SuperLunchNotes: I Know What You Doodled Last Summer

Before we’re all completely consumed with back-to-school madness, let’s take a moment to bask in the fading glow of summer…

My son’s preschool has a super-duper summer program. It’s similar to the regular school year, but loaded with extra helpings of sunshine, water and dirt. I continued the lunch note habit tradition all summer, and with each week of the program having its own theme, I had plenty of inspiration. Here are some highlights from SuperLunchNotes: Summer Edition.
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MARTIAL ARTS WEEK: June 9 – 12, 2014

Michelangelo  |  Pink Ranger  |  Iron Fist  |  Nightwing

Jon attended a friend’s birthday party at a taekwondo studio, which helped kick off the start to an exciting summer.

The Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon has been a great way to introduce Jon to a few more Marvel characters. Some purists don’t like the teenaged versions of heroes like Iron Fist, but I kinda dig the 21 Jump Street angle of the show. Fun Fact: the actor who does the voice of Iron Fist also does Michelangelo’s voice on the current TNMT cartoon.

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SPEED WEEK: June 16 – 20, 2014

The Flash  |  Ricky Fitness  |  Dash

A viewing of The Incredibles (while wearing his Dash underwear, natch) — in addition to our 4 year-old’s default setting — put Speed Week into high gear.
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BAD GIRLS WEEK: June 23 – 27, 2014

Mystique  |  Cheetah  |  Harley Quinn  |  Wicked Witch of the West  |  Cruella de Vil

Lest you think I’m not portraying positive images of women for my son — as with many preschool-aged superhero fans, there’s nothing cooler than a great bad guy. Same goes for a powerful, smart (and okay, evil) bad GIRL.

Papa and I had just seen X-Men: Days of Future Past, where Mystique plays an integral part. Great movie, but am I the only one who prefers Rebecca Romijn’s badass/cool version to Jennifer Lawrence’s badass-whiny version of the character? Either way, Jon’s got a few years before he weighs in on this timeless debate.

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AMERICA WEEK: June 29 – July 3, 2014

Superman  |  Wonder Woman  |  Captain America

Knowing these heroes should be part of the U.S. naturalization test. We had a super spectacular 4th, including lots of patriotic lessons at preschool and running into school friends a local park where we went to watch fireworks.
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GIANT WEEK: July 14 – 18, 2014

Groot  |  Crash McLarson  |  Galactus  |  Stay Puft Marshmallow Man

Another cool cartoon we’ve discovered is Avengers Assemble. In one episode the Avengers team up with The Guardians of the Galaxy to battle Galactus, Devourer of Worlds (and also pizza). Two giant birds killed with one stone.

The Guardians of the Galaxy film didn’t come out in theaters for a couple more weeks. But Groot is also making his debut here because I’d received some awesome swag from Hasbro that has been secreted away (for the most part) until Jon’s birthday and Christmas.

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GREEN WEEK 2: July 28 – August 1, 2014

Hulk  |  Poison Ivy  |  Yoda

As the tone of the first and last notes indicates, the week started off rough and smoothed out a bit as we finished up. These are always a great way to get in a little subliminal parenting.

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SUPERHERO DAY: August 6, 2014

Hulk  |  Fantastic Four  |  Shazam  |  Elongated Man  |  Aquaman  |  Superman  |  Underdog  |  Thor  |  Batman  |  Robin  |  Daredevil  |  Avengers  |  Young Justice  |  The Flash  |  Captain America

I used the advent of Superhero Day at preschool to do my first SuperLunchNotes contest. The person who guessed the most correct hero symbols got to request a future note. Right out of the gate, I got a lot of great guesses on both Instagram and Facebook. The one that stumped everyone was the “Y” from Young Justice. By the way, Jon got all but 3.
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MOVIE WEEK: August 4 – 8, 2014

Egon Spengler  |  Animal  |  Spy Kids  |  Zod

Jon’s favorite Ghostbuster (and top contender for Halloween costume); Jon’s favorite Muppet; the discovery of the Spy Kids movies on Netflix; one of my favorite SuperLunchNote puns… and admonition to my son to eat the banana I packed for his lunch.

This was also the week Robin Williams died, so we watched Aladdin and I did an note in Williams’ honor. It got the most likes on Instagram than any other I’ve done — by far. His will be missed.
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August 11 – 15, 2014

Robin  |  Aqualad  |  Captain Hook  |  Wolverine

My first contest winner (photographer Matt Rose  — check out his professional site and Instagram) initially chose Black Bolt. A great character no doubt, but not one I could figure out how to introduce to Jon just yet. So Matt graciously gave me his 2nd choice, Robin. Specifically, the hyper-vigilant, anal-retentive version on Teen Titans Go! Congrats Matt!

Keep an eye out for more contests on Instagram in coming weeks and months!

Other highlights from this rare non-themed week included the cool-as-a-sea-cucumber Aqualad (also from Teen Titans Go!), Captain Hook’s hook in honor of Pirate Day at school, and Wolverine trying to nip a particularly whiny boy in the bud before heading to school.
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DOG DAYS OF SUMMER WEEK: August 18 – 22, 2014

Krypto  |  Underdog  |  Scooby-Doo  |  Goofy  |  Chase

I wrapped up the summer with a bunch of Jon’s favorite super pups. We had fun watching some Underdog cartoons on YouTube, but I had a heck of a time convincing Jon Goofy was a dog. It is confusing, in that he hangs out a lot with Pluto, a “real” dog. And if you’re not familiar with Chase, you clearly don’t have any young boys in your house.

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I hope everyone had a great summer! Stick around for more SuperLunchNotes (including a joint post and giveaway with LunchboxDad!) as we leap into the new school year!

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