I have shared before that I am a mom to a four year old boy (almost five now) and I also run my own in-home daycare. One day, I was given a lot of capes and masks for all sorts of superheroes. This gave me the idea do superheroes as a lesson plan theme. It turned out to be a fun week for the kids and for my superhero-loving self.
I am excited to share all the activities we did and themed food we had that week. For reference to these activities – the kids I had at this time were all two to three years old.
Here is the schedule I created:
THE ACTIVITIES:
Making masks – I found these free printable masks that I printed on cardstock. I let the kids color and place stickers on them however they wanted then cut them out. I had the kids hold them up to their eyes, but you could also use a hole punch on each side and tie string on them.
Dress up – I was given a bunch of capes and masks of different superheroes that I let the kids choose from to run around and pretend to be superheroes. You can also find ones similar to the ones I have here. One day of playing dress up we even took it outside which the kids had a blast doing.
Hulk bears – This was a fun science experiment. I purchased a bag of gummy bears and picked out the green ones. I picked out one green gummy bear for each kid and also one to leave out for comparison. I filled a mason jar about one quarter of the way full. Each kid dropped a green gummy bear into the water then we set aside until the next day. The following day we pulled the bears out of the water. I set the gummy bears next to the original gummy bear that was left out of the water.
Superhero Cuffs – I took toliet paper rolls and cut a line vertically so that it would fit around their wrists. I purchased blue duct tape that I covered the toliet paper roll with. I let the kids decorate the cuff with star stickers. I just had the kids do one cuff, but you can do two.
Superhero, Superhero Song – I found this song that we sang and did actions with. We did this a few times as they learned the words more. The lyrics are: “Superhero, superhero turn around. Superhero, superhero touch the ground. Superhero, superhero put on your suit. Superhero, superhero zip up your boots. Superhero, superhero jump up high. Superhero, superhero, fly, fly, fly. Superhero, superhero steer your ship. Superhero, superhero hands on your hips. Superhero, superhero spin around. Superhero, superhero please sit down.” (Cape May County Library Kids).
Superhero Puzzles – I found these superhero puzzles that I printed, laminated and cut. Since the kids were younger at the time – I placed all of the superhero heads out on the floor for the kids then they matched the correct body and legs.
Villain Busting Game – This was so much and easy to make! You start with cups (red solo, foam, plastic or even just kids cups you have) and tape pictures of villains onto the cups. I chose to do a tower of six cups so I picked out six different villains to place on them. I went with: Joker, Penguin and Cat Woman (Batman); Doc Ock and Green Goblin (Spiderman); Thanos (Avengers). Once the cups are stacked the kids throw something at the cups to knock them over. I had a toy Captain America shield that I had the kids use but you could use a ball, rolled up socks or even their hand to have them hit the cups over depending on their age. Bonus points – have the kid(s) dress up while playing this game so they really feel like they are a superhero.
Captain America Shield Craft –
What you will need:
- Paper plates
- Red and blue construction paper or tissue paper would work too
- A white star – In PowerPoint, I “inserted” a star shape with a black outline and shape filled it “white.” Then I cut these out. You could also purchase a white star sticker or if the kid(s) are older they could draw the star themself on the shield.
- Glue or tape depending on age – I used glue with the kids but if the kid(s) are older you could have them use tape
Directions:
- Cut construction paper into squares
- Cut star if printing from PowerPoint
- Use glue bottle to either put the glue down for the kid(s) if they are younger or have the kid(s) do this themself on the paper plate
- have them place the construction paper pieces all around the plate
- place some glue down in the center of the plate for the star and place the star down
Superhero Initial Logo – I found a template here where I printed off each of the kids’ initial in the Superman logo. I had the kids color it however they wanted. Then you can cut the symbol out and tape it on their shirt or a cape if you want.
Superhero Scavenger Hunt – I found the scavenger hunt below that I printed and brought with us on a walk outside. We weren’t able to find a spider, but we found everything else. To help with finding the letter ‘s’ I suggest looking at street names while you are on a walk or welcome signs or if someone has their last name near a mailbox or on a stone.
THE FOOD:
Superhero Yogurt Parfait – I took small clear plastic cups and layered vanilla yogurt, blueberries, yogurt and strawberries. Depending on the size of your cup you could keep going in that pattern.
Thor’s Hammers – two simple ingredients: pretzel sticks and cheese cubes. Take the pretzel stick and gently wedge it into the cheese cube more towards the edge of the cube but it’s ok if it ends up being the center of the cheese cube.
Hulk Snack – This one take a few more ingredients.
What you will need:
- Graham crackers
- Green frosting – either plain frosting with green food coloring (this is what I did) or if you can find frosting that is already green. Green icing is another option.
- Black icing
- Black sprinkles or use black icing
- Candy eyes – I purchased the big ones but you could also use any sized candy eyes
Directions:
- Break the graham cracker in half – this makes it easier for the kids to eat but you could technically leave it whole
- Spread green frosting over entire piece of graham cracker
- Spread black sprinkles across the top of the graham cracker for Hulk’s hair or you can use black icing
- Place two candy eyes below Hulk’s hair
- With the black icing draw Hulk’s mouth towards the bottom of the graham cracker
