Updated 7-28-05

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Literacy

Halloween Erase-A-Rhyme

Draw pictures on the chalkboard. Allow children to complete the rhyming word and then erase that picture part. These rhymes came from barb on Teachers.net.

Jack-O-Lantern
If you want a big surprise, then you must erase his (eyes).
If he has a light that glows, then you can erase his (nose).
If you look and find his chin, then you can erase his (grin).
If you want one just like him, then you can erase his (stem).
If you know just the right place, then you can erase his (face).

For a similar activity (coloring the rhyming jack-o-lantern parts), click here:

Jack-O-Lantern Color-a-Rhyme.

Witch
If you’ve ever seen her zoom, then you can erase her (broom).
If you’d like one just like that, then you can erase her (hat).
If you think she’ll give you a scare, then you can erase her (hair).
If you’ve seen her in disguise, then you can erase her (eyes).
If you’ve got warts just like those, then you can erase her (nose).
If you wait a little while, then you can erase her (smile).
If you’ve watched her in a race, then you can erase her (face).
Magic spells, she understands. Now you can erase her (hands).
If she has an owl that hoots, then you can erase her (boots).
If you want to make a guess, then you can erase her (dress).
Unless you want her to escape, then you should erase her (cape).

Scarecrow
If you stuff him, he’ll be fat. Now you must erase his (hat).
If you put him on a base, then you must erase his (face).
If you like those pumpkin pies, then you can erase his (eyes).
If he grins like a crocodile, then you should erase his (smile).
If he scares away the crows, then you can erase his (nose).
If you wish that he could play, then you can erase the (hay).
If you stick him in the dirt, then you can erase his (shirt).
If the wind will make him dance, then you can erase his (pants).
If you want to see him kick, then you can erase the (stick).

For a similar activity (coloring the rhyming scarecrow parts), click here:

Scarecrow Rhyme Coloring.

Spider

Spider’s dinner is a little guy. If you see it, erase the
(fly).
Spiderlings just came out of the crack, so now you can erase
the little egg (sac).
We can’t stop now, no matter who begs…so let’s keep going.
Erase her (legs).
With these “knitters” she makes big nets. If you know, erase
the (spinnerets).
Find the biggest part and THEN…you can erase her (abdomen).
She has 8 of these too; we know ‘cause we are wise. Now we can erase her (eyes).
What are those things like boomerangs?? If someone knows,
we’ll erase the (fangs).
Now comes the part that I really dread. Can someone please
erase her (head)?
Someone named Deb should erase the (web).

Halloween ABCDE Chant

AB CDE
Pumpkins as orange as can be.
FG HIJ
Halloween is on its way!
KL MNO
Children’s feet on the go.
PQ RST
Costumes cute as can be.
UV WXY
"Trick or treat", they all cry.
ZZ ZZZ
Candy for you and me!

This is a reading game. The girl gets to throw a pumpkin beanbag in the witch's pot for every flashcard she could read.

The children get to put one piece of their spider puzzle on the orange mat for every flash card they can read. You can continue the game by making the spider disappear one piece at a time.

Audience Participation Story

A HAUNTING WE WILL GO

Divide the group into four smaller groups and assign each group one of the words listed below. Read the story. After each of the words is read pause for the group to make the appropriate response.

Witches: High shrill laugh

Ghosts: "Whoooooooooooo"

Black cat: "Meow"

Halloween: Everyone scream

On a dark and windy night in October, around HALLOWEEN___, a group of kindergartners were walking along a dark country road when they came upon an old, old house. Now, it being HALLOWEEN___, and the GHOSTS___ and WITCHES___ were haunting places like this, it was no wonder the kindergartners were scared when a large BLACK CAT___ ran across the road in front of them.

The kindergartners decided to follow the BLACK CAT___ and see where he went. Well, the BLACK CAT___ went right into the old house! The boys, being kindergartners, were not afraid, so they went in the front door, but stopped when they heard what sounded like a GHOST___! They, being kindergartners, went all through the house but they didn't see a GHOST___ or a WITCH___ or even the BLACK CAT___! Then, just as they were about to leave, they saw a WITCH___ flying through the room on her broomstick with the BLACK CAT___ sitting on the end of her broom. Well, that really scared the kindergartners, so they all started through the door at the same time.

Now, everyone knows that a group of kindergartners won't fit through one door at the same time, but they sure tried. And when they all did come out the whole front wall of the house came with them, making the old house start to fall down, and as it fell, you could hear the GHOST___ and the WITCH___ with her BLACK CAT___ saying, "Where do we go a haunting now. It's almost HALLOWEEN___, too!"

Maybe they will come to haunt your house!

Crafts

Mr. Candy Corn

Color Mr. Candy Corn in traditional orange, yellow and white. Draw a face and put on accordion folded arms and legs. Use wiggly eyes or white reinforcements for eyes.

Styrofoam Cup Ghosts

The styrofoam ghost is simple. The children make the face with a a black marker. Punch a small hole in the bottom if you want them to hang from the ceiling. Place the cups on a cookie sheet and put in a 350 degree oven. Let them melt. This will take about 5 to 15 minutes, depending on how much you want them to shrink. Each one will be different.

Use photo software to insert children's faces on seasonal clipart.

We made haunted houses by gluing wood pieces together. The houses were painted black and then decorated with styrofoam packing peanut ghosts, small pumpkins, Halloween glitter spiders and spider webs. This idea came from Mrs. Critchell's site: http://www.kinderteacher.com.

After the houses were complete, we made a chart that sequenced the process.

Math

Spray paint lima beans and draw on faces to make ghosts, jack-o-lanterns or goblins to use for patterning, counting or problem solving. The story board mats are from Box It or Bag It Math.

Use Halloween candy and erasers for sorting, patterning and graphing activities. (Yes, there is a mistake in the pattern!)

We made a Halloween necklace in an ABC pattern.

Graph the marshmallow bats, ghosts and eyeballs in Haunted Cocoa Rice Krispies Cereal. Click here for the graph:

Haunted Cocoa Rice Krispies Cereal Graph

Use Halloween "glitter" to make a pattern on a seasonal blackline.

For a measurement and counting activity cover a ghost with pieces of popcorn.

Halloween Science

Ghost Drop

These ghost patterns came from Mailbox magazine. The two arms are partially cut away from the body, folded in opposite directions to make the ghosts "helicopter" as they fall, and a paper clip is added to the bottom for extra weight. The arms can then be refolded to make the ghosts spin the other direction when they fall.

Slime Science (courtesy of Maureen Tumenas) Talk about what a polymer is and then make one or two of the following:

Greasy, Grimy Gopher Guts Cup #1 Glob of glue Green Food Coloring Cup #2 Add about an inch of laundry starch. Then slowly drizzle green glue into the starch. Fish out the gopher guts with your fingers.

Phlegm 2 parts corn starch 1 part corn syrup a dropper of water food coloring This is edible. Cornstarch will harden in your drain so throw it in the trash when done.

Toe Cheese Goop

Cup #1 6 spoons of glue 6 spoons of water food coloring Cup #2 2 spoons borax ½ cup water Then, put 4 spoons of cup #2 into #1. Finally, stir and pull out the gobs of "toe cheese."

Halloween Centers

Decide on a schedule for center time--how long before the children rotate to the next center. When the centers are finished, gather all the children together for a Halloween sing-along. Some center choices are:

PUMPKIN BOWLING: Use 2 "pie" pumpkins (the small ones - about 4-6" across), break off the stem, and use them to bowl down 3 or 4 1 liter bottles filled with sand or beans/rice (from your sand or rice/bean table). Make sure you put the caps are on. It's fun because the pie pumpkins don't exactly roll straight!

SKELETON RACES: If you study about bodies or bones, this activity fits into your curriculum! Divide the group into relay teams. Each team has to run a distance (maybe 15 feet) to put together a large (!!) skeleton in the correct order. (It can be a large bulletin board size cardboard skeleton that you've taken apart at the various joints.) Plan for this next year by purchasing LARGE plastic skeletons on clearance after Halloween this year.

STICK THE WART ON THE WITCH'S NOSE: Give each child a piece of gum and let them chew it for a few minutes. Play as you would "Pin the Tail on the Donkey". You will need a laminated picture of a witch, gum, and a blindfold.

MUMMY UNWRAP: Unwind a roll of toilet paper and then rewind it and put various little prizes in it. The kids sit in a circle and UNwind the toilet paper until they find a prize. Then they pass it on to the next person.

GRAVEYARD BOWLING: Set up 5-6 bowling pins (depending on # of students) on a sideline in the gym. Place a yardstick about 6 feet away. Students must lay on their stomachs and slide a hockey puck or roll a ball to knock over the pins.

BAT AEROBICS: Lead the children in exercises, using jumping jacks, skiers, bat squats (with arms flying), grapevines and any other steps you choose. Then have students take turns leading the bat aerobics.

