Superhero Activities for Children

Playacting

• Once Halloween is past, clean out the clearance bins and buy as many superhero costumes as you desire. Stash them away in a closet, and break them out in the winter when the days aren't conducive to outside play. Let the kids choose one costume apiece, put them on and spend the afternoon playing superhero. Alternatively, gather the kids and teach them how to play superhero charades. Assign one superhero to each child, and have him act out clues while the others try to guess which superhero he is.

Artistic Activities

• Since most superheros star in comic books, why not let the kids create their own comic adventures and tell their own story about their favorite superhero's adventures? Staple several sheets of copy paper together to form a book. Draw lines on each page to divide the page into four to six sections like a comic book. Provide crayons or colored pencils, and have the kids read their comic books to you once they're done. Alternatively, provide paper, paints and paintbrushes to the children and let them create their own artwork featuring the superhero of their choice. Cut out squares of cardboard to use as frames, and frame the pictures once they're dry.

Storytelling

• Have all of the children sit in a circle facing one another. Begin telling the kids a story that involves one or more superheros. Stop after four or five sentences and have the child next to you pick up where you left off. Let each child tell a part of the story, stop them and let the next child continue with the heroic tales of the crime fighters. By the time you reach the last child, she must tie up all the loose ends and finish the story. As another option, assign a superhero to each child. Have them make up a story about the childhood of the superhero and share it with the group. Ask them to include how the superhero got her powers, what she was like when she was little, where she is from and other details.

Physical Activities

• When you've had enough superhero play in the house, send the kids outside to continue their imaginary games. Create a cardboard villain and hide him somewhere in the yard. Let the kids play a superhero version of hide-and-seek until they find the escapee. Allow them to take turns hiding the villain and finding him. Another exciting game involves a ticking time bomb and a group of superheros. Use a toy grenade or a tennis ball wrapped in aluminum foil. Tell the kids that a nefarious villain has dropped the ticking time bomb into their midst. Explain that the time bomb can never touch the ground and that if anyone holds it for longer than five seconds, it will explode. Let the kids toss it to one another as long as they can without holding it too long or letting it hit the ground.