I’m always asking parents “What dolls does your child play with?”. For parents of boys, they always respond “They don’t play with dolls”. So, I’ve changed my question to “What dolls, figurines, or action figures does your child play with?”. I find the answers are still similar — girls frequently play with stuffed dolls and toys in pretend play, but boys can be hit or miss.
Roleplay and pretend play with dolls, action figures, figurines and any character a child can relate to is important! Of course, when I ask, “Which shows or characters does your child like?”, I get many answers. It’s almost ALWAYS Paw Patrol with my preschoolers! Sometimes it’s Spiderman. The next them I normally suggest is, “Well, if they don’t play with dolls, why not some Paw Patrol figurines or Spiderman action figures? When you bring them to life, the kids are engaged, motivating, and learning language through play!”. There are so many characters out there — Paw Patrol, Superman, Batman, Dora, or Elsa and Ana! When we pair a child’s interest, with a fun language-rich activity, then keeping a child engaged is easy! When children are engaged, they absorb more language!
In this post, I’m focusing on superheroes. I think superheroes are a great way to incorporate actions and conversation into everyday routines(e.g., eating, sleeping drinking); expanding expressions to include descriptive words, feelings, or new concepts; and a way to empower kids to explore conversations about any emotional states, strengths or challenges. I like to tell children that superheroes also have special powers like reading, talking smoothly, helping others, being in tune with themselves, and most of all — they practiced and practiced to improve their powers!
During in-centre sessions, I love using small superhero figures as board game pieces, or I hide them in bags and reveal them one-by-one as they continue to practice. However, it has been a little bit trickier for me to find short, quick, and easy superhero-themed activities for children via telepractice. I created a Boom CardsTM deck to help engage and interest older children that lover superheroes.
Dramatic Play – Put on costumes and have children play Superheroes
Toys – Find any characters and Figurines and incorporate them into play routines
Books – I love I Spy books related to their favourite characters. I use I Spy: Spiderman and Frozen editions frequently!
Boom Cards for Telepractice – Click Here for Design-A-Superhero
playTOK Design A Superhero
During telepractice, I’ve been looking for new ways to engage some of the older boys. In the new playTOK Design A Superhero set, boys and girls can create superheroes by mixing and matching. They can also name, describe, and create a logo for their superhero. During the logo game, there’s also the opportunity to practice typing or sounding out letters.
Mix and Match Superheros
Name and Describe
Create a Logo, Sound Out CVC Words
And, at the end of each list, there is a customizable word section
If you liked Design A Super Hero, you could also try playTOK Garage Doors (Design-A-Car).
For all our other Boom Cards, check out our playTOK Boom Cards store here: playTOK Store
If you’re looking for something similar that you can play with at home, try Kahootz Action Plates!
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