes; cardboard; hot glue gun

The children decorate their stick with markers.  

They trace a star (or other shape) onto cardboard and cut out (you may need to pre-cut--cardboard is difficult to cut for preschoolers).

The children paint and glitter the star.

Hot glue or tape the star on the end of their magic wand!

VARIATION:  One teacher simply had children decorate (with crayons) a colored piece of construction paper.  

When done, she rolled the paper up tightly and used clear tape to cover it for basic magic wands.

Castle Flags or Banners

Materials needed:  poster board cut into smaller rectangles; paint, glitter, glue

Show the children different pictures of flag books.

The children design their own flags to display around the classroom "castle"!

Preschool Castle Flags

Materials needed:  poster board cut into rectangular, banner shapes, glue, glitter, jewels, paint

The children design banners to hang around the classroom.

Dragons

Materials:  cardboard egg cartons, wiggly eyes, paint, pipe cleaners (red, yellow and orange for fire).

Yup, and you thought egg cartons were only for making caterpillars!

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Block Area

Castle Dragons Kings and Queens Theme Block Center Ideas

Castle Building

Of course!  Now, get creative here.  Do you have blocks put away that you only bring out once in a while?

I know this may seem like a lot, but the creativity it will encourage is worth it.

Provide ALL of your blocks at the block area!  Include blocks like:

Plastic Waffle Blocks

Colored Cardboard Blocks

Unit Blocks

Cereal boxes:  Yes!  In advance ask parents to save cereal boxes!  They make AMAZING building blocks!!!

Colored Wooden Blocks (you know, the ones you usually have for the math center).

Provide paper and scissors for the children to make banners and flags for their castles.

Provide small lunch bags for the children to open and then crumple up to represent rocks.

Provide blue paper to make a mote.

Add alligators, dragons and a play castle with knights and horses.

EXTENSION:  If you decide to use cereal boxes...make it an ongoing castle building event.

As the children build, glue or tape the boxes together and you'll have a castle by the end of one week!

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Circle Time Activities

Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Theme Circle Time Ideas

Circle Time is such a great time for children to learn the social skills of being together as a large group AND to learn more about your theme!

Fingerplays and Such for Circle Time related to

Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Theme

Five Little Monkeys

Okay, not castle related, but possibly has to do with the moat!

Five little monkeys sitting in a tree,

Teasing Mr. Crocodile: “You can’t catch me!”

Along comes Mr. Crocodile

As quiet as can be and…SNAP!

Four little monkeys sitting in a tree…

Three little monkeys sitting in a tree…

Two little monkeys sitting in a tree…

One little monkey sitting in a tree,

All the little monkeys are still sitting in the tree,

As the crocodile swims away they say "Ha ha!  You missed me!"

Five Queens Finger play

There were five queens on a quest (Hold up five fingers)

To see who was the very best (Wiggle fingers)

The first queen went to take a test (Touch thumb)

The second queen said, I’ll go out west (Touch index finger)

The third queen climbed Mount Everest (Touch middle finger)

The fourth queen made a beautiful vest (Touch ring finger)

The fifth queen said, I’ll just take a rest. (Touch little finger)

The Queen of Hearts

The Queen of Hearts, She made some tarts,

All on a summer's day.

The Knave of Hearts, he stole the tarts,

And took them clean away.

The King of Hearts, called for the tarts,

And scolded the knave full bore.

The Knave of Hearts, brought back the tarts,

And vowed he'd steal no more.

Five Kind Kings

This would be even more fun and engaging for the children if you had pictures or flannel pieces to place on a board while telling it!

5 kind kings sitting in the castle.

1 went out to find the queen.  Oh, What a Hassle!

4 kind kings eating at the table.

1 went out to find his field with its own label.

3 kind kings sitting on their thrones.

1 went out to give the dragon some delicious bones.

2 kind kings putting on their crowns.

1 dropped his and it fell to the ground.