MUMMY JUMPING: Students make believe they are mummies and use their imagination to jump, with a partner, like a mummy.

TAPE THE NOSE ON THE PUMPKIN: Have children use a white crayon to write their names on a “nose”. Put a piece of tape on back of each nose. Use a scarf to cover one child’s eyes. Have the child walk toward the pumpkin poster and tape the nose to the pumpkin. Repeat for each child.

CANDY BAG ESTIMATION: Have child put their name on an estimation paper. Have children look at each item (popsicle sticks, wooden cubes, bears, plastic tiles, pattern blocks, and unifix cubes) and estimate how many of each item will fit in a candy bag. The children write these numbers on their papers under ESTIMATE. Now the children actually fill their bags with the various items and count how many of each really fit in the candy bag. They are to write these numbers on their papers.

HALLOWEEN BINGO:

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/Halloween%20bingo%20and%20concentration.pdf

This site has bingo cards with 9 pictures.

HAUNTED PIZZA: Make this Halloween snack by spreading pudding on a graham cracker or other cookie. Then sprinkle on chocolate cookie crumbs and add gummy worms.

HOT PUMPKIN: This is like hot-potato; when the music stops you need to say a Halloween-related word before the group counts to 10. (Great for vocabulary reinforcement!)

PIN THE FANGS ON DRACULA

BLACK AND ORANGE PLAYDOUGH: Use Halloween cookie cutters.

MASKS: Use paper plates as a base and open-ended materials to decorate the masks.

HEADBANDS: Black or orange strip of construction paper measured to child's head; templates of bats,spiders, ghosts, pumpkins to trace, cut and paste onto the strip (A favorite station every year!)

HALLOWEEN STICKERS OR STAMP-A-STORY: Each child may select one sticker or stamps to place on a piece of paper. The child is to then write a sentence or story about that sticker or stamp. Pencil or colored marker may be used to write with. If a child finishes one paper, he/she may select another sticker and complete another page.

CANDY SORTING: For each child fill a bag with several kinds of candy. Have the students estimate how many pieces of candy are in their bag. Then the students count how many pieces of candy are really in their bags. Have the students sort their candy in three different ways. First have them sort the chocolate and non-chocolate candy. Next have the children sort the candy into large and small pieces. Then they sort by favorite and not favorite.

DEM BONES CANDY SORTING: Have students sort their candies by body parts. If you can find a graphing mat for Dem Bones, have students graph the various body parts by coloring in one square for each piece of candy.

JACK-O-LANTERN GAME: (similar to "roll-a-snowman") Each child starts with a pumpkin shape. They roll the die and decorate their pumpkin accordingly.
(1=triangle, 2=square, 3=mouth, 4=leaf, 5=lose your turn, 6=circle)

HALLOWEEN COLORING: Free choice

WILD THINGS RUMPUS: Musical instruments (used freely-yikes!)

HALLOWEEN MATH CENTER: Placemats with Halloween counters for counting and patterning

HALLOWEEN STORIES: Adult reads/looks at books with children (It's surprising how many children actually choose to sit for a quiet story among the noisy party atmosphere!)

GHOST CRAFT AND GAME: Make ghosts and pumpkins by wrapping tissue paper around ping-pong balls. The children take turns trying to throw them into a plastic pumpkin.

WING FLING: Use small plastic/rubber bats to toss into bat-shaped 'cave' (a bat-shaped serving tray bought at party store ( or you could use a jack-o'-lantern trick or treat bucket). Kids make tally marks with chalk on black paper bat shapes.

WITCH'S BREW: Kids graph the ingredients.

GAK: Kids make the slimy stuff in ziploc bags.

OWL SANDWICHES: Kids use bread, bologna, cheese, pickle slices, and cheetos to make edible 'owls'.

PUMPKIN SEED BLOWING: Kids use a straw to 'blow' pumpkin seeds on a chart with Halloween stickers.

PUMPKIN PATTERNING: Trace a pumpkin or ghost onto a piece of construction paper. Use dot stickers to make a pattern on the outline of the ghost or pumpkin.

HALLOWEEN STORE: Have different Halloween party favors in dishes with a price on each one. For kinders, just use pennies. Have the children buy a toy by counting out real pennies to purchase or using penny stickers to record the amount on an index card. They get to keep the toy.

HOW LONG IS MR. BONES?: Lay a plastic skeleton on the table and estimate how many unifix cubes tall the skeleton is. Then use unifix cubes to measure him.