Halloween/ Fall Festival Theme Ghost Toast Snack 2001

Ingredients 1 slice soft bread whipped cream cheese raisins We used a large ghost cookie cutter with toasted bread to help make the shape for this spooky snack!

Jack-o-Lantern Sandwiches

Ingredients Wheat Bread Yellow Bread Butter / Mayonnaise Using wheat bread, spread with butter or mayonnaise. Lay on a slice of yellow cheese. On the top slice of bread cut out a jack-o-lantern, Enjoy!

Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients: 1 tsp. butter for each cup of pumpkin seeds salt Rinse pumpkin seeds and set on paper towel to dry. Melt butter and stir in seeds. Spread seeds on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt and bake in a 325 degree oven until light brown. (We recommend that an adult melt the butter and mix in the seeds. Cooking near a hot stove with children is not a safe activity.)

Cheesy Pumpkins

Ingredients: Velveta Cheese raisins thin red licorice strands parsley Children roll a small chunk of Velveta cheese in a ball. Raisins, licorice and parsley are added for facial features. Children can eat this treat with crackers.

Pumpkin Spread English Muffins

Ingredients: whipped cream cheese canned pumpkin powdered sugar english muffins raisins Mix first three ingredients to your taste. (We had a sweet tooth.) Toast the muffins. Have the children practice their fine motor/spreading skills then add raisins for eyes, nose and mouth. Then enjoy! Our kids really enjoyed this snack.

Cardboard Tube Spiders

Using toilet paper tubes, cut the ends down into strips. Have children dip the tubes into black paint on a shallow plate. Press tube on white paper. When dry, add button eyes and draw on a mouth with a black marker or use black rickrack.

Gauze Ghosts

Materials Large plastic soda bottle Sheets of gauze White glue Wiggly eyes or black felt eyes Thin down white glue with water. Dip gauze sheets into glue and let dry over the soda bottle. Shape into a ghostly figure. When dry, remove bottle and add eyes. Hang from a string or display on a shelf for a spooky decoration.

Monster Art

This activity could just as easily be a language or emotional growth lesson. Put a large blob of paint on paper, fold over and let dry. Have the children cut out colorful scraps of wrapping paper, fold over and let dry. Have the children cut out colorful scraps of wrapping paper, material and other craft items such as colored noodles or buttons. Decorate a group monster and write their comments on the paper. This would be an opportune time to talk about what makes each child scared and start to desensitize them for a spooky Halloween. Some children think this holiday is fun, while others at this early age can be highly traumatized. Talking about their fears will help these children.

Sandwich Bag Ghosts

White lunch bags are used as ghosts. Children cut out and glue on their black eyes, nose and mouth to personalize their creation. Hang from a string attached to the bottom.

Sandwich Bag Pumpkin Lights

Brown lunch bags are painted orange. Eyes, nose, mouth are cut out and yellow tissue is inserted. The children were asked to bring a flashlight from home and we taped these to the bottom of our jack-o-lanterns. We have a hallway without windows where the children took their lantern lights. We turned out the lights and sang our Halloween songs. There were a lot of "ooo's and ahh's" from the children. We had to do this for several days upon the children's request.

Cotton Ball Ghosts

These ghosts were used on our Bulletin Board page. Children cut out a simple ghost pattern and glued on some cotton balls. Craft wiggly eyes were used for a spooky creation.

Trick or Treat Bags

Plain shopping bags were bought at our local craft store. The children used sponge paint designs to decorate their bags.

Halloween Masks

Our children designed their own scary masks with scraps from our craft closet.

Pumpkin Activity

This activity develops language skills around the concepts "shorter / longer" and the "same". Using a real pumpkin, have the children estimate how long their string should be to fit exactly around the middle. Have each child come up and measure their estimated string length around the pumpkin. Children should state whether their string is too short, too long, or the same size as the class pumpkin. Make a chart for the children to tape their strings.

Upward and Downward

Using the song "Upward and Downward", the children do the movements in the song, this is great for teaching direction following and listening to the changes of tempo in music. (See Music page.) Pass the Witches Broomstick Our children enjoyed playing the game, "Pass the Witches Broomstick." This is played like musical chairs by passing a small brookstick around children seated in a circle. The child holding the broomstick when the music stops is out of the game. But first they have to ride the broomstick around the circle wearing a witches hat. (See the Music page for details.)

Costume Parade

Our school has a school-wide costume parade on Halloween. It is done twice, once for the younger children, and once for the older children. They win prizes and enjoy having the audience of other grades watching them. We like to practice marching around in a circle ahead of this special event.

Pumpkin Weight Activity

Using a small squash type pumpkin and a balance scale, the children count the amount of pennies it takes to equalize the weight. This promotes counting skills, weight concepts and language concepts in a fun filled learning experience.

Fall Calendar Activities

Using die cutouts of pumpkins, ghosts or bats (if you choose to work with a harder pattern.) Have the children tear scrap paper eyes and mouth. Make enough for all of the calendar days. Start a pattern such as pumpkin, ghost, pumpkin, ghost numbering the days as you go through the month. Once the children catch onto your pattern, have them predict what will come next. Hang a yarn string from the ceiling with a spider on the end. Swing the spider each day at calendar time to represent the number of days so far that month. Have the children develop their counting skills by counting along with each swing. We do this daily and change the object at the end of the month to match the monthly unit. In November, we have a turkey pendulum, December is a snowman pendulum, etc...

Pumpkin Graphing

Introduce your children to simple graphing. After doing the monster feeling activities listed on our Language page or having a discussion about feelings, ask the children if they want a "happy, sad, or scared" pumpkin face on the classroom jack-o-lantern. Have pre made jack-o-lantern face cutouts to represent each emotion. Have each individual child choose a cut out to represent their vote (or use a name card as represented in the photo) under each selection. Write the numbers down to show graphic representation of their faces. Emphasize the word "most" votes to talk about a group decision making. We take the time to cut our pumpkin and let the children all help pull out the seeds feeling the "gooey" texture. It's amazing how quickly the time flies as the excitement builds for this activity. We end by singing the Jack-O-Lantern song with the lights out.

Our graphing activity in 2001 added the skill of writing their own names on the graph. This was great practice for this emerging skill.

Counting Seeds

Keep and dry your pumpkin seeds for various activities. You can roast them for a cooking project, and make small counting books. To make the counting books, cut orange pumpkin shapes for a front and back cover. Cut white center pages and place one number on each page to represent the #'s 1-10. Have the children glue dried pumpkin seeds to represent each number on the page. Use a hole punch and tie the pages together with orange or green yarn.

Crafts*Lunch bag jack o'lanterns -

stuff bags with newspaper, tie top, paint stem green, and bag orange. When dry, glue on shapes for face cut from black construction paper.

*Make pumpkin clickers -

Glue a circle cut from the orange paper to fit on top of the lid of a baby food jar. cut out shapes for the jack o' lantern's face and glue on top of the circle. When dry, if you press the center of the lid it will make a clicking sound.*

Tissue ghosts

- Use kleenex or tissue paper, fill center of a square with a cotton ball, tie, and add face.

*Fingerpaint with orange and black.

*Black cat treat bags

- Cut a lunch bag to make 2 ears, paint black, when dry add facial features from construction paper and a black handle.

*Ghosts

- dip large pieces of white cloth in liquid starch and then drape over a javex jug, let dry. Your ghost will harden and stand like a statue. Use markers or felt for eyes and mouth.

*Make witches

- Cut a 3" piece from the nylon and stuff with cotton, this will be the head. Sew a few stitches for the eyes, nose and mouth of your witch. Make a small cone shape with the black construction paper for the hat and a large cone for the dress and attach the head to the dress with glue. Glue wool for hair onto the top of the head, then attach the hat with glue. You can add a brim to the hat by cutting a circle (donut shape) that will just fit over the hat and stay in place. You can make a broomstick by tying small pieces of twigs to a larger one with string and gluing to the dress of your witch. Decorate the hat and dress with sticky stars (glow in the dark ones are really neat for this project!).

*Cut and paste with black and orange materials.

*Pompom spiders

- Cut 2 black pipecleaners into quarters, using a gluegun, glue to a large black pompom - 4 on either side for the legs; add a smaller pompom for the head then glue on googly eyes, bend the pipecleaners so the spider can stand.

*Sponge Bats

- Take a large piece of black paper and glue a large yellow circle on it for the moon. Cut a bat shape from sponge or you can purchase a bat shaped sponge fairly cheaply at the store. Dip the sponge in black paint and make bat prints across the moonlit sky. You can add glow in the dark star stickers to the night sky for a really neat effect.

*Clay Pot Bats

- Turn a clay pot upside down and paint black. Cut bat wings from black fun foam or construction paper. Glue the wings to the back of the clay pot and add googly eyes to the front.

