North Hills Kids Virtual & At-Home Activities, Part VI

North Hills Kids Virtual & At-Home Activities

Now, more than ever, it is important to keep our children engaged and stimulated as we all work through this period of uncertainty.  North Hills Kids, presented by Wells Orthodontics, is here to help!  We’ll be releasing weekly blog posts with ways your children can still benefit from programming, even if it is virtual!  When we all work to #stayhome, we can move closer toward gathering outside together very soon!

In this week’s lesson plan, we celebrate all things superhero in honor of National Superhero Day!

National Superhero Day was created in 1995 by Marvel Comics.  Although the national day did not come along until the 90s, superheroes have been around since the 1930s.  The Phantom, a crime-fighter from the fictional African country of Bangalla, was created in 1936 by Lee Falk.  Since then, we have had hundreds of new superheroes come and go including Batman, Spiderman, Captain America, Black Panther, Wonder Woman, and many more!

Ever wonder what your superpower would be?  Take this quiz on National Geographic to find out!

You can become your very own superhero for free by clicking HERE and designing everything from gadgets, names, origins and more!

Superhero Fun Facts

• During the 1990s, Captain America was injected with serum that transformed him into a werewolf
• In early comics, Batman would send a live bat in the mail to criminals to warn them he was after them!
• Wonder Woman was originally named Suprema, the Wonder Woman
• Marvel Comics has a construction company that repairs property damage caused by superheroes and villains called Damage Control
• Bruce Wayne, Batman, has an IQ of 162, 2 points higher than Albert Einstein!
• Spiderman was inspired by a fly when Stan Lee, famous comic book writer, saw the fly on the wall and started thinking about superheroes that could stick to surfaces

DIY Shield

Some superheroes wear capes, and some carry shields!  Follow these steps to make your own shield

Materials

• Felt
• Scissors
• 12-14inch Cardboard Cake Rounds
• Glitter Glue or Gel Glue
• Glitter
• Duct Tape

Instructions

1. Print out a large “S” (or whichever letter goes with your child’s superhero alias). Pin the paper letter to the felt, and then cut out the chosen letter shape from the felt.
2. Place the felt letter onto the center of the shield and trace the outskirts of the letter with glue. Then remove the letter and use the glue to make lines or patterns around the edge of the shield. Be sure to do this step quickly so you have time to before the glue dries.
3. Sprinkle the glitter generously all over the sticky glue, and let dry so the glitter sticks, then glue the felt shape onto the middle of the shield.
4. Make a handle on the back of the shield with duct tape.
5. Save the world!

Even superheroes need to take a break every once in awhile to eat and recharge!  Follow these fun recipes for action packed snacks.

Captain America Shields

• Round Pretzels
• White Chocolate Melts
• M&Ms
• Parchment Paper

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees
2. Pick out all red & blue M&Ms
3. Lay round pretzels out on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper
4. Top each pretzel with a white chocolate melt
5. Place your cookie sheet in the oven for about 5-10 minutes
6. Top each melt with a blue or red M&M and let cool until the chocolate hardens!

Hulk Ice Cream

• 2 Cups Heavy Cream
• 1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 20 Oreo Cookies (or Mint Oreo)
• 1/2 Tablespoon Peppermint Extract
• Green Food Coloring

1. Whip heavy cream in a large bowl, until stiff peaks form
2. In a separate bowl, mix sweetened condensed milk, peppermint extract and food coloring until you’ve reached the color of green you like best.
3. Add the whipped cream into the second bowl and stir until combined.
4. Place the Oreo cookies into a large Ziploc bag and using a meat pounder or rolling pin, Hulk Smash the cookies until coarsely crushed.
5. Fold the smashed cookie bits into the cream mixture until thoroughly mixed.
6. Spread into a loaf pan, sprinkle a few cookie crumbs on top for decoration.
7. Cover with foil and place in freezer for at least 5 hours.

Extra Weekly Activity

Each week, we will be ending with our top pick for an activity or idea to help keep you and your family going during this time.  This week, we are featuring John Krasinski’s “Some Good News” channel that is a great weekly (upbeat) update!

North Hills Kids is presented by: