Dragon and Halloween

Dragons are one of the favorite characters to be carved out on pumpkins. Using light, these can look stunning. People like to display these at home. Most of such activities are better suited for older kids and adults. If you enjoyed Fall Activities for Kids, and the kids want to do such back-lit things, here's a simple one they can try.

Halloween by TRIUMPHSIX

Dav Pilkey has written a series of Dragon books. They are short and fun. Even adults enjoy them. Kids could draw the outline of Dragon from the books, and parents could help them cut it out. Here's a simple way to do this. 

1. Take a plain white paper bag. 

2. Get the kids to draw out Dragon

3. Put a piece of cardboard under it and help the child cut out the shape. 

4. Punch a few holes at the top of the bag to pretty up the bag. 

5. Place a tea light inside.

Darken the room and enjoy Dragon's silhouette this Halloween. You could make 2-3 of these and place them all around the room to have a Halloweeny atmosphere. 

Enjoy your Halloween!

Fall Dragon Activities for Kids

Fall signifies that cold weather is around the corner. Autumn which officially starts after the autumn equinox in Sep(23rd this year) is when nature prepares for the severeness of winter. Plants prepare in many ways - by ensuring seeds are dispersed, by saving energy, by making sure other saplings don't compete for resources and also making sure they have resources to start growing a new batch of leaves when the weather is good. People prepare too, especially in farming communities. When the kids are young they are the most enthusiastic. Stop saying 'no' to all that the kids suggest. Use your imagination and try out a few unusual things.

Balance by Reginald Pentinio

Here are some fall activities kids will definitely enjoy:

1. Dress up as a dragon

Get the dragon costumes out. Once dressed, ask the kids to jump through mounds of leaves. Make sure no one's annoyed. If there's grass under the leaves, suggest sliding on the leaves(warn the kids to be careful). Have you seen dogs enjoy leaves? Well, after the initial hesitation, kids will love this wild play. 

2. Make a corn dragon

This is a wonderful craft to strengthen young hands, learn textures from rough to fine and enjoy a healthy snack at the end of it. Gather a couple of ears of corn. Peel the green layer/husk off. You could get the kids to peel it off in single layers or many layers at one shot. Once peeled, use the husk to make funny craft. Play around. Pop of some corn to make designs on the cob. Attach it to the top of a stick and the kids have a fake spear. 

3. Create a Leaf Dragon 

Collect colorful leaves. Draw the outline of a big dragon. Know of dragon games? Use their dragon outlines to draw your own outlines. Stick or arrange the leaves using the indicative outline. Don't want to use paper? Arrange the leaves on the floor in the shape of  a dragon. Use sticks and stones to add features. 

4. Leafy dragons, anybody?!
Collect colorful leaves. Cut them out in the outline of simple dragons. Staple them one behind the other. Use these to decorate your windows, fences or even the trees in your garden.

5. Dragon collage
Collect a variety of natural materials like - chalk powder, dirt, sand, twigs, pebbles, clay, brick pieces or anything else you find. Use all these materials to make a 3d dragon. Build it. Use clay, brick pieces etc. to build the body of the dragon and then decorate it with the rest of the material. Use some fall leaves to make it a winged creature.

6. Pin the Dragon
Draw a nice big dragon. Blindfold the kids. Let them take turns to pin a tail on it. This can get loud and fun.

There are innumerable fall activities. For Halloween, you could use a pumpkin to make a bright orange dragon with autumn leaves pinned on it. The trick is to try out the easy ones. Once kids are comfortable with these, you can move on to more difficult crafts. Enjoy the color and prepare for the cold!

A Dragon Treasure Hunt for some Summer Fun

It's summer and kids love playing outdoors. A treasure hunt is something a bunch of kids would really enjoy even if its a mixed age group. What you need is plenty of imagination and patience. To make it a dragon themed one, get your dragon imagination out. Give your clues the dragon touch. Include dragon toys for collection to make it more exciting.

How to train your dragon 2 by Eva Rinaldi

This can be organized in a reasonably big yard. Keep in mind the youngest and the oldest child playing. Make sure they'll have a way to contribute. Maps are fun, so include a map of the yard and don't forget to mark a couple of unambiguous points to help kids use the map with ease.

Now, you can use ready made treasure hunt clues or make your own. Think of a starting point for the treasure hunt and a point where you hide the treasure. It should be weather proof. It's smart to keep the clue in a box even if it's hidden under some plants. Place them in hiding places which are easy to access.

Make sure the groups participating in the treasure hunt are more or less balanced in age to avoid some teams getting an unfair advantage. Clues must be simple and easy to understand. If clues stump teams, then the whole things comes to an abrupt halt. In case teams need a little help, be around to help them. To make it more fun, kids can paint their faces to be little dragons and then play.

Keep your camera ready to get some candid shots. It's great to look at images of times which have been enjoyed by the kids!

Go Boldly Where No Viking Has Gone Before

The new Viking Theme Park in Dubai would surprise the braids off any decent Viking. After the books, came the movies, then the science game and now this theme park. Don't have a dragon that you can fly in real life? Not to worry, just hop onto the ride and get a feeling of flight. It has been a few years in the making, but it's finally ready and you can look at the Viking world from the award winning inverted dark ride designed by Mack Rides.

Jack's Dreams by Juliette Urquiza

Best Things About an Imaginary Viking World(with dragons!)

The flying of course, assuming they have dragons and that they would allow us on their backs! The biggest thrill would be flying them and sharing the view of the world that they have.

Having hard fights. Knocking other Viking off their feet. Chucking weapons and helmets at will and for no reason.

Lifting weapons which are big, clunky and lethal.

Using fish oil to have luxurious hair - all long, oily and smelly.

Being one in a tight knit group of dragon riders and cracking jokes at each other's expense.

Eating big and burping loud enough to be heard across the oceans.

The excitement of pushing the frontiers of where one can fly.

Building homes with retractable roofs.

Surviving in a new world gives us a feeling of surviving the frontier lands with its share of excitement and danger.

The excitement of the Unknown

The reason people like unknown worlds, is the excitement of the unknown. It's where there are no rules to be followed. In fact it's where new rules can be formulated to solve issues. Participants can find their strengths and weaknesses. By learning new things they psychologically feel more competent. Getting out of one's comfort zone maybe hard, but once out it's a great way to give up inhibitions and stride forward.

Conquering frontier lands has been happening for millennia. Starting out might be hard, but once people set out, they explore and establish themselves. There is an immense satisfaction in building something in a new land. The feeling of being the first is wonderful, however lonely it might actually be. Earth has held many hidden corners which has afforded great excitement for explorers.

In popular culture

Conquering new worlds has been a recurring theme in books, movies, video games and TV serials. Bored of Earth and reality, one can travel back into historic lands in a fantastic fashion. When one is bored of traveling back, then one can travel into the new frontier lands - outer space. Star Trek the super popular series ran for many years. Again it showed not just new lands and new life forms, it showed the maturing of people both as a race and individually. Viking World or Outer Space, the excitement of the unknown is just the ecosystem in which we as humans evolve.

Dragon Poetry anybody?

March 21st is World Poetry Day, as declared by the UN. Poetry makes things inclusive. Dragons are revered and feared and rarely included. 

dragon by Jesse Ruffin

I randomly googled dragon poetry and came across this one, which I really liked:

                                                               Serious Omission

     I know that there are dragons,
     St. George's, Jason's, too,
     And many modern dragons
     With scales of green and blue;

     But though I've been there many times
     And carefully looked through,
     I can't find a dragon
     In the cages at the zoo!

By John Farrarr from Project Gutenberg

The next one had a lot to do with our current environmental worries. Water. Here it is:

The Water Dragon

H2O dear me!

The water dragon’s

drunk my tea!

H2O what a laugh!

The water dragon’s

in my bath!

H2O what a joke!

The water dragon’s

got my soap!

H2O what a howl!

The water dragon’s

pinched my towel!

H2O what a mess!

The water dragon’s

wet my vest!

H2O how weird!

The water dragon’s

disappeared!

H2O that’s that!

No more water dragon!

No more rap!

There’s no more water

in the tap …

© Celia Warren from Poetry Box

Poetry can convey much more than what the words say. It's what's between the lines that matters. Poems like the second one can be very relevant to problems around us. It can touch us and eventually change us. By reading and reciting poetry, we emphasize an oral tradition which is mostly forgotten today. There was a time when people memorized very long poems and stories and went around reciting them to people who were interested. Those professions are gone, but the memory remains. Poetry in many ways is a bridge to the past.