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Volume 3, Issue 19
October 10, 2005
Halloween Fun
WELCOME! to Education World's Early Childhood Newsletter. Every other week, I'll share some
ideas on a familiar teaching theme. Hopefully you will find a new activity idea or two -- or a new
twist on one of your old favorites! Since I know you are very busy, I'll be short and sweet -- like
most of activities I suggest.
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Ghosts and goblins,
A princess and more.
Which happy children
Will reach my door?
Halloween is one of the most popular holidays with kids and grown-ups alike. How will you recognize
this special day in your classroom while keeping the excitement at an acceptable level? Young children
will surely love hearing a good Halloween story, and who doesn’t love trying a special Halloween
treat? We’ve put together a “handful of Halloween” for you to use in your classroom,
so have fun and happy pumpkin day to all!
Susan LaBella
Editor, Early Childhood Education Newsletter
MAKE A SHAPE-O-LANTERN
Children can reinforce their understanding of shapes as they make these fun jack-o-lanterns. Give
each child a large circle cut from orange paper. Provide children with black pre cut shapes -- half
circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles. Encourage children to make a jack-o-lantern face with
the shapes. As children glue the shapes onto the circles, they can name each shape they are using.
Display the completed jack-o-lanterns and ask: Which ones have triangle eyes? How many squares are
on this jack-o-lantern? And so on.
YUMMM!
Read to children Halloween Mice, by Bethany Roberts (Clarion Books). Then invite children
to make their own Halloween cookies. Provide each child with a plain sugar cookie. Let each child
spread marshmallow crème onto his or her cookie. Then place out in containers raisins, chocolate
chips, or other candy or fruit bits. Invite children to use the bits to create funny or spooky Halloween
faces on their cookies.
MAKE HALLOWEEN GHOSTIES
Provide each child with a sheet of black construction paper. Use a white crayon to draw an outline
around each child’s foot on the black paper. Invite children to turn the footprint outline
so the heel is at the top. Next have children fill in the white outline with white paint. Let children
sprinkle some white glitter onto their shapes before they dry. Finally, encourage children to add
eyes and a mouth to the heel area to create their own ghosts.
A GREAT BIG BOO!
Prepare for each child a white piece of construction paper on which you have drawn with white crayon
a ghost shape and the word Boo! Have children paint a watercolor of their choice over their paper.
Children love to watch the “magic” as the crayon images appear.
GREAT GAMES FOR HALLOWEEN
--- Let children crouch down in various spots in the room to look like pumpkins. The teacher walks
around the room saying, “Pumpkin, pumpkin, round and fat. Turn into a jack-o-lantern just
like that!” On “that” the teacher taps the head of the nearest child. That child
then gets up and repeats the activity with the teacher until all children have been chosen.
--- Cut out from heavy paper a number of small pumpkin or ghost shapes. On a sheet of poster board
draw a tic-tac-toe grid. Laminate the board if possible. Invite children to play this familiar game
with the Halloween shapes.
PUMPKINS IN THE PATCH
Lay out 11 large sheets of green construction paper and give each one a number from 0 to 10. Cut
out 55 orange paper pumpkins. Invite children to count out and place no pumpkins on patch 0, 1 pumpkin
on patch 1, 2 pumpkins on patch 2, and so on.
Check out the following Web sites for more background and activities.
Trick Or Treat Safety
A listing of Halloween safety tips. Be sure to review them with students.
http://www.zeeks.com/440.html
Halloween Songs
You’ll find a nice selection of Halloween songs to teach your children. Sing out!
http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/halloweensongs.html
The Jack-O-Lantern
We Carved
Print out this cute page to liven up Halloween pumpkin pictures.
http://www.preschoolcoloringbook.com/noline/nlhalloween2.shtml
Preschool Halloween
Books
What a great display of Halloween books to share with your class. Bright full-color cover shots
too.
http://www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/halloween/books.php
Boo-Ti-Ful Trees
Try making some Halloween Hearts!
http://www.kinderart.com/littles/boo.shtml
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