*Bat Note or Artwork Holder

- Paint a clothes pin black. Glue fun foam or construction paper wings to the back. Add small googly eyes or cut from felt or paper. Add a magnet to the back and can be used on the fridge to hold notes. If the children make pairs of bats, they could hold pieces of artwork on the fridge also.

*Pop Bottle Bat

- This looks really neat set up in a tree especially on a windy night when the wind makes the bag rustle! Cut a black garbage bag in 1/2. Cover a 2 litre pop bottle with the 1/2 bag cutting away extra and stuffing the last bit into the opening of the bottle. Replace the lid on to hold the bag secure. Fold the other piece of bag in 1/2 lengthwise. Cut a bat wing shape out leaving the fold intact. Place a long stick into the fold and secure with tape or using a glue gun. When I made these with the children, I used the glue gun first and then for extra support, added a the packing tape in an X form in the center of the wing span. From the scraps left over of the bag, cut out 2 bat ears and tape/glue gun on. Cut out 2 eyes from tin foil or reflective paper or you can use glow in the dark stickers. Attach. Place your bat in the tree using the stick in the wings to secure it in the tree branches.

*Pumpkin Votive Holders

- Use watered down white glue to cover the outside of a baby food jar with orange tissue paper. Let dry. Add a votive candle to the jar. Older children may want to make a face using black or yellow tissue paper

. *Pumpkin Heads

- Purchase real mini pumpkins and paint faces on them. Science

*Use red and yellow food colouring and eyedroppers to make orange.

*Open up a pumpkin and your let your sensory experience begin

... mushy pulp, slippery seeds, the smell of pumpkin, the smooth outside and the rough stem

. *Plant pumpkin seeds

(soak in water until it sprouts)

. *Echolocation

- Bats use their sense of hearing to locate food. Make up sound bottles and have the children test their own sense of hearing by matching the pairs of sounds.

