Rachel, from Nottingham, sent in this great idea to celebrate the dads out there on Father’s Day. Let’s take a look at it…

What did you do?

We’ve had lots of fun combining getting dressed up, a photo shoot and craft for this cool comic style fathers day image.

What you will need:

  • Blue material/blanket/bed sheet or painted sky scene
  • cardboard boxes or large sheets of card
  • super hero outfit
  • or to make your own super hero outfit:
  • a bin bag
  • card
  • tape
  • elastic

What I did:

First we decorated some boxes to make our back drop. Be as creative as you want! We used bubble wrap to print bricks and make houses. Think about comic strips and consider making high rise buildings, trees, the Earth – it can be whatever you want. I let Z do most of this including sticking the windows and doors wherever he wanted. I’d rather have a messy result that I’ve not had to make entirely on my own as it’s just got the added cute factor.

If you don’t own a super hero outfit or you want an extra crafty activity it’s great fun to make your own outfit. Its much easier with slightly older children. At school with our 4 and 5 year olds, we cut bin bags to make a cape and stick on a logo using paper and tape. Masks can easily be cut out of card, decorated and elastic attached. Super hero cuffs are easy to make from card or old toilet rolls. We create superhero names, think about our powers and assault courses outside are a great side project!

Once our backgrounds had dried we laid out the blue sheet with white material for clouds and put our houses at the bottom. The stage is ready.

We grabbed a superhero costume, popped it on and I asked Z to lie down on the backdrop. It took a bit of patience and a lot of bad photos, but from a good vantage point (on a step ladder) I managed to snap this super cute shot of him zooming into space. The older the child generally the easier this becomes!

Finally I used a photo editing app (I used PicCollage) to add in some text, and crop out any unwanted background.

You’ll probably need to take a few shots and rearrange your child a little to get a good angle. Having two of you helps here so that one can direct from a height without getting down whilst the other rearranges. We all know they will have moved by the time you get back up the ladder!!

Do you have any other projects planned?

What’s next….? Lots more playing. We use themes on Instagram to inspire our play or use Z’s interests to base some fun and learning around. This month we are going to be looking at lots of transport.

Tell the Housebound With Kids community a bit about yourself…

I’m Rachel. I’m a Primary School Teacher and have been working in F2 for 10 years. I have a little boy who’s turning 2 this week so having lots of fun planning some party themes.

How are you finding being housebound so far?

It’s been hard work keeping Z busy and out of trouble whilst attempting to keep up with work demands and not letting the house become a right state. Hubby just started a new job in April so we’ve had to try to find balance. I went through a missed miscarriage at the beginning of March and I’ve been constantly going to hospital ever since as it’s had complications. Lock down has been such a rollercoaster!

Do you have any tips for other parents?

Use nature and things around you as a alternative to expensive toys. We’ve had so much fun with sticks this week including making a stick man! Think stones, leaves, pinecones, shells, petals and flowers (if you have permission to pick them).

Has being part of our community helped you?

Housebound with kids has been a fab outlet for me during this time. As a moderator I feel like I’m helping and that sense of being useful is much needed right now.

It has inspired me to look in new places for ideas and it has given me an outlet to share all the wonderful activities we’ve enjoyed. I think it’s probably helping me tune into what parents want and need from teachers to support them in helping their children at home. The big problem is that everyone has such different needs so it’s made me want to listen even harder and it’s certainly going to impact how I work.