Today we gave the kids (really, mainly John) our big present: a pair of handmade wooden swords and shields, painted with the Knights Templar and Knights of Malta cross and colors!
We're not pacifists, but we also didn't see any good reason to expose toddler John to television shows with battles or guns. Nonetheless, by age three, if not earlier, John began making everything he could find into guns (which he calls "shooters") and swords: toast, branches, any rod-shaped toy, his own finger . . . . So after a couple of months, we figured this was his boy nature coming out and we set about teaching him
chivalry: Defend your sister, your mama, your family. Fight off the bad guys. Only play shooting or swords with somebody who wants to play. As soon as somebody wants to stop playing, you have to stop. Breaking these rules means the "weapon" gets taken away.
Later in the day, Chris took John out to a field that still had a lot of snow where they built a snowman taller than John, then John defeated it with his sword.
I was incredibly touched to open today this handmade, monogrammed purse to store my chapel veil in my purse! Thank you, Elaine!
Today we gave the kids (really, mainly John) our big present: a pair of handmade wooden swords and shields, painted with the Knights Templar and Knights of Malta cross and colors!
We're not pacifists, but we also didn't see any good reason to expose toddler John to television shows with battles or guns. Nonetheless, by age three, if not earlier, John began making everything he could find into guns (which he calls "shooters") and swords: toast, branches, any rod-shaped toy, his own finger . . . . So after a couple of months, we figured this was his boy nature coming out and we set about teaching him chivalry: Defend your sister, your mama, your family. Fight off the bad guys. Only play shooting or swords with somebody who wants to play. As soon as somebody wants to stop playing, you have to stop. Breaking these rules means the "weapon" gets taken away.
Later in the day, Chris took John out to a field that still had a lot of snow where they built a snowman taller than John, then John defeated it with his sword.
I was incredibly touched to open today this handmade, monogrammed purse to store my chapel veil in my purse! Thank you, Elaine!
LOVE the swords and shields! SOOOO cute!
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