Block Area*Use orange and black blocks

. *Add plastic Halloween props

.Dramatic Play*

Add costumes and trick or treat bags

. *Pass the Magic Broomstick Chant Magic Broomstic song (see songs for chant) while passing the broom around the circle. The person holding the broom at the end of the first verse gets to ride the broomstick around the room while others chant the second verse and clap. Game continues until everyone has a turn (or if you have a large group, keep playing for awhile and do another day so the rest of the group can get a turn). *Pin the nose on the witch - cut out a witch shape from bristle board and paint or colour. Cut out enough noses for each child to have one. Using a blindfold on the child, turn them around 3 times and then have them place their nose on the bristle board witch using mac tac on the back of the nose. *Pumpkin bean bag toss - paint a large pumpkin shape onto several boxes of varying sizes. Create a pumpkin patch that the children can toss their bean bags into. *Bob for apples *Sound Location Game - Have one child sit in the center of a circle blindfolded. Then point to one child to say this person's name or make a sound (use an instrument/blow a whistle/etc) The blindfolded child must use their sense of hearing to point in the direction or to the person that made the noise. *Pass the Pumpkin - Use a mini, plastic, or felt pumpkin for this game. Have the children sit in a circle and pass the pumpkin around to music. When the music stops, the child holding the pumpkin is 'caught'. Continue playing. Water & Sand Play *Add orange food colouring to the water. *Add plastic halloween items to water. *Have orange water and black funnels in the water table. Outdoor Play* Use a cardboard box for a "haunted house" *Play running games with orange and black streamers. *Play balloon volleyball with orange and black balloons. Field Trips / Special Days *Visit a store and choose a pumpkin. *Go to a farm that celebrates Halloween. *Have a costume party. Witch Hat ³´`*:»§« »§«:*´`³>>What You Need:>• black paper>• stiff black paper>• glue>• scissors>>What You Do:>>Basic cone: fold a 12"x24" sheet of paper in half. Cut out a quarter circle>and open the paper into a half circle. Roll the half circle into a cone tofit>the head. Tape or staple the cone together. Make the basic cone out ofblack>paper. Now make the brim. Place the cone on a sheet of stiff black paperand>draw around it. Draw a larger circle around the first, and cut it out. Draw>five tabs on the inside of the inner circle. Cut out the inner circle,leaving>the tabs in place. Slip the brim over the cone and glue or tape the tabs to>the cone. Finally, cut a long, thin rectangle out of black paper and wrap>around the base of the hat to conceal the tabs and glue. Tissue Ghost ³´`*:»§« »§«:*´`³>>What You Need:>>• Box of tissues>• Cotton Balls>• Black Marker>• String or Rubber Band>>What You Do:>>Take a tissue and place 4-5 cotton balls in the center. Bring tissuetogether>forming a ball at the top. Tie string or rubber band around the head. Use>marker to draw a face on the ghost!>³ Paper Plate Cat ´`*:»§« »§«:*´`³>>>WHat You Need:>>• 9" Paper Plate>• Black Paint>• Black Contruction Paper Triangles>• Yellow Colored Sticker Dots>• Black Colored Sticker Dot>• 4" Black Pipe Cleaners>• Glue>• Paint Brush>• Stapler>>What You Do:>>Paint one side of the paper plate black and allow to dry. Attach trianglesto>paper plate using glue or stapler to form ears. Use sticker dots to givethe>cat two eyes and a nose. Glue or staple the pipe cleaners to form the>whiskers!>>Variation:>You can also simply use a black plate to start with, and use wiggly eyes or>yellow construction paper eyes. Then use a black pom pom for a nose, andyou>can also make wiskers out of long thin pieces of black construction paper.Use>your imagination!>> Mr. Pumpkin Head ´`*:»§« »§«:*´`³>>>What You Need:>• pumpkin>• washable markers>• damp sponge>• decorating accessories>>What You Do:>>Place a pumpkin on a table, surrounded by washable markers, a damp sponge,and>accesories such as hats, eyeglasses, sunglasses, scarves, wigs, etc. Havethe>children draw faces and dress up Mr. PumpkinHead, and have them use thedamp>sponge to erase their work after it's done.>> WE THREE GHOSTS (We three kings of orient ore)>>We three ghosts of Halloween are> Scaring kids who wander too far.> Trick or treating, candy eating,> Beware the Halloween Star.>> Oh......Oh......... Star of darkness, star of fright.> Star of every gruesome sight.> West winds howling, cats a-yowling,> Let's play some tricks tonight!>>> RUFUS JACK-O-LANTERN (Frosty the Snowman)>> Rufus Jack-o-lantern Was a very scary sight, With triangle eyes, a twisted>mouth, And a huge hole for a nose.>> Rufus Jack-o-lantern Is a ghost tale so they say, But the children know how>the story goes, How he came to scare them one day.>>T here must have been some magic in the candle mom put in him, For when they>struck a match to it, he began to laugh at them.>> Rufus Jack-o-lantern Was alive as he could be, and the children say hecould>scream all day just like any banshee.>> Rufus Jack-o-lantern Was a very scary sight, With triangle eyes, a twisted>mouth, And a huge hole for a nose.>>Rufus Jack-o-lantern Is a ghost tale so they say, But children know how the>story goes, How he came to scare them one day.>>He chased them down the old graveyard with a broomstick and a mop. Hescared>them half to death until He came to a sudden stop.>>Oh, Rufus Jack-o-lantern His time had come to go. He had to stop his scary>chase When his candle would no longer glow.>>Thumpity, thump, thump Thumpity, thump, thump Look at Rufus go.>>Thumpity, thump, thump Thumpity, thump, thump Watch out or he'll get your>TOE!>>I'm A Little Jack-o-lantern (Tune: I'm A Little Teapot)>>I'm a little jack-o-lantern short and round somebody picked me up off the>ground they put me in the window with a light and BOO I'll scare you on>Halloween night>>Five Little Bats>>This fingerplay can also be used with bat patterns on Popsicle sticks. I>attach the bats on small Popsicle sticks and then use Velcro to attach the>bat puppets to a larger stick so they hang upside down. Remove a bat after>each verse of the rhyme.>>>>Five little bats hanging upside down. The first little one didn't make a>sound. The second one said, "I'll fly far tonight." The third one said, "I>don't like sunlight." The fourth one said, "I want to eat some bugs." The>fifth one said, "Let me give you a hug." Five little bats hanging upside>down. Shhh! It's daytime, don't make a sound!>>Sung to Twinkle, Twinkle>>I am a trick or treater set to go>Here is my flashlight I'll walk slow>I always say thank you for my treats>And I never run across the street!>>Halloween Chant Start by holding up 5 fingers above opposite wrist wiggle>hand->>"5 little pumpkins sitting on a gate." (hold up 1 finger for 1st pumpkin>then 2 etc.) The 1st one said "my it's getting late". The 2nd one said>"there are witches in the air". The 3rd one said "I don't care". The 4thone>said let's run let's run". The 5th one said "Isn't Halloween fun?" (make>swishing gesture) Then swish went the wind and out went the lights and the5>little pumpkins rolled out of sight. (roll hand over hand)>>This is a Halloween song sung to the tune of the itsy bitsy spider.>>A creepy, crawly monster is coming straight at me. Closer and closer he>climbs upon my knee. Up to my shoulder the monster's much too near, "Happy>Halloween" he whispers in my ear.>>>I'M A LITTLE PUMPKIN (the tune of I'm a Little Tea Pot">>I'm a little pumpkin orange and round (hold arms in a circle)>Here is my stem, (place fist on head)>There is the ground. (point down)>When I get all cut up ("cut" palm with opposite hand)>Don't you shout! (shake head and point finger)>Just open me up (open top of head)>And scoop me out! (scoop out tummy)FiveBlack Bats >>Five black bats >Ready to soar; >One stayed behind, >Now there are four. >>Four black bats >Hanging from a tree; >One fell down, >Now there are three. >>Three black bats >Wondering what to do; >One flew away, >Now there are two. >>Two black bats >Sitting in the sun; >One fell asleep, >Leaving only one. >>One lonesome bat >With no place to go, >Went hiding in a cave, >Now there are zero It's sung to the tune of "Take Me Out To The Ball Game". Take me out to the Pumpkin PatchTake me out to the farm.I want to buy some pumpkins there,Big and round and orange. Take me out to the Pumpkin Patch.I need one for Halloween.For it's one, two, three pumpkins there,Jack-o-lanterns beam! Halloween Songs>>This Old Ghost (This Old Man)>>This old ghost, he played one,>He played peek-a-boo on the run.>With a boo! boo! Boo! and a clap! clap! snap.>This old ghost is a friendly chap.>>This old ghost, he played two.>He played peek-a-boo in a shoe.>With a boo! boo! boo! and a clap! clap! snap.>This old ghost is a friendly chap.>>This old ghost, he played three.>He played peek-a-boo behind a tree.>With a boo! boo! boo! and a clap! clap! snap.>This old ghost is a friendly chap.>>You could add other verses on to this one.....>>>Six Little Ghosts That I Once Knew (Six Little Ducks)>>Six little ghosts that I once knew;,>Spooky ones, kooky ones, shy ones too.>But the one little ghost had a special job to do,>He led the others with a Boo! Boo! Boo!>Boo! Boo! Boo!>Boo! Boo! Boo!>He led the others with a Boo! Boo! Boo!>>Down to the haunted house they flew,>In and out, round about, through and through,>But the one little ghost had a special job to do,>He led the others with a Boo! Boo! Boo!>Boo! Boo! Boo!>Boo! Boo! Boo!>He led the others with a Boo! Boo! Boo!This idea takes a little work but once you have done it you can use it>year after year. Purchase plastic golf balls and spray paint them>orange.>Next using permanent marker draw different silly and spooky faces on>them. Let dry. Place these balls in your water table and give your>children strainer nets or fish nets and let them catch all the pumpkins>and put them in a large jack lantern (plastic store bought one) My kids>love this activity and I look forward to bringing it out year after year Jack-o-latern fruit salad ---from Disneys Family CookbookMakes 1 per person. You need assorted fruit such as kiwis, melon, strawberries, and apples.1 orange per personMint leaves, optional1. Chop assorted fruits and mix them in a large bowl. (You will need about 1/2 cup fruit for each orange)2. Carve pumpkin cup slices off top of orange as you would a jack-o-latern. Using a knife to loosen the edges, scoop out inside of the orange. 3.Toss juice from the orange in with the fruit. 4. Carve a small face in each orange5. Fill orange with fruit salad and replace the top.6. As finishing touch, garnish each pumpkin with a peppermint leaf for stems.I haven't done this yet... but it sounds yummmy! MAGIC WANDS from the Disneys Family CookbookMakes 12 wandsWhat you need:1 cup chocolate chips12(8 inch) pretzel rodsColored Sprinkles1. Melt Chocolate in top of double broiler.2. Dunk each pretzil halfway into chocolate3. Roll in bowl of sprinklers.4. Let dry on wax paper WITCHES BREW from the Disneys Family CookbookMakes 3 3/4 cupsYou need:1 cup of popped corn, 3/4 cup of mini pretzels, 1/2 cup of mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, raisins, and goldfish crackers.Sir in ingredients together in a large bowl CAT OF MANY COLORSOnce there was a cat all white who wished that he were black as night. He was thirsty as could be, and in the cupboard, what did he see? Grape juice right before his eyes! He drank it. Then to his surprise, he turned from white to something new. Deep dark purple was his hue. He peered into his little cup, saw tomato juice, and lapped it up. He soon became the brightest red. He thought, "maybe I should go to bed." But he wasn't tired, and so he looked for somewhere else to go. He spied an orange on the floor, and pounced on it, and played some more. As he played this little game, orange was what he became. He played with some blueberries, too. So suddenly the cat turned blue. A sour lime sat on the ground. The kitty licked it and he found that he felt strange and not so keen, for he had turned the colour green. Now he was a sad little fellow. So he ate a banana and turned the colour yellow. Just then he saw a tasty treat, another food he had to eat. A long black piece of licorice gave the little cat his wish. He ate it all, and soon he was black from his head to his paws! Why did this happened? You guessed it right if you blamed it on Halloween night. BODY PARTS GAME Here are some things to use when putting together a fun Halloween game. You can set up a dark room and have the people feel their way through. Make sure everything is cold and oily. Use your discretion with younger children!Eyeballs: peeled grapes or green olives Guts: cold, oiled spaghetti Liver: canned peach half Hair: corn silk or wig Skin: a soft, oiled flour tortilla Fingers: tofu hot dogs Teeth: un-popped popcorn Hand: fill a surgical glove with water, drape over a bowl and freeze. Stick in a container of dirt so they have to feel around in the dirt for the buried hand. Hand in the Bucket: Cut a hole in the bottom of the bucket and stick a rubber glove through the hole and attach. Someone hides under the table with a hand in the glove. When people are feeling the hand... grab them! Have fun! Copy a picture of corn (with kernels) in the husk on to construction paper. Cut small strips of paper (2" x 6") in different colors. Have the children use the hole punch to make "kernels" from strips of paper, to glue on to the corn. The more colors the better! This is good for fine motor skills. Swamp jello w/ frog eggs (I only serve jello once a year and here it is)mix orange and lime jello as directed- add just a few pomogranate seeds. It is really simple, really disgusting, and a HUGE hit with all the dc young ones! Believe it or not- it tastes great- just has a VERY swampy look to Pumpkin Candy Brownies1 Pkg Fudge Brownie Mix(any brownie mix)2 eggs1/3 cup water1/4 cup Oil1 cup creamy chocolate frosting26 pumpkin candies1/2 cup Creamy Vanilla frostinggreen food coloring1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 26 muffin cups with foil liners or place liners on baking sheet.2. Combine Brownie mix,contents of fudge packet from mix,eggs,water and oil in large bowl.Stir with spoon until well blended, about 50 strokes. Fill each fiol liner with 2 levels measuring tablesppons batter. Bake 15-17 minutes or until firm. Cool 5-10 minutes in pans. Remove to cooling racks.3. Place chocolate frostin in small saucepan. Melt on low heat, stirring constantly. Frost top of 1 warm brownie with generous 1/2 teaspoonful melted frosting.top with 1 pumpkin candy;push down slightly. 4. Tint vanilla frosting with green food coloring. Place in decorating bag fitted with small leaf tip.Pipe 3 leaves around each pumpkin candy. http://www.kidsturncentral.com/holidays/hcolor6.htm Throw a Daycare Halloween PartyIdeas and resources for planning a fun celebration in daycare. One thing that I do every year with the kids is the simple pumpkin patch picture. Give the child a peice of paper and a cotton ball and some orange paint. Dip the cotton ball in the paint and have them randomly dab the paint on the paper for a pumpkin patch. I also give them a Q-tip to paint stems and vines.I have also taken a black T-shirt and painted their feet white and had them step on the shirt 2 times for ghost prints. The toes are the bottom of the ghost. You could also do this on black paper or cardstock.Decorate cookies is also a fun one. this is a simple halloween art project we did yesterday with our two year olds. gave them a paper plate and had them paint it orange. next week we are going to add a green stem, two eyes, a nose and mouth. I thought of a few more that I have done. Draw a ghost on a half sheet of black card stock and let the kids glue marshmallows on the ghost or cottonballs.This idea came from a Punky member last year and the kids had fun. Draw a tree with simple stick branches on cardstock and have the kids glue cornflakes for leaves. then have them paint them. Very cute!!!!!!Make pumpkin masks from paper plates. Cut holes for eyes, mouth and nose. Let them color them. You can attatch it to a craft stick and then they can hold it up to their face. Songs, Poems, Stories, & Fingerplays I'm a Mean Old Witch - sung to "The Farmer in the Dell" I'm a mean old witch with a hat,I ride on my broom with my cat.My shoes are pointy,My chin is too,If you don't watch out I might scare you.I'm a mean old witch with a hat.BOO! Witchy Song I'm a witchBoom! Boom! (clap, clap)I'm a witchBoom! Boom! (clap, clap)With a pointed hat on my head.... (hands point over head...forming a hat)I jump on my broom (pretend to jump on broomstick)And I sweep the sky (sweeping motion)While children are in bed (head resting on hands) Arts & CraftsWitch Mobile Cut 3 orange circles and 1 black triangle from construction paper. Use strips of yarn for hair. Draw witch's face on 1 circle. Glue hear and triangular hat to face. Place witch's head face down on table. Place remaining circles below head approximately 1" apart. Place end of string in center of bottom circle. Extend string through center of all circles and triangle. Tape string to each shape. Tie a loop above the hat and hang from room. ~Submitted by Hope in Florida Witch Hats Black & yellow construction paper,sturdy paper long enough to fit around a child's head. Cut a large triangle from black paper to form the hat. Add a yellow strip about one inch wide, about one inch or so from the base of the triangle for a hat band. Use the scraps of black (or use any color from your scrap box) to cut long strips for hair and glue to the base of the hat. Fit a one inch band of sturdy paper or light cardboard around the child's head and staple. Staple or glue the hat to the band. ~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare In The KitchenWitches Fingers 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup icing sugar 1 egg 1 tsp almond extract 1 tsp vanilla 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 3/4 cup whole blanched almonds 1 tube red decorator gel In bowl beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla; beat in flour; baking powder and salt. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Working with one-quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remaining dough refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoons full of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press almond firmly into one end for nail. Squeeze in centre to create knuckle shape. Using a paring knife make slashes in several places to form knuckle. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet in 325 degree over for 20-25 minutes or until pale or golden. Let cool for three minutes. Lift up almond; squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place so gel oozes out from underneath. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool. Repeat with remaining dough. Makes about 5 doz fingers! Witch's Snack In a large cauldron (bowl), mix 2 1/2 cups of crushed bat wings(blue corn chips), with 1 cup each of frog eyes(corn nuts), lizard gizzards(raisins), legs of rat(pretzel sticks), fish ribs(shoestring potato sticks), and mole bones(cheese sticks). Sprinkle 1/2 cup of hearts of newt(shelled pistachios) on top. (Other things, even fruits, could be used in place of some of these items for a healthier snack.) A very old witch sits stirring her pot Oooo..Oooo - Oooo..Ooo Along came a ghost says "What have you Got" Oooo..Oooo - Oooo..Oooo Tip toe, Tip toe Tip toe, Boo!! Witchy Treats On a cookie sheet freeze place full, round scoops of lime sherbet. Freeze. When ready to decorate and serve, place a sugar cone on each scoop of sherbet. Poke short pieces of shoestring black licorice for hair up under the hat. Use small orange candies for the eyes, and a cashew for a crooked nose. You can eat the melting creations right away or refreeze before serving. Witch's Hats Use a large, flat, dark cookie for the brim and an ice-cream sugar cone for the crown. Fill the cone with ice cream even to the rim and center it on top of the cookie. You can use icing to decorate the hat. Theme IdeasBoiling Hot! Boiling hot, boiling hotstir "witch's soup" in a big cauldron What will we put in the witch's potBoiling hot, boiling hotWe'll put some spiders* in the witch's pottoss something imaginary in the pot *stinky socks, hair, muddy boots, etc. Have the children provide suggestions to add to this ghoulish recipe! Worms in Witch's Brew Use a large kettle with 4" of water which contains a small amount of black tempera. In kettle, place rubber worms (found at sporting goods stores), colored rubber bands, or S-shaped styrofoam packing pieces. Player reaches into kettle, grasps a handful of"worms" and counts them. A treat is received for each "worm" counted. Get Off My Hat - game Big brown paper bag, Pencil, Scissors, tape or CD player or radio Cut the bag so that you can open it out flat. Draw a big witch's hat and cut it out. Put the hat on the floor. Have the children get into a straight line and shut their eyes. When the music starts, the players walk back and forth across the hat. Any player on the hat when the music stops is out of the game. The last player left wins. LinksWitch Coloring Page - Sheryl's Originals BooksGus Was A Friendly Ghost - Jane ThayerSongs, Poems, Stories, & FingerplaysFive Little Ghosts - 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! If You're