New Armour for Our Little Knight

One of the many things my Dear Man and I love about our Little Man is his terrific imagination and his extended engagement in role playing. One of the read alouds that Dear Man did with him was a version of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Little Man was enthralled! He began to find anything he could to allow him to pretend to be a knight: paper towel rolls, old boxes, etc. One day, over a year and a half ago, he used an empty diaper box to fabricate some body armour. My Girl got involved, and together they fashioned a very functional and creative set that allowed him to put it on and off over his head, and hold his sword.


Little Man used this armour daily, completely unconcerned by the pictures and words on the box; he was a knight and there was nothing that would stop him from doing knightly things.


When Dear Man and I saw how committed he was to this armour, we decided to spring for some silver spray paint to make it more knightly. We took the cardboard into the garage, sprayed, allowed it to dry, and out came this:



Little Man was pleased with this improvement. This was armour a knight could shine in!

But there was a slight problem. The armour was difficult to put on and involved bodily contortions that no knight should have to subject himself to. So, My Girl made some alterations and we then had this:

If you look carefully you can see that the chest flap was separated from the rest and fasteners were attached so that it could be put on and off more easily. Truly an improvement, although the helmet was always rather wobbly!

This armour was used almost daily for over a year and a half. It went through several meters of duct tape (which, we are so thankful, was silver and so the repairs were not traumatic). It was used by Brown Eyed Boy, and visiting friends, too, and was the source of hours of entertainment.

In early December our family celebrated St. Nicholas Day. (More about that in another post.) The highlight of the morning for Little Man was opening up a large bundle which held a new helmet and breastplate, and a note indicating that there was more to the surprise in the playroom downstairs. He raced to the basement and found our life-sized stuffed golden retriever puppy sporting a shield and sword. My Girl once again stepped in to assist and got him all decked out in his new equipment.

Little Man has worn this new armour daily since then. He cares for it lovingly, hanging the pieces on hooks in his room at night and carrying them down in the morning.

So here's the valiant knight in his new armour, ready to defend, protect, and attack when necessary: