Hospice Heroes! A super activity pack for children s hospice care teams

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1 Hospice Heroes! A super activity pack for children s hospice care teams

2 Calling all hospice heroes! Children s Hospice Week is the only fundraising and awareness raising week for children s hospice services. In 2012 Children s Hospice Week takes place May, with the theme of heroes. The week culminates on Superhero Friday - a special day of hero inspired activities. Children s hospices up and down the country will be joining together to celebrate Children s Hospice Week with many holding hero dress up days on Superhero Friday (25 May). We are calling on hospice care teams to get involved in the charity week and to have some fun with superhero activities for children, young people and families. We hope this guide will give you some inspiration to get creative!

3 Caped crusaders How about making superhero capes to wear on Superhero Friday, or any day during Children s Hospice Week? Treat the cape like a blank canvas and decorate them any way you wish! Children and young people could copy a well-known superhero design, create their own superhero identities, or just enjoy making them bright and colourful. Younger children might like to make small capes for their teddy bears or favourite toy. How to make a superhero cape Cut your cape from an old sheet or towel, paper or plastic disposable table cloth, or any large piece of material. Decorate your superhero cape with fabric paint, pens or glitter, or by cutting out and sticking other pieces of material on with fabric glue or iron on fabric bond. For really creative types you could even try tie dying the material. Use a hole punch to cut two holes at the top of your cape. Insert cord, ribbon, or cut fabric as ties.

4 Marvellous masks Why not use the templates in this guide to create some marvellous masks with children and young people? Alternatively you could buy blank masks from a fancy dress shop and decorate those. You could run a mask decorating session in a group or do one on one art sessions; the activity can be tailored to different children s ages and abilities. The masks can be worn by the children, or perhaps they could dress their favourite teddy up if they don t want to wear the masks themselves. Children could decorate masks for their own heroes (perhaps a family member), or simply just have fun making them. Get creative flicking paint, sensory materials, sequins, ribbons or glitter - the sky s the limit!

5 Mask template

6 Mask template

7 Gingerbread heroes How about using your culinary skills to get creative in the kitchen? Here s a yummy recipe for gingerbread men that could be decorated as superheroes using edible glitter or coloured icing. Gingerbread Men recipe (Makes about 20 biscuits) 350g plain flour 1-2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 100g butter or margarine 175g soft light brown sugar 1 egg 4 tablespoons golden syrup Put the flour, ginger and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl and rub in the butter. Add sugar and stir in the syrup and egg to make a firm dough. Roll out to about 5mm thick and cut out your gingerbread men. Bake at 190 o C /Gas 5 on greased baking trays (spaced out, as they will spread) for 10 to 15 mins until golden brown. Leave to firm up for a couple of minutes before placing on a wire rack to cook.

8 Fantastic face painting! Face painting is a favourite with many children and there are lots of superhero designs you can choose from. YouTube also has some great tutorials on how to face paint superhero designs. Face painting pictures courtesy of Snazaroo,

9 Superhero story time You could hold hero story time with children. Here are some tips on adapting story time to engage children with special needs: 1 Alter the physical environment a. Take the time to arrange children to be sure that all can see the storybook. b. Use big books with large illustrations that are easier for everyone in the group to see. 2 Simplify the activity a. Select books to fit the age and cognitive ability of the group. b. Use a word-less story book. 3 Use special equipment a. Pass around a story bag with sensory materials or objects to enhance the children s experience. b. Let children hold an object related to the story. 4 Alter your presentation of stories a. Use objects or puppets that represent characters or objects in the story. Move them to demonstrate the language you are using. b. Set a purpose for listening. For example, ask the children to make noises when they hear certain words in the story. 5 Provide adult support a. Have an adult sit behind the child to provide assistance when the story requires actions, sound effects or chiming in for repeating phrases. b. Hold story-time when more adults are available to either sit with the children or to break the group into smaller groups. Here are some ideas for hero themed books you could read: The Gingerbread Man Superhero! by Dotti Enderle Charlie s Superhero Underpants by Paul Bright Eliot Jones, Midnight Superhero by Anne Cottringer Superhero ABC by Bob Mcleod Jake and Dixie: Super Magic Lightning Boy by Scott McIntyre Jack and the Beanstalk by any author!

10 Create your own story Alternatively your children could create their own story to act out throughout the day. They might like to choose the characters and their superpowers, where the adventure takes place (forest, jungle, at sea etc), and the mission or purpose of the story (to find treasure or rescue someone). They could wear their capes or masks to act the story out. You could even try junk modelling to make superhero gadgets! At the end of the day why not make a journal of the hero activities? This could be done by the children if they can write or draw, or it could be a photo journal taken by carers or children with more complex health needs. Multi-media Marvels! If you have multi-media facilities, teenagers might like to try their hand at animation or music to make superhero creations. Comic book heroes They might like to create a digital superhero or comic of their superhero using the links below Superhero quiz They can visit to complete the Children s Hospice Week Superhero Quiz. By answering some simple questions they can find out which superhero they are! create_your_own_superhero create_your_own_comic

11 We have suggested some ideas for hero themed activities for Children s Hospice Week but feel free to do whatever you like anything goes hospice heroes! Shout about it! Whatever you do, make sure you get your communications colleagues to tell your local media about it! Exhibit it! If your children and young people produce artworks, sculpture, music, stories or poems, why not organise a display? This could be within the hospice or perhaps your fundraising team can persuade a local venue to give you exhibition space for free. Send us your photos and stories We will be showcasing all of your Children s Hospice Week activities on the Children s Hospice Week website Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. Please send your photos and stories of your hero activities (ensuring permission for online use has been gained) to jo.barrell@togetherforshortlives.org.uk Contact Jo Barrell, Children s Hospice Week Project Manager or jo.barrell@togetherforshortlives.org.uk