Superheroes - Saving the World....

Today for our Discovery Mountaineers session we explored superheroes. We have been busy practicing our superhero powers and saving the world.

Our superheroes made superhero masks to disguise their true identity.

We used face paint as part of our superhero costume. This superhero has 'fire' as his special power.

We dressed up as superheroes (real and invented) using our amazing collection of dress-ups, all of which were donated by kind parents and strangers. Some children even came to school in their superhero costume.

We made cardboard police cars and used these on a giant road mat and wooden Petrol Police Station to catch the bad guys.

Once we were disguised in our superhero costumes we role-played helping others and performed superhero tasks with these cards from Sparklebox. Some of our superheroes enjoyed rescuing the money from our 'Superhero Bank' after the bad guys broke in. Others used their special powers to freeze the fire in the library before all the books were burnt.

I love using role-play as a learning tool. Role-play may just seem like play and not 'learning' but role-play allows children to.....

• Explore imagination
• Think in the abstract
• Acquire language skills
• Build social skills
• Problem solve
• Understand someone else's perspective
• Learn essential life skills from adults
• Discover leadership skills
• Safely explore the world beyond
• Acquire confidence and a sense of self

Because role play engages emotion, cognition (thinking), language, and sensory motor skills, some scientists think that it makes synaptic connections between parts of the brain. And the more synapses, the greater a child's intelligence.

So, the next time you see your child using their amazing imagination in role-play, think about how you can support their play and nurture these abilities.