Creative Café: Castle

Today I'm sharing about a Creative Café idea I had a few years ago. I have to admit that normally these sort of time-consuming crafty activities are not on my radar, but we happened to have a few Thrive Market boxes and had just finished reading Henry and Mudge and the Long Weekend by Cynthia Rylant, which features a family making a cardboard box castle. 

I did the cutting and assembling, and then let my oldest two paint the castle (one on either side). We kept cardboard around the outside edges so they could paint a river, and we made a drawstring bridge for the moat. Our café refreshments were lemonade and trail mix while we waited for the castle to dry!

I was pleasantly surprised that playing with their small dolls and cars alongside the castle kept them entertained in the shade of the garage throughout a hot summer week. 

Probably my favorite part of this little project was how it led to conversations about kingdoms, kings and queens, knights and princesses. Understanding about a kingdom ruled by a fair and just leader helps prepare them for conversations about the Kingdom of Heaven. I'm learning that I don't need to make explicit connections just yet (unless they come up naturally), but that I can teach them about the honor and respect one should give to the rulers of the kingdom, knowing that these connections can help my children understand the honor and respect we give to Jesus, King of Kings.

I'm beginning to collect picture books that help make these kingdom connections. You can find my running list here!