Peter Pan Movie: Educational Activities and Games for 2 to 5 Year-Olds

Let's face it, kids love movies, but it's been proven that they should watch no more than 2 hours of TV a day. So why not combine their love of a movie and activities that will help them learn and grow? Following are suggestions for the movie Peter Pan released in 1953. These activities would also work well for preschool classes and party games for this age group.

Watch the movie

Let your kids watch the show while you prepare the activities for the rest of the day or attend to other responsibilities.

Shadow Games

Get a lamp or flashlight and go into a room that can be darkened. Put the lamp or flashlight so that the light shines on a blank wall. Show your child how putting an object in front of the light makes a shadow. Use different objects to show different shapes. Show your child an object before putting it in front of the light and see if they can guess what kind of shadow it will make. Show them how to make shadow puppets with their hands. Talk about what a shadow is.

Make an Indian Headband

Cut a long strip of paper out of some brown construction paper. Give your child crayons or markers and let them create a design on the strip of paper. Wrap it around your child's head and staple or tape it so that it will stay on your child. Cut out feathers from different colored construction paper and help your child glue or tape them onto the band. Have your child wear it and pretend to be an Indian.

Read a Book

Following are a few suggestions for books you could read with your child that are related to the movie Peter Pan. There are many options available, so if you can't find one of these books try looking for others at your local library.

• The Tiniest Mermaid by Laura Garnham and Patricia MacCarthy
• Peter Pan -A Classic Illustrated Edition by J. M. Barrie and Cooper Edens
• North American Indian (DK Eyewitness Books) by David S. Murdoch
• Pirate Pete by Kim Kennedy
• Do Pirates Take Baths? by Kathy Tucker and Nadine Bernard Westcott

Make a Map

Cut out a large piece from a paper sack. Show your child a map and help them create a map of your house using crayons and markers. Crinkle up the paper so that it looks like at old map and the roll it up and tie it with string. If you would like, you can add a path to the map showing your child how to find a "treasure" that you have hidden in the house.