A knight to remember

A month-long writing project featuring a "Mysterious Knight, " a kindergarten castle and "magic dust" to develop writing skills

The following message,"DR MST NT, PLZ BRG MGK DS" may not make much sense to the average reader but to a kindergarten teacher, it's a child's exciting early attempt to communicate by writing. The above message says, "Dear Mysterious Knight, please bring magic dust," and I was fortunate to have a part in this writing process.

One Sunday night in February, my wife Christine asked me to help her put up a "castle" in her kindergarten classroom at Berwick Academy in South Berwick, Maine. We were going to enclose a loft with cardboard and give it a medieval look for her upcoming fairy tale unit. I love to construct with cardboard and soon, parapets and turrets began to take shape.

Christine

was pleased with the result and was sure the children would be enthused about the castle. While she got busy with other preparations for the following day, I decided to write a letter to the class telling them I admired their castle.

A colorful mystery. I made the letter very colorful by changing colored markers every few words. I also drew a castle on the top of the page, asked a few specific questions and included a little information about myself, hoping they would respond. I attached the letter to the castle wall and signed it, "The Mysterious Knight."

The next day my wife informed me that the children were wildly excited about the castle and the letter. In their enthusiasm, they wrote many letters back to the "Mysterious Knight," asking who he was, where he came from and if he would come to visit!

The castle walls were covered with their letters. Many of them realized for the first time that writing was a form of communication and the only way they could reach the "Mysterious Knight" was to write to him.

Magic dust. Over the course of the month-long unit, I continued to write back to the class as the "Mysterious Knight," answering their many questions and describing the unusual happenings that occurred in their castle. One note described how the class mice were turned into horses for tournament jousts. Another explained that fellow knights had turned into toys when their "magic dust" had worn off. I wrote that the toys were lost in the classroom and I asked the students to find them.

With each letter I wrote, a flurry of replies would be posted on the castle walls the next day, many asking for a visit and some "magic dust." I explained how their letters had a magical quality and would turn into "magic dust' after I read them, and that enough magic dust would enable me to visit them during class time. "Keep writing," I encouraged them.

A knight for sore eyes. Soon, I made plans for my visit. I rummaged through the house for a costume. Starting with my footwear, I spray-painted an old pair of L.L. Bean boots bright silver. For leggings, I chose my running stretch pants. A gold trimmed blue blouse of Christine's made an excellent tunic.

A long, gray stocking cap covered my entire head and, after cutting an opening for my face, it resembled a medieval mail headpiece. A piece of aluminum dryer vent was fashioned into a face shield which allowed only my eyes and mouth to be seen. A large gray cape and gold belt finished off my costume. With a sword that lit up and a small battery-powered strobe light for "magic dust" special effects, I was ready.

Arriving well before school started, I donned my costume and pretended to sleep in the castle. I could hear the children's voices as they arrived. They were not sure of what to make of me lying there and were very quiet at first. But as more of them came into the classroom, their excitement and bravado increased. Some even peeked into my face shield.

Song for a lazy knight. Christine then suggested they sing a few songs to wake me and on the second verse of "Lazy Knight, get up!" I awoke. They looked in awe as they saw my full costume. I'm certain they had never seen a knight like this before.

I thanked them for all their letters and told them how grateful I was to be able to visit them. I then greeted my mice friends, admired the castle - which the children had painted beautifully - and all the medieval banners and flags they had created to decorate the classroom.

Next, I read them a story about knights and valor, using my "lit" sword to dramatize fighting a fierce dragon. After the story, a flashing light drew the children's attention to the bag tied to my belt with the words MAGIC DUST on it.

Tricky dust. I admitted to the children that the bag was feeling very heavy at my side. Checking the contents of the bag, I sadly told the students the "magic dust" somehow turned into Tootsie Pops and explained that the dust likes to play tricks. The students were quite willing to accept the substitute, but I told them I had my own trick to play on the dust. I had made up additional magic dust packets from pieces of brightly colored ribbon, yarn, paper and confeW, and had hidden them in the classroom.

"What will it do?" the students asked. "If you put it on your desk when you want to write, it may help you write a little better, or read a little better when you lay it by your book," I explained. "Perhaps, it will help you concentrate a little better when you need to study."

Christine felt the visit was a wonderful culmination for this month-long writing project. "The children's imaginations were caught up in the magic and excitement of the `Mysterious Knight' and their writing skills all increased dramatically!" she said.

The "Mysterious Knight" has just completed his sixth annual visit.

Robert G. Thibodeau is a volunteer at Berwick Academy in South Berwick, ME.

Copyright Early Years, Inc. Mar 1998
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