Blog » St George’s Day – Shields, Castles & Dragons!

St George’s Day – Shields, Castles & Dragons!

On Friday 23rd April, it’s St George’s Day! We’ve got ideas to make some shields, castles and dragons to celebrate!

St George was made the Patron Saint of England in 1350 by Kind Edward III and the legend is that he slayed a dragon!

The below activities involve cutting thick cardboard so please do supervise children whilst cutting.

How to make a cardboard castle

Cut 4 identical sized pieces of card – this can be from cereals boxes but better still a cardboard box
Cut battlements into the top of each piece of card
Cut a door draw bridge into the opposite side of the turrets of one of the pieces of card (make sure you keep this bit of card)
Stick the 4 pieces of card together on the corners with masking tape to make the walls of the castle
Cut battlements into the top of 4 x finished kitchen rolls (if you don’t have kitchen rolls, join 2 x toilet rolls together with masking tape)
Cut up the side of the kitchen roll to the same height of the castle wall and then turn 90 degrees and make another cut of the same height
Place each kitchen roll on each corner of the castle to create turrets
Attach the draw bridge to the castle with string long enough to pull the draw bridge up and down
Paint the castle in your choice of paint
Add a flag to the top of your castle

Source: English Heritage

Source: Pinterest

How to make a cardboard shield

Cut a shield shape into a piece of cardboard (this could be round, rectangular or crest shape)
Use masking tape to create a pattern on the front of the shield. This can be as simple as making the shield into four quarters or you could add a zig zag pattern to the middle
Paint the shield sectors in different colours
Remove the masking tape and carefully paint the masking tape section
Once dry, on the back of the shield, attach two hand / arm straps. These are made from rectangular pieces of card that are shaped like a ‘U’ and attached to the shield at each end using tape

Source: Pinterest

Source: English Heritage

How to make a sword

Draw out the shape of the sword as the measurements shown below onto strong cardboard

Source: English Heritage

2. Cut out your sword with the help of an adult and sellotape the folded sides together

3. Wrap the blade of the sword with tin foil

4. Just below the pommel (the round bit at the top) fold a cut toilet roll around the sword to create a place where you will hold the sword. Tape the toilet roll to hold it in place

5. Next is to make the hilt (the bit that protects your hand!). Cut a rectangle 10cm x 6cm and then ask an adult to cut a slot in the middle of it that is approx 3cm x 1.5cm.

6. Slide the hilt onto the sword and attach it to the toilet roll

7. Paint the handle of the sword and the hilt