1 kind king went to the keep (a keep is a tower in the castle),

He climbed on his bed and he fell fast asleep!

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Cooking Recipes

Snack Recipe Ideas to Cook Up for Your Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Theme!

Cooking with children helps develop their math skills and helps them to learn how to follow directions. It also allows for some great conversation! Ask many questions while cooking with your children to encourage conversation! Be sure to ask specific themed questions while making these fun snacks!

Banana Muffins

Make your favorite banana muffins with the children.

When cooked, place a chocolate coin on top!

Medieval Mash

Needed:  Mini Graham cracker pie shells (one for each child), pudding, milk, spoons, 

The children help you to measure and mix the pudding.

They help to scoop pudding into a pie shell using a spoon.

Refrigerate and enjoy!

Fit for Royalty

In medieval times, food was typically presented to please the eye as well as the tummy!

Have your children "paint" onto sugar cookie dough using water with a bit of food coloring before baking them.

You can also do this with milk and food coloring on bread before toasting!

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Dramatic Play Ideas

Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Theme Ideas to Transform Your Dramatic Play Area

Pony Express

Notices of all kinds were delivered by horse during medieval times.

Make a writing center in your dramatic play area.  Glue feathers onto markers and pens.  Make scrolls by rolling up paper.  Provide ribbon to tie off the messages.  

The children use stick ponies or pretend ponies to deliver messages.

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Easel Ideas

Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Theme Ideas for your Easel--

More Than Just Painting (Although that is always THE favorite in our classroom!)

Create A Castle

Encourage children to create their own castles at the easel this week. Provide different types of brushes:

Thin and thick tradition brushes for painting but also foam brushes to learn how to "sponge" paint as well!

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Gross Motor Games

Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Theme Large Group Games 

that help build their muscles while they have fun together

Castle Bowling

In advance, turn 2 liter plastic bottles into bowling pins by adding some clip art on the outside.  Perhaps they will look like stones for the castles, or dragons!

Parade Day With Some Fanfare!

Have a castle dress up day!  Children come in their favorite castle attire or they use the items from dramatic play to dress up.

Go on a parade throughout your school using kazoos to announce the group!

Obstacle Course

Set up an obstacle course in a large area or outside.  Theme it!  Call it the Enchanted Forest!  Call the items by names that go along with it such as "Go AROUND the tree stump (which might be a trash can!), etc.

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Library and Literacy

Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Theme Ideas for Your Library and Literacy Activities for your Preschool Classroom

Castle Word Wall

Place words with pictures on the library wall:

Castles, princess, queen, king, moat, knight, crocodile, etc.

Puppet Fun

Add medieval puppets in the library for the children to act out some of their favorite stories.

Book Suggestions for the Library for the theme of:

Castles Dragons Kings and Queens

(I LOVE Amazon, and some of the links below will take you to the Amazon website.  If you do choose to purchase yours through Amazon, they do send me a few cents--which supports my coffee habit! )

Barbar the King by Jean De Brunhoff

Castle by David McAulay

Castles, Caves, and Honeycombs by Linda Ashman

Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? by Carmela LaVigna Coyle

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin

A Dragon Moves In by Lisa Falkenstern

Get Well, Good Knight by Shelley Moore Thomas

Good Night, Good Knight by Shelly Moore Thomas

I Want My Dinner! by Tony Ross

In the Castle by Anna Milbourne

King Jack and the Dragon by Michael Yu and Rachel Yu

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood

The King Who Rained by Fred Gwynne

The King and the SeedThe King and the SeedThe King and the Seed by Eric Maddern

The Magical Dragon's Three Gifts by Rachel Yu

May I Bring a Friend? by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers

No Dragons for Tea: Fire Safety for Kids (and Dragons) by Jean E. Pendziwol and Marting Gourbault

Over at the Castle by Boni Ashburn

The Pet Dragon by Christoph Niemann

The Popcorn Dragon by Janet Thayer

Princess Grace and Poppy by Jeanna Young

The Princess and the Pizza by Mary Jane Auch

The Princess Twins and the Tea Party by Mona Hodgson

The Red Wolf by Margaret Shannon

Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran

The Royal Mice: The Sword and the Horn by Loretta Krupinski

The Usborne Book of Castle Tales by Heather Amery

The Very Smart Pea and the Princess-to-be by Mini Grey

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Math And Manipulatives Activities

Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Theme Activities to help your Preschoolers develop math skills as well as develop those small muscles in their hands!

