Homemade Pirate Costumes from Free Printables, Recycle Bin

Summer approaches--time for homemade fun! My kids spent their holidays dreaming up adventure, creating suitable costumes, scenery and sets and writing them into impromptu theater productions in the back yard.  Their raw materials came from dress up boxes and the recycle bin. Here's a guide for pirate themed adventure, from costume to pirate ship to buried treasure! I've including loads of links for free printable pirate crafts, costumes, treasure maps, Jolly Roger flags, model ships and more! Use for skits, plays--Captain Hook, Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean, Treasure Island. Or make up your own pretend adventures! Pirate Themed Boy Birthday Party Activities, Homemade and Cheap

Homemade Medieval, Bible Character Costumes and Props

Putting on a religious themed play? Dressing as a Bible character for Halloween? Maybe Mardi Gras or a costume party? These work for medieval costumes, too. Here are props and symbols for major Biblical figures. I've included men and women. Bible costumes may look similar, so using props will help identify who you are. This Bible character symbols list will make a great party game like 'Who Am I?', Bible scavenger hunt or Bible 'Sword Drill'. This list of Bible characters is taken from the older, more comprehensive Catholic Douay-Rhiems Bible. These characters are in somewhat Biblical chronological order.  Props for Bible Character Costumes: Halloween, Vacation Bible School, All Saints Day

Homemade Castle Props for, Theatre Play

Snow is great for winter play, but near-zero wind chills aren't. During the holidays, there's usually enough to keep homebound kids occupied. But around February, creativity wears thin and winter blues set in. Here's a cheap, cabin fever reliever for kids and parents--homemade castle. These crafts work well for preschool dramatic play, children's theatre or improv plays. Perfect an easy Shakespeare play--Romeo and Juliet balcony scence. Cheap, Kids' Cabin Fever Reliever: Homemade Castle

Homemade Theater, dramatic play area, puppet theater

As a special needs and former Montessori teacher, my classrooms have always been organized on the learning center principle. Learning centers are rotational play areas were children perform tasks related to specific content areas: math, reading, science, art, practical life, dramatic play. When I had children, I imported the learning center philosophy into my home. The play room was set up like a modified preschool classroom. Got toddler or preschool age kids? I highly recommend setting up learning centers. If you're homeschooling, learning centers are a must. Here's how this Montessori mom designed an at-home dramatic play area.  Montessori mom: At-home preschool dramatic play learning center