theotherlion: captain awesome

My  name is Erika and I blog over at the other lion. I have been working as a paraeducator in a special education preschool room for over seven years. I also have a son with Fragile X Syndrome. 

Because we are a year-round program and our curriculum is designed for a typical September to May program, the summer months are usually spent on theme units. In our class this year, we have focused on camping, gardening, and the beach. But one theme unit was completely brand-new to me, and I had to share it with you. 

One of the most beloved toys in our room is a bucket full of fast food restaurant toys, specifically the Spiderman and Batman figurines. So the teacher I work with suggested a Super Hero Week. Because of the needs of our students, we tried to keep the activities fairly simple. The favorite, for the teachers anyway, was making our Super Hero outfits.

Me, on Super Hero Dress-Up Day. We cut the masks out of foam and decorated them.

We cut old pillowcases in half and let the kids make designs with fabric paint.

The other para in our room brilliantly suggested using the cardboard circles from frozen pizzas for shields.

We made these items over the course of the week while talking about what our special abilities would be as a Super Hero. Not many of our children are verbal, but we could still see the sparkle in their eyes when we told them they were heroes.