a Ghost and You Know It - sung to "If You're Happy and You Know It" If you're a ghost and you know it,Then say "Boo!"If you're a ghost and you know it,Then say "Boo!"If you're a ghost and you know it,And you really want to show it,If you're a ghost and you know it,Then say "Boo!" ~June Meckel Friendly Ghost - sung to "Frere Jacque" I'm a friendly Ghost, I'm a friendly Ghost,Watch me fly, watch me fly,I can fly right through the airSee how all the people stare.Way up high in the sky ~Submitted by Paulette Arts & CraftsGhost Windsock Draw thick straight lines every two inches along the short side of 12 x 18 pieces of white construction paper. The lines should end about halfway up the paper. Let the children (or you, for the younger ones) cut strips to make tatters in the ghost's sheet. Have them draw a face in the middle of the uncut paper. (Or glue features cut from black paper.) Staple the edges of the paper together to form a windsock. Punch holes at the top and run yarn through them. Hang the ghost windsocks where they will catch the wind. Simple Cotton ball Ghosts - Very easy for kids of all ages Materials Cotton ballsWiggle eyesGlueMasking tapeBrooch pin back or magnetic strips (optional) Instructions: Take one cotton ball and pull and manipulate into a ghost shape. Glue wiggle eyes onto ghost's face. Put a piece of rolled up masking tape on back to temporarily stick to your shirt. (Or, glue a brooch pin back to the back side of the ghost for a permanent Ghost Pin. Magnetic strips could also be glued to the back to use as Ghost Fridge magnets.) Appearing Ghost Adult draws ghost with white crayon on white paper. Children then paint the paper with dark color watercolors or diluted tempra paint wash. Encourage child to paint entire page. Ghost appear through paint. Foot Ghost Step on white paper. Trace around shoe. Use crayon or felt-tipped pen to make face. Cut out. Decorate room or yard with the ghost. Tissue Ghost Roll a facial tissue or aluminum foil into a ball and place in the center of another tissue. Attach string, twister seal or rubber band below ball to secure head. Leave ends free. Glue two small black circles on face to make eyes. Bean Ghost Pictures Supplies: ~Black Construction Paper~Large Lima Beans~Glue~Fine point Markers Glue the beans onto the paper, and use a fine point marker to make a face on the bean. This is the ghost. If you want, you can have the child draw a scene on the paper too! Theme IdeasGhost Bowling - game Buy 3 paper bowling pins (from Michael's for example) & paint them white & put some Halloween ribbon around the neck of the pins. Decorate the pins to look like a ghost. Mark the bowling area with an "X" to show the children where the pins go back each time. Tell the children to set the pins up after they knock them down. Use a large rubber ball to knock the pins down. Ghost Pin Drop Make ghosts out of clothes pins, square piece of cotton cloth, yarn, cotton balls and marker. Place cotton ball in the pincher of the clothes pin and cover with cloth and tie it on. Use different candy buckets for tossing into (plastic buckets shaped like jack-o-lantern, ghost, bat.) In The KitchenGhost Toast Ingredients: loaf of bread, margarine, shredded coconut, raisins or chocolate chips Each child makes ghost toast by spreading margarine to make faces on toast then sprinkling coconut on it. Put raisins or chocolate chips for eyes and mouth. Toast again slightly, if desired. Book List Apples and Pumpkins - Anne Rockwell It's Pumpkin Time - Zoe Hall Pumpkin Face - Emma Rose Pumpkin Fair - Eve Bunting Pumpkin, Pumpkin - Jeanne Titherington The Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin - Stan & Jan Berenstain The Biggest Pumpkin Ever - Steven Kroll The Little Pumpkin Book - Katharine Ross The Magic Pumpkin - Lucille Sette The Pumpkin Book - Gail Gibbons The Pumpkin Patch - Elizabeth King Too Many Pumpkins - Linda White Songs, Poems & Fingerplays This Little Pumpkin This little pumpkin was taken to market (Pointer)And sold for fifteen cents.This little pumpkin was made into a jack-o-lantern (Middle finger)And stood high on a fence.This little pumpkin was made into a pie (Ring finger)And nevermore was seen.This little pumpkin was taken away (Little finger)On the night of Halloween. Clay Pot Bats - Turn a clay pot upside down and paint black. Cut bat wings from black fun foam or construction paper. Glue the wings to the back of the clay pot and add googly eyes to the front . *Bat Note or Artwork Holder - Paint a clothes pin black. Glue fun foam or construction paper wings to the back. Add small googly eyes or cut from felt or paper. Add a magnet to the back and can be used on the fridge to hold notes. If the children make pairs of bats, they could hold pieces of artwork on the fridge also. *Pop Bottle Bat - This looks really neat set up in a tree especially on a windy night when the wind makes the bag rustle! Cut a black garbage bag in 1/2. Cover a 2 litre pop bottle with the 1/2 bag cutting away extra and stuffing the last bit into the opening of the bottle. Replace the lid on to hold the bag secure. Fold the other piece of bag in 1/2 lengthwise. Cut a bat wing shape out leaving the fold intact. Place a long stick into the fold and secure with tape or using a glue gun. When I made these with the children, I used the glue gun first and then for extra support, added a the packing tape in an X form in the center of the wing span. From the scraps left over of the bag, cut out 2 bat ears and tape/glue gun on. Cut out 2 eyes from tin foil or reflective paper or you can use glow in the dark stickers. Attach. Place your bat in the tree using the stick in the wings to secure it in the tree branches. *Pumpkin Votive Holders - Use watered down white glue to cover the outside of a baby food jar with orange tissue paper. Let dry. Add a votive candle to the jar. Older children may want to make a face using black or yellow tissue paper. *Pumpkin Heads - Purchase real mini pumpkins and paint faces on them. Science *Use red and yellow food colouring and eyedroppers to make orange. *Open up a pumpkin and your let your sensory experience begin... mushy pulp, slippery seeds, the smell of pumpkin, the smooth outside and the rough stem. *Plant pumpkin seeds (soak in water until it sprouts). *Echolocation - Bats use their sense of hearing to locate food. Make up sound bottles and have the children test their own sense of hearing by matching the pairs of sounds. Block Area *Use orange and black blocks. *Add plastic Halloween props. Dramatic Play *Add costumes and trick or treat bags. Circle Time Songs: Games: *Pass the Magic Broomstick Chant Magic Broomstic song (see songs for chant) while passing the broom around the circle. The person holding the broom at the end of the first verse gets to ride the broomstick around the room while others chant the second verse and clap. Game continues until everyone has a turn (or if you have a large group, keep playing for awhile and do another day so the rest of the group can get a turn). *The Goblins in the Dark (Follow the directions in the song - below) *Pin the nose on the witch - cut out a witch shape from bristle board and paint or colour. Cut out enough noses for each child to have one. Using a blindfold on the child, turn them around 3 times and then have them place their nose on the bristle board witch using mac tac on the back of the nose. *Pumpkin bean bag toss - paint a large pumpkin shape onto several boxes of varying sizes. Create a pumpkin patch that the children can toss their bean bags into. *Bob for apples *Sound Location Game - Have one child sit in the center of a circle blindfolded. Then point to one child to say this person's name or make a sound (use an instrument/blow a whistle/etc) The blindfolded child must use their sense of hearing to point in the direction or to the person that made the noise. *Pass the Pumpkin - Use a mini, plastic, or felt pumpkin for this game. Have the children sit in a circle and pass the pumpkin around to music. When the music stops, the child holding the pumpkin is 'caught'. Continue playing. Water & Sand Play *Add orange food colouring to the water. *Add plastic halloween items to water. *Have orange water and black funnels in the water table. Outdoor Play *Use a cardboard box for a "haunted house" *Play running games with orange and black streamers. *Play balloon volleyball with orange and black balloons. Field Trips / Special Days *Visit a store and choose a pumpkin. *Go to a farm that celebrates Halloween. *Have a costume party. Witch Hat ³´`*:»§« »§«:*´`³ > >What You Need: >• black paper >• stiff black paper >• glue >• scissors > >What You Do: > >Basic cone: fold a 12"x24" sheet of paper in half. Cut out a quarter circle >and open the paper into a half circle. Roll the half circle into a cone to fit >the head. Tape or staple the cone together. Make the basic cone out of black >paper. Now make the brim. Place the cone on a sheet of stiff black paper and >draw around it. Draw a larger circle around the first, and cut it out. Draw >five tabs on the inside of the inner circle. Cut out the inner circle, leaving >the tabs in place. Slip the brim over the cone and glue or tape the tabs to >the cone. Finally, cut a long, thin rectangle out of black paper and wrap >around the base of the hat to conceal the tabs and glue. Tissue Ghost ³´`*:»§« »§«:*´`³ > >What You Need: > >• Box of tissues >• Cotton Balls >• Black Marker >• String or Rubber Band > >What You Do: > >Take a tissue and place 4-5 cotton balls in the center. Bring tissue together >forming a ball at the top. Tie string or rubber band around the head. Use >marker to draw a face on the ghost! > ³ Paper Plate Cat ´`*:»§« »§«:*´`³ > > >WHat You Need: > >• 9" Paper Plate >• Black Paint >• Black Contruction Paper Triangles >• Yellow Colored Sticker Dots >• Black Colored Sticker Dot >• 4" Black Pipe Cleaners >• Glue >• Paint Brush >• Stapler > >What You Do: > >Paint one side of the paper plate black and allow to dry. Attach triangles to >paper plate using glue or stapler to form ears. Use sticker dots to give the >cat two eyes and a nose. Glue or staple the pipe cleaners to form the >whiskers! > >Variation: >You can also simply use a black plate to start with, and use wiggly eyes or >yellow construction paper eyes. Then use a black pom pom for a nose, and you >can also make wiskers out of long thin pieces of black construction paper. Use >your imagination! > > Mr. Pumpkin Head ´`*:»§« »§«:*´`³ > > >What You Need: >• pumpkin >• washable markers >• damp sponge >• decorating accessories > >What You Do: > >Place a pumpkin on a table, surrounded by washable markers, a damp sponge, and >accesories such as hats, eyeglasses, sunglasses, scarves, wigs, etc. Have the >children draw