What is a hero? By definition the word hero means a person of extraordinary courage, selflessness with regard to the wellbeing of others, or someone who puts the needs of others before their own.

Who do you know in your life that you would consider a hero or heroine? Many people think of soldiers, police, firefighters, or sports figures as heroes. What about your grandmother? What about your neighbor?

Think of someone that has acted heroically and ask them questions about their experience. Ask questions about who, what, when, where, why, and how. Then write their story. When finished, share the story with your hero to make sure all of the details are correct.

You might need to rewrite parts, but that's okay. Could your story be published? Could you enter it in an essay contest? Could you make it into a graphic novel or comic book by adding pictures?

Here's a fun activity that has its roots in scrap booking. Find some photographs of a family event like a birthday party, family reunion, vacation, or any activity that you do together. If you don't have any photos of a single event you can gather up any photos of your family.

Lay the photos out on a table where you can see all of them together. Each person takes a turn to choose a photo and give it a caption on a sticky note, or give dialogue to the people in the photo. Sticky notes work well, but you can also go that extra step to use scissors cut out speech balloons.

Organize the photos, captions, and speech balloons into a scrap book so that they tell a story. If there are gaps in the story you can always draw pictures. A fun twist on this activity might be to write a story first, dress up in super hero costumes, and then take new photos that follow your story.

For more fun, build comic book style page layouts and add drawings or photographs. Work as a family to decide the story.

Dress up or costume play is always exciting, and doesn't only have to be for Halloween. Start by asking yourself, "If I were a super hero, who would I be?"

It is fun to copy a super hero from a comic book that you already know, and also fun to make up your own super hero identity. What colors should your super hero wear? Does your super hero have a cape, boots, or a mask? Does your character wear boots or gloves? Does your super hero have a secret identity?

Grownups, you can play too! Start off your game by choosing your costumes. A bath towel can be used as a cape. Sun glasses can be used as a mask.

Next, find a stuffed animal like a teddy bear and have your adult hide it in a closet, in a box, or if the weather is nice perhaps somewhere in the back yard. Have your adult give you one clue as to where to begin your search. Now this is a job for super heroes! Commence "Operation Rescue Teddy!"

Artists must work hard to refine their talent. You and your family can draw yourselves as super heroes. Start with a blank sheet of drawing paper, a pencil, an eraser, and crayons, coloring pencils or markers for each member of your family.

Each person in your family should first draw themselves wearing regular clothes. Ask each person, "If you had a super power, what would it be?" and "What are your two favorite colors?" Then, each person should make a symbol to represent their chosen super power. Perhaps an eagle for someone who wants to fly, or a lightening bolt for someone who wants to be magnetic.

Next, each person will redraw their clothes to look like super hero costumes. Add their super hero symbol, and finally color the costumes using their favorite colors. You've just created the first step in making comic books.