Pretend to be a Spider- Submitted by Sherry

Have the children pretend to be a spider.

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Pretend to be a Witch- Submitted by Sherry

Provide your children with brooms, stuffed black cats, hats, and a box for a brew bowl. Allow the children to have fun pretending to be a witch.

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Halloween Dress Up- Submitted by Sherry

Supply your children with costumes to dress up in. Have them dress up, then ask them what they are. Some of my favorites are dresses, side heeled shoes, scarves, plastic hats, sports jackets, and children's costumes.

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Go Trick or Treating- Submitted by Sherry

Create an imaginary neighborhood for your child(ren) to trick or treat in. Have the child go around from house to house (pretend) and practice trick or treating. You can use boxes for the houses, or tape on the floor.

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Dramatic Play- Peek-a-Boo Ghost- Submitted by Cheryl

Play peek-a-boo ghost with a small white blanket (crib sized). The adult gets down on the floor & puts the blanket over her head & shoulders. When she takes it off, she says, Boo! I see you. Some children will want to put the blanket over their head & have a turn. Those who don’t want a turn enjoy watching the others.

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Trick or Treat Rehearsal-Submitted by Cheryl

The theory behind this activity is, after this trial run at school, the children know more what to expect on the big night, and will be more relaxed and can enjoy it more. Right before morning snack time, one adult stands behind a closed door, while another adult helps the children knock & say trick or treat. The first adult opens the door, admires the children's costumes, etc. Then s/he gives them a healthy treat for their bag. Repeat this scenario a couple more times. Emphasize to the children that they must wait to eat their treats until mom or dad makes sure everything is safe.

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Submitted by Cheryl

Our lesson plans for Halloween take the scary out of typically scary Halloween characters. For example, we spend a day talking about the dark. We use flashlights, make glow in the dark frinds and talk about fun things we can do in the dark. Our lessons about bats is all about a comparison of Bats and birds. We read "Stellaluna" and books about birds and compare the two animals. "The Very Busy Spider" is used along with a spider puppet and spider finger-plays to make spiders seem less ominous. We do have a costume party on Halloween but stress the need to wear funny, non-threatening costumes.

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Mummy Dress Up- Submitted by Sherry

Let the children wrap each other in toilet paper and pretend to be a mummy.

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Magic Pumpkin Seeds- Submitted by Cindy

After reading Jack and the Beanstalk, try this seasonal twist on growing magic beans. Show the children a small bag of pumpkin seeds and explain that you believe these are magic pumpkin seeds. Take your little ones out to an area of your playground and have them form a circle. Ask each child to take a seed from the bag and toss it onto the ground. Have them make up a few magic words, too, if you like. The next day before students arrive, gather the seeds and put small pumpkins in their place. Take youngsters outdoors to see the magical pumpkins that have grown! Then invite each child to take a pumpkin home with her.

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Click on the Pumpkin Bear Below to go back to the PnF Halloween Theme and Curriculum Page