Halloween Stories To Read- Submitted by Cheryl

Clifford's Halloween
One Dark Night by Edna Mitchell Preston
The Witch Next Door by Norman Bridwell
The Tale of the Black Cat
How Spider Saved Halloween by Robert Kraus
The Big, Big Pumpkin
Witches Four by Marc Brown
Popcorn by Frank Asch
Arthur's Halloween Costume by Lillian Hoban
The Magic Pumpkin by Lucille Sette
Halloween with Morris and Boris by Bernard Wiseman
The Trip by Ezra Jack Keats
Georgie and the Robbers by Robert Bright

Whisper, say it in a quiet, spooky voice and finish with a shout. The kids love it.)

Listen, listen.
( Hand behind ear)

Goblins are there.
(Point to the door)
Hear them tiptoe
To your chair?
Don't speak a word.
(Finger to lips)
Don't go "ah-choo!"
( finger under nose)
Don't move about.
( sit very still with arms close to sides)
Or they'll get YOU!!!
(Shout "you" and Jump up with arms extended)

*****

The Magic Island- Submitted by Cheryl
Story by Elizabeth Waugh

Far, far away, in the warm South Seas, there is a magic island, ruled over by a kindly witch called Thomasina Toffee, On Thomasina's island the sea shells are made of bubblegum, the streams flow with sparkling lemonade and huge chocolate buttons grow on the trees. For Thomasina had a sweet tooth, and there was nothing she liked better than to nibble a tasty little sweet. As she was a witch, and her teeth were made of good strong crystal, she never needed any fillings, and could eat as many sweets as she liked. Thomasina's broomstick was made of barley sugar, and every day she would ride on it around her island, flying high over the cream soda waterfalls and the toffee trees.

One night, when Thomasina was fast asleep in her marzipan bed, she was woken suddenly by the sound of the wind howling and the waves crashing on the shore. There was a terrible storm. The wind was blowing so hard that the chocolate buttons were pitter-pattering down from the trees, and the pear drop sea shells were being whirled along the beach.

Crossly, Thomasina got out of bed, put on her magic spangled cloak and made her way down to the beach. She tried to make a spell to calm the storm, but her magic was not strong enough. In the distance she could see a ship rolling and heaving on the waves. She was a good witch and would liked to have helped, but there was nothing she could do. So she went back to her little toffee house, shut the door firmly, and got into bed.

When she woke in the morning, the sun was shining and the sea was calm and still. She was drinking her breakfast cup of hot chocolate when suddenly she heard a loud:
"ACHOOO!"

It came from the beach. But who could it be? Nobody else lived on Thomasina's island. She quickly jumped on her barley sugar broomstick and flew down to the sea- shore. There, sitting on a rock and looking very cold, wet and bedraggled, was a little yellow teddy bear.

"Achooo!" he sneezed and spluttered and shivered.

Thomasina floated down beside him.

"Zimblebee-fiddle-me-dee!" she said. "And who are you?"

"My name is - ACHOOO! - Ernest Pumpkin," said the little teddy bear. "I was sailing with my family on a big ship, and I got washed overboard in a terrible storm."

"Well, my dear Mr Pumpkin," said Thomasina, kindly. "Welcome to my magic island! You must comeback to my house to dry yourself! "

"Please call me Ernest," said the teddy bear. "Thank you for your kind invitation. I should very much like to dry myself. ACHOOO!"

So Ernest climbed on the back of Thomasina's broomstick, and back they flew to her little toffee house.

The sun was shining, and Ernest soon dried off. Thomasina offered him all sorts of delicious things to eat: a thimble-full of raspberryade, a slice of fudge, a little plate of chocolate buttons. Then she took him on a lovely ride around the island, and showed him the cream soda waterfall and the pear drop sea shells. That evening Thomasina gave him his own little bed and Ernest slept better than ever before.

Ernest loved sweets too, so he had a wonderful time on Thomasina's magic island. He stayed for several weeks, steadily growing fatter and fatter. But one day Thomasina noticed that he was looking very sad. He hadn't bothered to cat his breakfast, and he was sitting gloomily on the doughnut sofa staring ahead of him. Then a fat tear rolled down his cheek and plopped onto the floor.
"Whatever is the matter, Ernest?" asked Thomasina, anxiously.
"I miss my family," said Ernest, sadly, "and especially Jennifer, the little girl who owned me. I wonder where she is now? She must miss me too!"
"Well, let's have a look in my crystal ball," said Thomasina. "Then we can see what they are all doing."
Thomasina brought a beautiful, shining, round object out of her cupboard. "It's magic," she explained. "If you look into it, you can see where your friends are and what they are doing."
Thomasina placed it carefully on the table and said her magic spell:
"Crystal ball, shining bright,
Through the day and through the night,
Tell me where is Jennifer now?"

As they peered into the crystal ball, shapes slowly began to form. "Why, look!" cried Ernest. "It's Jennifer! And her mother! They're in a house by the seaside!"

"Well, that's easy!" said Thomasina. "I can take you there on my broomstick. But we will have to go at night, so that nobody sees us. And we had better wear my spangled cloak, in case it gets cold."

So that very night, Thomasina and Ernest set off on the barley sugar broomstick. They whizzed through the moonlight, over islands and oceans, until they came to the house where Ernest's family was staying. They floated down on the broomstick and landed in the garden. As quietly as a little mouse, Thomasina opened the back door by magic, and Ernest tiptoed into the sitting room and jumped onto the sofa. He kissed Thomasina goodbye, and thanked her very much for her kindness. Then she climbed back onto the broomstick and flew back home to her magic island.

When Jennifer came down for breakfast the following morning, she was amazed to see Ernest sitting on the sofa. She rushed up to him, and hugged and kissed him.

