Super Hero Training 4yr - Training Events

For my son's 4th birthday party, we had a super hero training party. 

For the birthday invitation, I used Justice Leagues invites and added spider web inserts that said "All NEW Super Heroes Please Report to Training".  I also indicated that Masks and Capes would be provided.  I asked them to provide their favorite color and favorite super hero when they RSVPd.  Before the party.  I wrote the following on six small pieces of paper "What is" "on fire" "but covered" "with things" "that are" "cold?".  I put these six pieces of paper inside six green balloons and added six blue, six red and six white balloons and hung then all in a net on the ceiling.  I had my 8 year old son dress as the Riddler (Jim Carey style) and we video recorded him saying "I'm the Riddler, Batmans WORSE enemy!  I have hidden a bomb that is going to explode unless you solve my riddle! 

There are six clues to solving my riddle hidden in these balloons (he grabs a pull string and looks up at the net of ballons)...HA HA HA!  Also, before teh party, I got seven different color lunch type paper bags and put the following in them.  A cape made out of cotton fabric, foam board (half sheet), two strips of cotton fabric, compass with whistle, rings, bracelets, headbands ALL in matching color of the bag.  As each child arrived, I gave them the bag (their favorite color) and they set to work on creating and decorating their superhero costume.  I provided self stick letters and stars (big hit and easy), also provided markers and scissors so that the kids could decorate and design their capes anyway they wanted. 

Once everyone was done making their costumes, I advised the kids that they may look like super heroes, but they could not become OFFICIAL Super Heroes until they completed SUPER HERO Training.  I had four events for this.  The first event is Over and Under Relay.  I had the kids form two lines and gave each of them a small ball.  In each row, the first kid would pass the ball between his legs and the second kid had to pass the ball over his head, they continued to do this until they got to the end of the line and then had to do this in reverse until the ball returned to the front of the line. Which ever group completed this first, won this event.  I told them that this event was going to test their coordination and speed as part of the super hero training.  This went well, recommend for this age group that you have a parent on each team coach as the ball is making its way down the line. 

The second event was Web Blasting.  I had all the kids form a circle and tied the end of a ball of string around the birthday boy.  He then threw across the circle to another child who then wrapped it around his waste and this continued until a web was formed in the center.  The kids loved this!  They enjoyed being all tied up.  I then placed two spiders in the web and the kids had to jump around and try to knock the spiders off.  They wanted to do this over and over again.   

The third event was Pass the Kryptonite.  All the kids sat in a circle.  They were told what kcryptonite was and if they ever came in contact with it, they should get rid of it as fast as they could!  I then turned on some music and threw the ball to a child and they passed the ball until the music stopped.  Whoever was holding the ball was out and the game continued until only one was left.  As the children got out, I had them take a picture with the birthday boy. 

The final event was to test their strength.  We had a pinata and did the normal hit the pinata until it busted with candy and small toys. After super hero training, each child was given a certificate of achievement signed by their favorite super hero. 

After this we ate lunch which consisted of super hero sandwiches, chips, fruit and salad. 

After lunch, we played the Riddler video of my son and after it played, I released all the balloons on to the kids and they had to pop all the balloons to find the six clues.  Once they found the six clues, they had to put the words in order (with the help from parents) and solve the riddle.  I put a watermark in the background of a birthday cake to give the kids an addtional hint.  Once they solved the riddle, the cake was brought out and only the "SUPER BREATH" of the birthday boy can put out the fuse of the bomb.  He blew out the candles and we ate cake and ice cream. 

For Thank you Notes.  I created a newspaper front page (it looked just like a two column newspaper article)with the following:  Folsom Chronicle (Newspaper name)   Super Heroes Foil The Riddlers Bomb Plans and Save the Day! (Article Heading)   Folsom, CA  Shawn and Savannah received notification from The Riddler that a bomb had been hidden somewhere in Folsom, California.  They received a video cassette advising that the only way they could find and stop the bomb from exploding was by solving one of his infamous riddles.   

These new super heroes had just completed intense training, which included coordination and speed training, web blasting, recognizing and avoiding kryptonite and strength building.  Savannah showed remarkable skills in both coordination and speed while playing over and under relay and has great web blasting abilities.  Enemies beware!  After reviewing the video cassette of The Riddler, Savannah and Shawn worked fervently to discover the location of the riddle clues and began earnestly to solve the puzzle. 

The Super Heroes quickly discovered the location of the bomb and only the SUPER BREATH of Shawn could extinguish the fuse and save the day!    Shawn and his NEW Super Hero friends found The Riddler and stopped him from ever trying to hurt anyone by spraying him with Super Silly String.  Thanks to our Super Hero friends, the families in Folsom, CA can once again feel safe and secure.   

Thank you so much for being there!  The Air Hogs Plane is great!   Each newspaper article was customized with each childs name and the picture of the birthday boy with each child in their super hero costumes and a thank you for the gift that they brought the birthday boy.  I created the newspaper article in Word and printed in grayscale.  Article was made to fit the inside of Justice League Thank you cards (folded in half ensuring not to fold the picture portion of the article).  Party was lots of fun and lasted about three hours.  All the kids had a great time and took their capes, masks and accessories along with some super hero coloring books and stickers in Justice League goody bags home with them.