Dragon Quest
Have the children make the Dragon eggs (see crafts) and present them to the Royals (with the crown's permission of coarse). Informing the Crown that there must be a Dragon in the kingdom. The King and Queen, being very surprised are then informed by a herald, that a chest containing the Royals favorite foods, was missing and that Dragon foot prints had been found at the scene. (placed ahead of time). The king then charges the children of his kingdom to find the beast and return the chest.
After being charged with hunting down the dragon, give the children boffer or foam swords. Walk them along the preplanned route making sure to really play up the clues and discuss what they are or what might have happened. After finding many clues and asking people what they have seen, the children find the Dragon sitting on the Royals goodie chest. Let the kids chase him a bit and hit him before getting a rope around him. Take the Dragon and the chest back to the craft area and sing the "Bad Old Dragon song" thus taming the Dragon. The children can show the dragon how to bow before the king and how to remain quiet while in court. Have the children take the Dragon (on a rope)and the chest to court. Present them to the Crown showing how they have tamed the beast and given him proper courtly manors. The King and Queen, being very impressed with the children of their Kingdom give the children the contents of the chest (candy, cookies) to share and make the Dragon an official "Friend" of the relm.
You will need:
Several volunteers
Dragon footprint Stencil (cut from heavy paper works well)
Powdered sugar and sifter
Chest of goodies
Dragon looking costume for one BIG volunteer
Face paint
Boffer swords and shields
Large piece of rope
Assorted items for clues--colored fur, really large dog bones or plastic Halloween bones, ripped or torn garb in a pile
Ahead of time, have volunteers set out powdered sugar footprints on a pre-planned route. Set clues along the way such as colored dragon fur or scales on bushes and on the ground. Have toppled tents and a messed up camping area that the dragon has just smashed through. Set a pile of bones to show he has just had a meal and leave pile of torn clothing on the ground…who was that? Ashes can be placed where the kids knew something else was before. Dragons breath is very hot! Set volunteers to answer questions along the way pointing out where they saw the Dragon. Get creative here, make your clues large and clear. You want the kids to find them easily. Set enough clues to keep them busy for an hour or so. Any longer and they will grow bored. Pre-planning is the trick here!
REMEMBER: Keep it light!!!! This is supposed to be fun. Silly play-acting done with good humor will entertain the kids and keep them involved. Keep it funny! Get lots of the populous involved. Make clues big and easy to find. No Blood!--This is just too much for some kids. This is a good game to teach proper courtly manors. Talk about when, how and to whom do you bow? Discuss being still and quiet in court so you can hear whats going on. This way they will be able to reinforce these good habits when they teach the Dragon.
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