"Mummy! Mummy!" she yelled. "Guess what! Ernest has come back! Come and see!"

And so Ernest returned to live happily with his family. But as he sat in the nursery with the other toys, eagerly waiting for Jennifer to bring some crumpets for tea, he often thought of the kindly witch Thomasina and her magic island, where all those good things to eat could be had if you just stretched out your paw.

And, as for jennifer, she never understood why Ernest had grown so fat ...

THE END

*****

Halloween Night- Submitted by Cheryl

Materials:
moon, broom, witch, cat, owl, and ghost

This is the moon that shone in the sky on Halloween night.
This is the broom that sailed across the moon,
that shone in the sky on Halloween night.
This is the witch who rode the broom,
that sailed across the moon,
that shone in the sky on Halloween night.
This is the cat that belonged to the witch,
who rode the broom,
that sailed across the moon,
that shone in the sky on Halloween night.
This is the owl who woke the cat,
that belonged to the witch,
who rode the broom,
that sailed across the moon,
that shone in the sky on Halloween night.
This is the jack-o-lantern that startled the owl,
who woke the cat,
that belonged to the witch,
who rode the broom,
that sailed across the moon,
that shone in the sky
on Halloween night.
This is the ghost that carved the jack-o-lantern,
that startled the owl,
who woke the cat,
that belonged to the witch,
who rode the broom,
that sailed across the moon,
that shone in the sky on Halloween night.

*****

Five Orange Pumpkins- Submitted by Barb

Once there were 5 orange pumpkins growing in a pumpkin patch.
There was a GIANT pumpkin, a large pumpkin, a medium pumpkin, a small pumpkin and a tiny pumpkin.
(Put them on the flannelboard one by one.)

A man came by and looked at the five pumpkins. He picked up the giant pumpkin.
"This will be a fine pumpkin to put in my store window." he said.
(Remove the GIANT pumpkin.)

Soon a woman came by and looked at the four pumpkins still growing in the pumpkin patch.
She picked up the large pumpkin. "This will be a fine pumpkin to set on my doorstep" she said.
(Remove large pumpkin)

Next a teacher came by and looked at the three pumpkins still growing in the pumpkin patch.
She chose the medium pumpkin. "This will be a fine pumpkin for my classroom!" she said.
(Remove medium)

Then a baker came by and looked at the two pumpkins still growing in the pumpkin patch.
He found the small pumpkin. "This will be just fine for a pumpkin pie!" he said.
(Remove small).

Finally a little boy dressed in a ghost costume stopped by the pumpkin patch.
He saw the tiny pumpkin that was left. "This is just right to take to my Halloween party!" he said.
So he took the pumpkin, painted a face on it and said "This is my best Jack-o-lantern ever!"

*****

Ten Little Pumpkins Felt Board Story- Submitted by Barb

Cut ten pumpkin shapes out of orange felt and place them on a flannelboard.
Remove the shapes one at a time as you read the following poem.

Ten little pumpkins
All in a line,
One became a jack-o-lantern,
Then there were nine.

Nine little pumpkins
Peeking through the gate,
An old witch took one,
Then there were eight.

Eight little pumpkins
(There never were eleven)
A green goblin took one,
Then there were seven.

Seven little pumpkins
Full of jolly tricks
A white ghost took one,
Then there were six.

Six little pumpkins,
Glad to be alive
A black cat took one,
Then there were five.

Five little pumpkins
By the barn door,
A hoot owl took one,
Then there were four.

Four little pumpkins
(As you can plainly see),
One became a pumpkin pie
Then there were three.

Three little pumpkins,
Feeling very blue,
One rolled far away,
Then there were two.

Two little pumpkins
Alone in the sun.
One said, "So long,"
And then there was one.

One little pumpkin
Left all alone
A little boy chose him
Then there were none.

Ten little pumpkins
In a patch so green
Made everyone happy
On Halloween.

*****

Mouse's Halloween house Feltboard Story- Submitted by Cheryl

One day in the fall of the year, a little gray mouse found a big orange house. She nibbled a hole in the middle, to make a door. And she nibbled two holes up near the top, to make two windows. And then she nibled a wide hole near the bottom, so that all her children could run in and out. Then she put a candle inside to light up the darkness.

The mouse's little house Was a sight to be seen. It was a jack-o-lantern-- Happy Halloween!

Feltboard figures:
Pumpkin, pumpkin's two eyes, nose and mouth, mouse, three mouse children, candle. Cut the pumpkin of orange felt, it's eyes, nose and mouth of black felt.

Storytelling:

Use pins to attach the pumpkin to the feltboard. Place the mouse next to it. Add the pumpkins features as you describe the mouse nibbling the corresponding holes in it. Place the mouse children near the pumpkin's mouth when they are mentioned in the story.

*****

Shape Game- Submitted by Sherry

Cut the following shapes from orange felt; carrot, orange, pumpkin, leaf, goldfish, flower, butterfly and flames. Arrange the shapes on a flannel board. Ask your children the following questions and let them take turns finding the matching orange object.

Which orange shape

is a bunny's favorite treat?
has the same name as it's color?
sometimes has a face carved into it?
falls from a tree in autumn?
swims in a bowl?
grows in a garden?
was once a catepillar?
can roast a marshmallow?

*****

Five Little Ghosts Felt Board Story- Submitted by Cheryl

Cut out 5 felt ghosts to use on a flannel board.

Five little ghosts flying through the door,
One flew away and then there were four.
Four little ghosts spooky as can be,
One flew away and then there were three.
Three little ghosts drinking Halloween brew,
One flew away and then there were two.
Two little ghosts having lots of fun,
One went home and then there was one.
One little ghost's a real superhero,
Went to help a friend and then were was zero!

*****

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