Our latest theme is castles and everything that goes with them. Of course no castle would be complete without treasure, so I put together our very own Royal Treasury activity.
To make the Treasure Chest you will need:
- A cardboard shoebox

Our latest theme is castles and everything that goes with them. Of course no castle would be complete without treasure, so I put together our very own Royal Treasury activity.
To make the Treasure Chest you will need:
- A cardboard shoebox
- Brown paint
- Gold card
- Black card
Step 1: Paint the cardboard box with the brown paint
Step 2: Cut two strips and a keyhole shape out of the gold card
Step 3: Glue the keyhole shape onto one side of the box
Step 4: Glue one strip either side of the keyhole shape
Step 5: Line the inside of the cardboard box with black card
What you fill the box with is up to you, I opted for some a plastic crown, coins and mini trophies. I settled on a mixture of silver and gold because of the contrast in colour. For older children you could add different coloured gems and dress up jewellery.
This activity went down really well because Oliver is a bit of a magpie who loves shiny things and he liked of the noises the coins made when he rummaged around in the treasure chest. Since this activity, he has also decided he quite likes wearing a crown, so much so he now wears it most dinner times.
This is such an open-ended activity because it can be used in many different ways. Oliver has been learning to count, so this is great for introducing numbers in a fun way. We used the crown and the mini trophies in some role play, we took it in turns pretending to be a royal who had invited their knights and subjects to a feast, then used the mini trophies as ‘goblets’. Role play is such a great way to encourage imagination and offers the opportunity to discuss subjects that children haven’t come across yet. It also gave me the opportunity to introduce words to Oliver that he hasn’t yet come across, for example ‘goblets’.
I’m going to be keeping this activity to one side, with the idea that I will reuse it when we have a ‘pirate theme’. Until then though, Oliver is using the crown most days… I think he is getting used to the idea of being a King.
Note: All messy and sensory play activities must be supervised by an adult. I nor Our Fairytale Adventure hold any responsibility for any damage or injury caused while taking part in this activity.