faces and dress up Mr. PumpkinHead, and have them use the damp >sponge to erase their work after it's done. > > WE THREE GHOSTS (We three kings of orient ore) > >We three ghosts of Halloween are >Scaring kids who wander too far. >Trick or treating, candy eating, >Beware the Halloween Star. > >Oh......Oh......... Star of darkness, star of fright. >Star of every gruesome sight. >West winds howling, cats a-yowling, >Let's play some tricks tonight! > > >RUFUS JACK-O-LANTERN (Frosty the Snowman) > >Rufus Jack-o-lantern Was a very scary sight, With triangle eyes, a twisted >mouth, And a huge hole for a nose. > >Rufus Jack-o-lantern Is a ghost tale so they say, But the children know how >the story goes, How he came to scare them one day. > >There must have been some magic in the candle mom put in him, For when they >struck a match to it, he began to laugh at them. > >Rufus Jack-o-lantern Was alive as he could be, and the children say he could >scream all day just like any banshee. > >Rufus Jack-o-lantern Was a very scary sight, With triangle eyes, a twisted >mouth, And a huge hole for a nose. > >Rufus Jack-o-lantern Is a ghost tale so they say, But children know how the >story goes, How he came to scare them one day. > >He chased them down the old graveyard with a broomstick and a mop. He scared >them half to death until He came to a sudden stop. > >Oh, Rufus Jack-o-lantern His time had come to go. He had to stop his scary >chase When his candle would no longer glow. > >Thumpity, thump, thump Thumpity, thump, thump Look at Rufus go. > >Thumpity, thump, thump Thumpity, thump, thump Watch out or he'll get your >TOE! > >I'm A Little Jack-o-lantern (Tune: I'm A Little Teapot) > >I'm a little jack-o-lantern short and round somebody picked me up off the >ground they put me in the window with a light and BOO I'll scare you on >Halloween night > >Five Little Bats > >This fingerplay can also be used with bat patterns on Popsicle sticks. I >attach the bats on small Popsicle sticks and then use Velcro to attach the >bat puppets to a larger stick so they hang upside down. Remove a bat after >each verse of the rhyme. > > > >Five little bats hanging upside down. The first little one didn't make a >sound. The second one said, "I'll fly far tonight." The third one said, "I >don't like sunlight." The fourth one said, "I want to eat some bugs." The >fifth one said, "Let me give you a hug." Five little bats hanging upside >down. Shhh! It's daytime, don't make a sound! > >Sung to Twinkle, Twinkle > >I am a trick or treater set to go >Here is my flashlight I'll walk slow >I always say thank you for my treats >And I never run across the street! > >Halloween Chant Start by holding up 5 fingers above opposite wrist wiggle >hand- > >"5 little pumpkins sitting on a gate." (hold up 1 finger for 1st pumpkin >then 2 etc.) The 1st one said "my it's getting late". The 2nd one said >"there are witches in the air". The 3rd one said "I don't care". The 4th one >said let's run let's run". The 5th one said "Isn't Halloween fun?" (make >swishing gesture) Then swish went the wind and out went the lights and the 5 >little pumpkins rolled out of sight. (roll hand over hand) > >This is a Halloween song sung to the tune of the itsy bitsy spider. > >A creepy, crawly monster is coming straight at me. Closer and closer he >climbs upon my knee. Up to my shoulder the monster's much too near, "Happy >Halloween" he whispers in my ear. > > >I'M A LITTLE PUMPKIN (the tune of I'm a Little Tea Pot" > >I'm a little pumpkin orange and round (hold arms in a circle) >Here is my stem, (place fist on head) >There is the ground. (point down) >When I get all cut up ("cut" palm with opposite hand) >Don't you shout! (shake head and point finger) >Just open me up (open top of head) >And scoop me out! (scoop out tummy) FiveBlack Bats > >Five black bats >Ready to soar; >One stayed behind, >Now there are four. > >Four black bats >Hanging from a tree; >One fell down, >Now there are three. > >Three black bats >Wondering what to do; >One flew away, >Now there are two. > >Two black bats >Sitting in the sun; >One fell asleep, >Leaving only one. > >One lonesome bat >With no place to go, >Went hiding in a cave, >Now there are zero It's sung to the tune of "Take Me Out To The Ball Game". Take me out to the Pumpkin Patch Take me out to the farm. I want to buy some pumpkins there, Big and round and orange. Take me out to the Pumpkin Patch. I need one for Halloween. For it's one, two, three pumpkins there, Jack-o-lanterns beam! Halloween Songs > >This Old Ghost (This Old Man) > >This old ghost, he played one, >He played peek-a-boo on the run. >With a boo! boo! Boo! and a clap! clap! snap. >This old ghost is a friendly chap. > >This old ghost, he played two. >He played peek-a-boo in a shoe. >With a boo! boo! boo! and a clap! clap! snap. >This old ghost is a friendly chap. > >This old ghost, he played three. >He played peek-a-boo behind a tree. >With a boo! boo! boo! and a clap! clap! snap. >This old ghost is a friendly chap. > >You could add other verses on to this one..... > > >Six Little Ghosts That I Once Knew (Six Little Ducks) > >Six little ghosts that I once knew;, >Spooky ones, kooky ones, shy ones too. >But the one little ghost had a special job to do, >He led the others with a Boo! Boo! Boo! >Boo! Boo! Boo! >Boo! Boo! Boo! >He led the others with a Boo! Boo! Boo! > >Down to the haunted house they flew, >In and out, round about, through and through, >But the one little ghost had a special job to do, >He led the others with a Boo! Boo! Boo! >Boo! Boo! Boo! >Boo! Boo! Boo! >He led the others with a Boo! Boo! Boo! This idea takes a little work but once you have done it you can use it >year after year. Purchase plastic golf balls and spray paint them >orange. >Next using permanent marker draw different silly and spooky faces on >them. Let dry. Place these balls in your water table and give your >children strainer nets or fish nets and let them catch all the pumpkins >and put them in a large jack lantern (plastic store bought one) My kids >love this activity and I look forward to bringing it out year after year Jack-o-latern fruit salad ---from Disneys Family Cookbook Makes 1 per person. You need assorted fruit such as kiwis, melon, strawberries, and apples. 1 orange per person Mint leaves, optional 1. Chop assorted fruits and mix them in a large bowl. (You will need about 1/2 cup fruit for each orange) 2. Carve pumpkin cup slices off top of orange as you would a jack-o-latern. Using a knife to loosen the edges, scoop out inside of the orange. 3.Toss juice from the orange in with the fruit. 4. Carve a small face in each orange 5. Fill orange with fruit salad and replace the top. 6. As finishing touch, garnish each pumpkin with a peppermint leaf for stems. I haven't done this yet... but it sounds yummmy! MAGIC WANDS from the Disneys Family Cookbook Makes 12 wands What you need: 1 cup chocolate chips 12(8 inch) pretzel rods Colored Sprinkles 1. Melt Chocolate in top of double broiler. 2. Dunk each pretzil halfway into chocolate 3. Roll in bowl of sprinklers. 4. Let dry on wax paper WITCHES BREW from the Disneys Family Cookbook Makes 3 3/4 cups You need: 1 cup of popped corn, 3/4 cup of mini pretzels, 1/2 cup of mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, raisins, and goldfish crackers. Sir in ingredients together in a large bowl CAT OF MANY COLORS Once there was a cat all white who wished that he were black as night. He was thirsty as could be, and in the cupboard, what did he see? Grape juice right before his eyes! He drank it. Then to his surprise, he turned from white to something new. Deep dark purple was his hue. He peered into his little cup, saw tomato juice, and lapped it up. He soon became the brightest red. He thought, "maybe I should go to bed." But he wasn't tired, and so he looked for somewhere else to go. He spied an orange on the floor, and pounced on it, and played some more. As he played this little game, orange was what he became. He played with some blueberries, too. So suddenly the cat turned blue. A sour lime sat on the ground. The kitty licked it and he found that he felt strange and not so keen, for he had turned the colour green. Now he was a sad little fellow. So he ate a banana and turned the colour yellow. Just then he saw a tasty treat, another food he had to eat. A long black piece of licorice gave the little cat his wish. He ate it all, and soon he was black from his head to his paws! Why did this happened? You guessed it right if you blamed it on Halloween night. BODY PARTS GAME Here are some things to use when putting together a fun Halloween game. You can set up a dark room and have the people feel their way through. Make sure everything is cold and oily. Use your discretion with younger children! Eyeballs: peeled grapes or green olives Guts: cold, oiled spaghetti Liver: canned peach half Hair: corn silk or wig Skin: a soft, oiled flour tortilla Fingers: tofu hot dogs Teeth: un-popped popcorn Hand: fill a surgical glove with water, drape over a bowl and freeze. Stick in a container of dirt so they have to feel around in the dirt for the buried hand. Hand in the Bucket: Cut a hole in the bottom of the bucket and stick a rubber glove through the hole and attach. Someone hides under the table with a hand in the glove. When people are feeling the hand... grab them! Have fun! Copy a picture of corn (with kernels) in the husk on to construction paper. Cut small strips of paper (2" x 6") in different colors. Have the children use the hole punch to make "kernels" from strips of paper, to glue on to the corn. The more colors the better! This is good for fine motor skills. Swamp jello w/ frog eggs (I only serve jello once a year and here it is) mix orange and lime jello as directed- add just a few pomogranate seeds. It is really simple, really disgusting, and a HUGE hit with all the dc young ones! Believe it or not- it tastes great- just has a VERY swampy look to Pumpkin Candy Brownies 1 Pkg Fudge Brownie Mix(any brownie mix) 2 eggs 1/3 cup water 1/4 cup Oil 1 cup creamy chocolate frosting 26 pumpkin candies 1/2 cup Creamy Vanilla frosting green food coloring 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 26 muffin cups with foil liners or place liners on baking sheet. 2. Combine Brownie mix,contents of fudge packet from mix,eggs,water and oil in large bowl.Stir with spoon until well blended, about 50 strokes. Fill each fiol liner with 2 levels measuring tablesppons batter. Bake 15-17 minutes or until firm. Cool 5-10 minutes in pans. Remove to cooling racks. 3. Place chocolate frostin in small saucepan. Melt on low heat, stirring constantly. Frost top of 1 warm brownie with generous 1/2 teaspoonful melted frosting.top with 1 pumpkin candy;push down slightly. 