October Theme Activities, Lessons, and Teaching Ideas

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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 Erase-A-Rhyme

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 Erase-A-Rhyme

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 Erase-A-Rhyme

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 Erase A Rhyme

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!

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 theBLACK 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.

Personal Clip Art

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

Haunted Houses

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.

Kid Patterns

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.

Go 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
1/2 cup water

Then, put 4 spoons of cup #2 into #1.
Finally, stir and pull out the gobs of “toe cheese.”

More:  Halloween Centers & Games