Are your kids into superheroes? They have plenty to choose from, especially with the focus on superhero movies over the last several years. Because of this, many superheroes are now more well known outside of the comic book community than they were before. And we’ve been able to see a wider variety of superheroes, showing us that any of us can rise to our challenges and change the world around us. So how fun that there is a National Superhero Day to celebrate with our kids!
Where did it come from?
National Superhero Day was started by Marvel Comics in 1995. No surprise there, right? And it’s just what it sounds like: a day to celebrate your favorite superhero. But it doesn’t stop with Marvel and DC superheroes. We can broaden our thinking about who to celebrate as a superhero. The intent is to show honor and appreciation to the ones who serve and protect us while fighting evil.
There are lots of heroes in our lives
Those who serve and protect us while fighting evil…can you think of someone in real life who fits this description? National Superhero Day is a day to celebrate our non-fictional heroes too! We can celebrate those we have personal relationships with, and even members of our community who work to help and heal and protect.
As you think about this with your children, see if you can identify people in your community who you would consider to be heroes. Then, take a look at the People section of our Signing Time Dictionary, and see if you can find the signs for the people you’ve chosen. There are signs for coach, doctor, firefighter, friend, police officer, teacher, and nurse. There are also signs for different family members. See if your kids can learn the ASL signs for their community heroes!
Conversation starters
There’s another thing we can help our children focus on as we celebrate National Superhero Day. Our heroes would not be our heroes without the character qualities that help them succeed. So let’s get our kids talking about the character of their favorite superheroes, both fictional heroes and real life heroes.
Here are some questions we can ask our kids about the character of their favorite superheroes.
What do they admire most about their favorite superheroes?
What strengths help them to triumph?
Are there weaknesses that hold them back?
Did they have to overcome challenges or fears?
What good did they do and how did that affect the world around them?
As we evaluate the character qualities and the challenges of our favorite superheroes, we can help our kids think through their own strengths and challenges. It’s a great way to get conversations going about what character qualities our kids would like to develop. And studies have shown that kids who know WHO they want to be are consistently more successful in avoiding risky activities than kids who have determined WHAT they want to be (as in the job they want to have).
My Signing Time is full of character building, educational programming designed to help your kids grow in multiple ways. Check out our free content, or try it out with a 14-day free trial right here.
So how will your family celebrate National Superhero Day?