Red Cape + Underwear = Captain Underpants

A red cape and underwear can only mean one thing – Captain Underpants! We hosted a Captain Underpants program last night and if the giggles were any indication, the kids had a blast!  We began the evening taking a few minutes to read aloud from Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 1: Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets by Dav Pilkey.  I don’t care what you say, a little potty humor is never a bad thing.  Some of the kids were familiar with the story while others hadn’t read this one yet – but they all enjoyed it.  Let me tell you, Captain Underpants is fairly easy to read aloud and makes a great read aloud with fun words, sounds and zany characters.
When we were finally able to stop giggling, we took some time to draw our very own Captain Underpants with 16 easy steps.  I was really impressed with how well the kids did!  Some of the kids even went on to draw other characters, or items from the story.  A few had a really hard time because they couldn’t get their picture to be “perfect.”  This is a concept I struggle with on a regular basis in my programs, but I keep encouraging the kids that art doesn’t have to perfect and everyone needs to at least try their best.  I may not be able to make a big difference when I only see these kids once in a while, but I’d like to think I help them in someway.
After our drawing time, we got to the super-duper fun part!  The kids broke up into two groups and while one group tossed toilet paper rolls into a toilet seat (yep, a real one!), the other group flung XL tighty whities into a laundry basket.  The kids were giggling and smiling and having an awesome time.  After the each group got a chance to fling undies and throw toilet paper we stopped for a snack to wrap up.  After our snack, I happened to have a few copies of Dav Pilkey’s ARCs and got a chance to raffle them off to the kids.  The look on their face when they were told they got to keep the book forever was priceless.
Oh, and the best part?  I wore khakis and a nude colored tank top, threw on a pair of those XL undies and wore a red cape – it was awesome!  My job rocks!