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Three Musketeers isn’t the typical theme for a birthday party but JJ wanted it! So, for her sixth birthday, we celebrated Musketeer style. I used my four Ps of pretend play - plan, picture books, props, and play – to guide my birthday party planning.
Plan: (Develop background knowledge )
I can’t believe I’m saying this but . . . I loved the Barbie and the Three Musketeers story! (Weird, I know.) Barbie and her friends save the French prince from the evil villain. In this story, Barbie is a strong female heroine we can admire. Shocking.
JJ’s idea for the party came from Barbie and the Three Musketeers movie. Other three musketeer movies are:
Mickey, Donald & Goofy’s Three Musketeers
The Three and Four Musketeers (my personal favorites, starring Richard Chamberlain.)
Man in the Iron Mask (it’s PG-13 so we didn’t watch this one but it’s another good one.)
My amazing polyglot friend and McRel trainer, Cynthia, taught the kids some French words using pictures and actions. Then, she taught “Alouette” with actions. Granted, it’s a weird song to translate but very cute if you can ignore the literal meaning.
Picture Book:
Barbie and the Three Musketeers
Props:
Using a map, the girls searched for the props they’d need to be musketeers and would be the treasures they’d take home after the party.
a sword
gold coins
plus a few other just-for-fun items like a castle key chain, rings, pink play dough, French/English books Cynthia made, and a necklace.
Play:
Once outfitted and prepared, play began like . . .
fencing in partners
“hot” balloon – the balloon can’t touch the floor, kids must use swords to keep the balloon afloat
“one for all and all for one” cheer together
The girls yelled “en guarde” and practiced fencing stances – also, there was a lot of jumping and giggling.
Had this really been a pretend play scenario and not a party, I imagine the play would have involved rescuing a prince or something like that. It could have included fencing training or escaping from villains.
Other Party Details:
Castle Cake from the Dora Cookbook with Strawberry frosting from the Sesame Street Cookbook – yummy.
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Melissa Taylor is a mom and educator from Denver who is passionate about playful learning. Thanks for visiting the site!
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[...] Pretend Play Three Musketeers [...]
[...] Pretend Play Three Musketeers [...]
[...] Pretend Play Three Musketeers [...]
[...] Pretend Play Three Musketeers [...]
[...] TPR activities involve moving the body while learning foreign words or phrases. Remember Cynthia’s lesson on French words? She showed the kids a picture, said the word, and taught a action. That’s TPR and it’s [...]
[...] my 5 Ps of Pretend Play — Prepare, Picture Books, Props, Play and Play, and give your child the information and props [...]
[...] Pretend Play: Musketeer [...]