Dragon Lacing

I don't know where I got these dragons, they have been in my folder for years!  I'm sure you can find a shape online that you'd like to use.

Trace dragons onto sturdy cardboard and then laminate and hole punch around the outside (where the dots are on my picture).

Then provide lacing strings!

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Music and Movement

Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Theme Music and Movement Activities and Ideas to get your Preschoolers Movin' and Groovin'!

Royal Dancing

Give each child a streamer to dance with.  Play medieval music (like baroque) or some classical and then fast music.

The King in the Castle

This is like The Farmer in the Dell, but you change the words to fit the theme:

The King takes a queen; 

The Queen takes a jester; 

The Jester takes a paige;

The Paige takes a knight; 

The Knight knees before the king; etc.

London Bridge

Play this traditional game with the children!

Old King Cole

Old King Cole, was a merry old soul, and a merry old soul was he,

He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl,

And he called for his, fiddlers three.

And every fiddler , had a fine fiddle,

And a very fine fiddle had he.

Oh there's none so rare, as can compare,

With King Cole

And his fiddlers three. 

All Around the Castle

(Sung to Pop Goes the Weasel)

Another fun one to act out!

All around the castle 

The knight chased the dragon 

The dragon thought it was all in fun 

ROAR went the dragon!

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Sand and Water Table

Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Theme Activities for the Senses!

Ice Castle

In advance, make many trays of ice cubes with food coloring in them!

Provide the ice cubes with mittens, teaspoons and salt.

The children build castles using the different ice cubes.  The salt helps melt some of the ice so that two cubes will stick together!

Build a Moat

Provide water, spoons, alligators, large craft sticks and little people to your sand table.

The children use the spoons to dig a moat and then add water to the moat.

Use the craft sticks as a way to get across the moat.

If you have a small play castle, add that to the middle!

VARIATION:  Instead of plain sand, mix sand and cornstarch with water to make "moonsand"!

Play in the Moat

Place blue coloring into your water at the water table.

Provide water wheels and other props (people, horses, leaves, alligators).

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Science Activities

Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Theme Science Activities--for your Preschool Scientists in Training!

Jewel Inspector

Provide magnifying glasses, different colors and shapes of glass jewels, beads, rocks and coins.

Let the children inspect, compare and investigate!

Provide journals for the children to draw what they find!

Peasant Gardening

The workers, or peasants, tended the farms and gardens for the royal family.

Provide soil, seeds, paper cups and water to plant a flower garden.

The children can sort and investigate the seeds one day.

Plant the next day.

And use journals to chart the growth throughout your theme!

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Writing Activities

Writing Activity Ideas for Your Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Theme!

Special Scrolls

In advance, cut large brown grocery bags into large squares.  Crinkle the pieces up and spray with a solution of water and vinegar.  Let dry. Uncrinkle.

They will look like old parchments!  Put these in the Writing Center for this theme!

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Miscellaneous Ideas

Miscellaneous Activities for Your Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Theme!

Flags

Hang different flags around your room.  Have many non-fiction flag books available throughout your classroom.

Castles of the Past

Find pictures online (or in books) print/copy and hang throughout your classroom.

Visit a Castle

Is there an old castle in your town that is now something else, like a restaurant?  Do some research and take a field trip!

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Go to the Fairy Tales Theme for more ideas

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Go to MAIN THEMES page from this Castles Dragons Kings and Queens Page

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Go to Preschool Plan-It's Home Page

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