Superheroes!

(Pre-school and Reception)

Children love to get in character and take on the role of their favourite superhero. Work as a team with your child and be heroes together!

You will need:

Use your imagination! For your costumes you could find items like old pieces of material, tea towels, hats and sunglasses.

What to do

  1. Create your character – Have a conversation with your child about who they want to be. What will be their superhero name? What can they do? Do they have a special power? Are they kind, brave etc.
  2. Design your costume – all good superheroes need a costume. This could be a tea towel and peg for a cape or you might prefer to create your own! Make a mask out of cardboard and string or use sunglasses for x-ray vision. It really can be as simple or technical as you want to make it!
  3. Make a den – In order to hide from the enemy, or somewhere to refuel, you could make a den. This can be a blanket on the sofa or in the park outside.
  4. Build a hideout – If you have blocks, Lego or any construction toy you could continue the game and build a hideout for the superheroes. You could then act out your superhero story with small figures. This gives children an opportunity to use new words they have just learnt.
  5. Eat a healthy meal – plan a meal for your hero. What will make them strong, fast and healthy? This is a good opportunity to encourage your child to try new healthy foods.

Skills your child will learn

Children find superhero play very engaging and this can be used to not only promote positive behaviour but also to encourage learning.

Your child will develop their self-confidence. Being a brave superhero also helps children to imagine themselves in experiences they might be frightened of and how they can overcome their fears. It empowers children to feel more comfortable with trying out new activities or experiences.

Superhero play gets children thinking about where to hide or make a defendable fort, helping them to develop their problem-solving skills. Pretending to be a superhero will help them to look at all their options to find the best possible solution to a problem.

Superhero play captures children’s imagination and allows them to freely explore the world around them and to make sense of the world through discussing another character or pretending to be a character such as a superhero.