4. Tint vanilla frosting with green food coloring. Place in decorating bag fitted with small leaf tip.Pipe 3 leaves around each pumpkin candy. http://www.kidsturncentral.com/holidays/hcolor6.htm Throw a Daycare Halloween Party Ideas and resources for planning a fun celebration in daycare. One thing that I do every year with the kids is the simple pumpkin patch picture. Give the child a peice of paper and a cotton ball and some orange paint. Dip the cotton ball in the paint and have them randomly dab the paint on the paper for a pumpkin patch. I also give them a Q-tip to paint stems and vines. I have also taken a black T-shirt and painted their feet white and had them step on the shirt 2 times for ghost prints. The toes are the bottom of the ghost. You could also do this on black paper or cardstock. Decorate cookies is also a fun one. this is a simple halloween art project we did yesterday with our two year olds. gave them a paper plate and had them paint it orange. next week we are going to add a green stem, two eyes, a nose and mouth. I thought of a few more that I have done. Draw a ghost on a half sheet of black card stock and let the kids glue marshmallows on the ghost or cottonballs. This idea came from a Punky member last year and the kids had fun. Draw a tree with simple stick branches on cardstock and have the kids glue cornflakes for leaves. then have them paint them. Very cute!!!!!! Make pumpkin masks from paper plates. Cut holes for eyes, mouth and nose. Let them color them. You can attatch it to a craft stick and then they can hold it up to their face. Songs, Poems, Stories, & Fingerplays I'm a Mean Old Witch - sung to "The Farmer in the Dell" I'm a mean old witch with a hat,I ride on my broom with my cat.My shoes are pointy,My chin is too,If you don't watch out I might scare you.I'm a mean old witch with a hat.BOO! Witchy Song I'm a witch Boom! Boom! (clap, clap) I'm a witch Boom! Boom! (clap, clap) With a pointed hat on my head.... (hands point over head...forming a hat) I jump on my broom (pretend to jump on broomstick) And I sweep the sky (sweeping motion) While children are in bed (head resting on hands) Arts & Crafts Witch Mobile Cut 3 orange circles and 1 black triangle from construction paper. Use strips of yarn for hair. Draw witch's face on 1 circle. Glue hear and triangular hat to face. Place witch's head face down on table. Place remaining circles below head approximately 1" apart. Place end of string in center of bottom circle. Extend string through center of all circles and triangle. Tape string to each shape. Tie a loop above the hat and hang from room. ~Submitted by Hope in Florida Witch Hats Black & yellow construction paper,sturdy paper long enough to fit around a child's head. Cut a large triangle from black paper to form the hat. Add a yellow strip about one inch wide, about one inch or so from the base of the triangle for a hat band. Use the scraps of black (or use any color from your scrap box) to cut long strips for hair and glue to the base of the hat. Fit a one inch band of sturdy paper or light cardboard around the child's head and staple. Staple or glue the hat to the band. ~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare In The Kitchen Witches Fingers 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup icing sugar 1 egg 1 tsp almond extract 1 tsp vanilla 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 3/4 cup whole blanched almonds 1 tube red decorator gel In bowl beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla; beat in flour; baking powder and salt. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Working with one-quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remaining dough refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoons full of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press almond firmly into one end for nail. Squeeze in centre to create knuckle shape. Using a paring knife make slashes in several places to form knuckle. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet in 325 degree over for 20-25 minutes or until pale or golden. Let cool for three minutes. Lift up almond; squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place so gel oozes out from underneath. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool. Repeat with remaining dough. Makes about 5 doz fingers! Witch's Snack In a large cauldron (bowl), mix 2 1/2 cups of crushed bat wings(blue corn chips), with 1 cup each of frog eyes(corn nuts), lizard gizzards(raisins), legs of rat(pretzel sticks), fish ribs(shoestring potato sticks), and mole bones(cheese sticks). Sprinkle 1/2 cup of hearts of newt(shelled pistachios) on top. (Other things, even fruits, could be used in place of some of these items for a healthier snack.) A very old witch sits stirring her pot Oooo..Oooo - Oooo..Ooo Along came a ghost says "What have you Got" Oooo..Oooo - Oooo..Oooo Tip toe, Tip toe Tip toe, Boo!! Witchy Treats On a cookie sheet freeze place full, round scoops of lime sherbet. Freeze. When ready to decorate and serve, place a sugar cone on each scoop of sherbet. Poke short pieces of shoestring black licorice for hair up under the hat. Use small orange candies for the eyes, and a cashew for a crooked nose. You can eat the melting creations right away or refreeze before serving. Witch's Hats Use a large, flat, dark cookie for the brim and an ice-cream sugar cone for the crown. Fill the cone with ice cream even to the rim and center it on top of the cookie. You can use icing to decorate the hat. Theme Ideas Boiling Hot! Boiling hot, boiling hot stir "witch's soup" in a big cauldron What will we put in the witch's pot Boiling hot, boiling hot We'll put some spiders* in the witch's pot toss something imaginary in the pot *stinky socks, hair, muddy boots, etc. Have the children provide suggestions to add to this ghoulish recipe! Worms in Witch's Brew Use a large kettle with 4" of water which contains a small amount of black tempera. In kettle, place rubber worms (found at sporting goods stores), colored rubber bands, or S-shaped styrofoam packing pieces. Player reaches into kettle, grasps a handful of"worms" and counts them. A treat is received for each "worm" counted. Get Off My Hat - game Big brown paper bag, Pencil, Scissors, tape or CD player or radio Cut the bag so that you can open it out flat. Draw a big witch's hat and cut it out. Put the hat on the floor. Have the children get into a straight line and shut their eyes. When the music starts, the players walk back and forth across the hat. Any player on the hat when the music stops is out of the game. The last player left wins. Links Witch Coloring Page - Sheryl's Originals Books Gus Was A Friendly Ghost - Jane Thayer Songs, Poems, Stories, & Fingerplays Five Little Ghosts - 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! If You're a Ghost and You Know It - sung to "If You're Happy and You Know It" If you're a ghost and you know it, Then say "Boo!" If you're a ghost and you know it, Then say "Boo!" If you're a ghost and you know it, And you really want to show it, If you're a ghost and you know it, Then say "Boo!" ~June Meckel Friendly Ghost - sung to "Frere Jacque" I'm a friendly Ghost, I'm a friendly Ghost, Watch me fly, watch me fly, I can fly right through the air See how all the people stare. Way up high in the sky ~Submitted by Paulette Arts & Crafts Ghost Windsock Draw thick straight lines every two inches along the short side of 12 x 18 pieces of white construction paper. The lines should end about halfway up the paper. Let the children (or you, for the younger ones) cut strips to make tatters in the ghost's sheet. Have them draw a face in the middle of the uncut paper. (Or glue features cut from black paper.) Staple the edges of the paper together to form a windsock. Punch holes at the top and run yarn through them. Hang the ghost windsocks where they will catch the wind. Simple Cotton ball Ghosts - Very easy for kids of all ages Materials Cotton balls Wiggle eyes Glue Masking tape Brooch pin back or magnetic strips (optional) Instructions: Take one cotton ball and pull and manipulate into a ghost shape. Glue wiggle eyes onto ghost's face. Put a piece of rolled up masking tape on back to temporarily stick to your shirt. (Or, glue a brooch pin back to the back side of the ghost for a permanent Ghost Pin. Magnetic strips could also be glued to the back to use as Ghost Fridge magnets.) Appearing Ghost Adult draws ghost with white crayon on white paper. Children then paint the paper with dark color watercolors or diluted tempra paint wash. Encourage child to paint entire page. Ghost appear through paint. Foot Ghost Step on white paper. Trace around shoe. Use crayon or felt-tipped pen to make face. Cut out. Decorate room or yard with the ghost. Tissue Ghost Roll a facial tissue or aluminum foil into a ball and place in the center of another tissue. Attach string, twister seal or rubber band below ball to secure head. Leave ends free. Glue two small black circles on face to make eyes. Bean Ghost Pictures Supplies: ~Black Construction Paper ~Large Lima Beans ~Glue ~Fine point Markers Glue the beans onto the paper, and use a fine point marker to make a face on the bean. This is the ghost. If you want, you can have the child draw a scene on the paper too! Theme Ideas Ghost Bowling - game Buy 3 paper bowling pins (from Michael's for example) & paint them white & put some Halloween ribbon around the neck of the pins. Decorate the pins to look like a ghost. Mark the bowling area with an "X" to show the children where the pins go back each time. Tell the children to set the pins up after they knock them down. Use a large rubber ball to knock the pins down. Ghost Pin Drop Make ghosts out of clothes pins, square piece of cotton cloth, yarn, cotton balls and marker. Place cotton ball in the pincher of the clothes pin and cover with cloth and tie it on. Use different candy buckets for tossing into (plastic buckets shaped like jack-o-lantern, ghost, bat.) In The Kitchen Ghost Toast Ingredients: loaf of bread, margarine, shredded coconut, raisins or chocolate chips Each child makes ghost toast by spreading margarine to make faces on toast then sprinkling coconut on it. Put raisins or chocolate chips for eyes and mouth. Toast again slightly, if desired. Book List Apples and Pumpkins - Anne Rockwell It's Pumpkin Time - Zoe Hall Pumpkin Face - Emma Rose Pumpkin Fair - Eve Bunting Pumpkin, Pumpkin - Jeanne Titherington The Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin - Stan & Jan Berenstain The Biggest Pumpkin Ever - Steven Kroll The Little Pumpkin Book - Katharine Ross The Magic Pumpkin - Lucille Sette The Pumpkin Book - Gail Gibbons The Pumpkin Patch - Elizabeth King Too Many Pumpkins - Linda White Songs, Poems & Fingerplays This Little Pumpkin This little pumpkin was taken to market (Pointer) And sold for fifteen cents. This little pumpkin was made into a jack-o-lantern (Middle finger) And stood high on a fence. This little pumpkin was made into a pie (Ring finger) And nevermore was seen. This little pumpkin was taken away (Little finger) On the night of Halloween. Crafts *Lunch bag jack o'lanterns - stuff bags with newspaper, tie top, paint stem green, and bag orange. When dry, glue on shapes for face cut from black construction paper. *Make pumpkin clickers - Glue a circle cut from the orange paper to fit on top of the lid of a baby food jar. cut out shapes for the jack o' lantern's face and glue on top of the circle. When dry, if you press the center of the lid it will make a clicking sound. *Tissue ghosts - Use kleenex or tissue paper, fill center of a square with a cotton ball, tie, and add face. *Fingerpaint with orange and black. *Black cat treat bags - Cut a lunch bag to make 2 ears, paint black, when dry add facial features from construction paper and a black handle. *Ghosts - dip large pieces of white cloth in liquid starch and then drape over a javex jug, let dry. Your ghost will harden and stand like a statue. Use markers or felt for eyes and mouth. *Make witches - Cut a 3" piece from the nylon and stuff with cotton, this will be the head. Sew a few stitches for the eyes, nose and mouth of your witch. Make a small cone shape with the black construction paper for the hat and a large cone for the dress and attach the head to the dress with glue. Glue wool for hair onto the top of the head, then attach the hat with glue. You can add a brim to the hat by cutting a circle (donut shape) that will just fit over the hat and stay in place. You can make a broomstick by tying small pieces of twigs to a larger one with string and gluing to the dress of your witch. Decorate the hat and dress with sticky stars (glow in the dark ones are really neat for this project!). *Cut and paste with black and orange materials. *Pompom spiders - Cut 2 black pipecleaners into quarters, using a gluegun, glue to a large black pompom - 4 on either side for the legs; add a smaller pompom for the head then glue on googly eyes, bend the pipecleaners so the spider can stand. *Sponge Bats - Take a large piece of black paper and glue a large yellow circle on it for the moon. Cut a bat shape from sponge or you can purchase a bat shaped sponge fairly cheaply at the store. Dip the sponge in black paint and make bat prints across the moonlit sky. You can add glow in the dark star stickers to the night sky for a really neat effect. *Clay Pot Bats - Turn a clay pot upside down and paint black. Cut bat wings from black fun foam or construction paper. Glue the wings to the back of the clay pot and add googly eyes to the front. *Bat Note or Artwork Holder - Paint a clothes pin black. Glue fun foam or construction paper wings to the back. Add small googly eyes or cut from felt or paper. Add a magnet to the back and can be used on the fridge to hold notes. If the children make pairs of bats, they could hold pieces of artwork on the fridge also. *Pop Bottle Bat - This looks really neat set up in a tree especially on a windy night when the wind makes the bag rustle! Cut a black garbage bag in 1/2. Cover a 2 litre pop bottle with the 1/2 bag cutting away extra and stuffing the last bit into the opening of the bottle. Replace the lid on to hold the bag secure. Fold the other piece of bag in 1/2 lengthwise. Cut a bat wing shape out leaving the fold intact. Place a long stick into the fold and secure with tape or using a glue gun. When I made these with the children, I used the glue gun first and then for extra support, added a the packing tape in an X form in the center of the wing span. From the scraps left over of the bag, cut out 2 bat ears and tape/glue gun on. Cut out 2 eyes from tin foil or reflective paper or you can use glow in the dark stickers. Attach. Place your bat in the tree using the stick in the wings to secure it in the tree branches. *Pumpkin Votive Holders - Use watered down white glue to cover the outside of a baby food jar with orange tissue paper. Let dry. Add a votive candle to the jar. Older children may want to make a face using black or yellow tissue paper. *Pumpkin Heads - Purchase real mini pumpkins and paint faces on them. Science *Use red and yellow food colouring and eyedroppers to make orange. *Open up a pumpkin and your let your sensory experience begin... mushy pulp, slippery seeds, the smell of pumpkin, the smooth outside and the rough stem. *Plant pumpkin seeds (soak in water until it sprouts). *Echolocation - Bats use their sense of hearing to locate food. Make up sound bottles and have the children test their own sense of hearing by matching the pairs of sounds. Block Area *Use orange and black blocks. *Add plastic Halloween props. Dramatic Play *Add costumes and trick or treat bags. Circle Time Songs: *There's something hiding *Ghosts Have Come to School Today *1,2,3 Little witches *5 Little pumpkins sitting on a gate (Raffi) Stories *The Witch who was afraid of Witches *Clifford's Halloween *Franklin's Halloween *The biggest Pumpkin ever *Boo, guess who *The Witch grows up Games: *Pass the Magic Broomstick Chant Magic Broomstic song (see songs for chant) while passing the broom around the circle. The person holding the broom at the end of the first verse gets to ride the broomstick around the room while others chant the second verse and clap. Game continues until everyone has a turn (or if you have a large group, keep playing for awhile and do another day so the rest of the group can get a turn). *The Goblins in the Dark (Follow the directions in the song - below) *Pin the nose on the witch - cut out a witch shape from bristle board and paint or colour. Cut out enough noses for each child to have one. Using a blindfold on the child, turn them around 3 times and then have them place their nose on the bristle board witch using mac tac on the back of the nose. *Pumpkin bean bag toss - paint a large pumpkin shape onto several boxes of varying sizes. Create a pumpkin patch that the children can toss their bean bags into. *Bob for apples *Sound Location Game - Have one child sit in the center of a circle blindfolded. Then point to one child to say this person's name or make a sound (use an instrument/blow a whistle/etc) The blindfolded child must use their sense of hearing to point in the direction or to the person that made the noise. *Pass the Pumpkin - Use a mini, plastic, or felt pumpkin for this game. Have the children sit in a circle and pass the pumpkin around to music. When the music stops, the child holding the pumpkin is 'caught'. Continue playing. Water & Sand Play *Add orange food colouring to the water. *Add plastic halloween items to water. *Have orange water and black funnels in the water table. Outdoor Play *Use a cardboard box for a "haunted house" *Play running games with orange and black streamers. *Play balloon volleyball with orange and black balloons. Field Trips / Special Days *Visit a store and choose a pumpkin. *Go to a farm that celebrates Halloween. *Have a costume party. Witch Hat ³´`*:»§« »§«:*´`³ > >What You Need: >• black paper >• stiff black paper >• glue >• scissors > >What You Do: > >Basic cone: fold a 12"x24" sheet of paper in half. Cut out a quarter circle >and open the paper into a half circle. Roll the half circle into a cone to fit >the head. Tape or staple the cone together. Make the basic cone out of black >paper. Now make the brim. Place the cone on a sheet of stiff black paper and >draw around it. Draw a larger circle around the first, and cut it out. Draw >five tabs on the inside of the inner circle. Cut out the inner circle, leaving >the tabs in place. Slip the brim over the cone and glue or tape the tabs to >the cone. Finally, cut a long, thin rectangle out of black paper and wrap >around the base of the hat to conceal the tabs and glue. Tissue Ghost ³´`*:»§« »§«:*´`³ > >What You Need: > >• Box of tissues >• Cotton Balls >• Black Marker >• String or Rubber Band > >What You Do: > >Take a tissue and place 4-5 cotton balls in the center. Bring tissue together >forming a ball at the top. Tie string or rubber band around the head. Use >marker to draw a face on the ghost! > ³ Paper Plate Cat ´`*:»§« »§«:*´`³ > > >WHat You Need: > >• 9" Paper Plate >• Black Paint >• Black Contruction Paper Triangles >• Yellow Colored Sticker Dots >• Black Colored Sticker Dot >• 4" Black Pipe Cleaners >• Glue >• Paint Brush >• Stapler > >What You Do: > >Paint one side of the paper plate black and allow to dry. Attach triangles to >paper plate using glue or stapler to form ears. Use sticker dots to give the >cat two eyes and a nose. Glue or staple the pipe cleaners to form the >whiskers! > >Variation: >You can also simply use a black plate to start with, and use wiggly eyes or >yellow construction paper eyes. Then use a black pom pom for a nose, and you >can also make wiskers out of long thin pieces of black construction paper. Use >your imagination! > > Mr. Pumpkin Head ´`*:»§« »§«:*´`³ > > >What You Need: >• pumpkin >• washable markers >• damp sponge >• decorating accessories > >What You Do: > >Place a pumpkin on a table, surrounded by washable markers, a damp sponge, and >accesories such as hats, eyeglasses, sunglasses, scarves, wigs, etc. Have the >children draw faces and dress up Mr. PumpkinHead, and have them use the damp >sponge to erase their work after it's done. > > WE THREE GHOSTS (We three kings of orient ore) > >We three ghosts of Halloween are >Scaring kids who wander too far. >Trick or treating, candy eating, >Beware the Halloween Star. > >Oh......Oh......... Star of darkness, star of fright. >Star of every gruesome sight. >West winds howling, cats a-yowling, >Let's play some tricks tonight! > > >RUFUS JACK-O-LANTERN (Frosty the Snowman) > >Rufus Jack-o-lantern Was a very scary sight, With triangle eyes, a twisted >mouth, And a huge hole for a nose. > >Rufus Jack-o-lantern Is a ghost tale so they say, But the children know how >the story goes, How he came to scare them one day. > >There must have been some magic in the candle mom put in him, For when they >struck a match to it, he began to laugh at them. > >Rufus Jack-o-lantern Was alive as he could be, and the children say he could >scream all day just like any banshee. > >Rufus Jack-o-lantern Was a very scary sight, With triangle eyes, a twisted >mouth, And a huge hole for a nose. > >Rufus Jack-o-lantern Is a ghost tale so they say, But children know how the >story goes, How he came to scare them one day. > >He chased them down the old graveyard with a broomstick and a mop. He scared >them half to death until He came to a sudden stop. > >Oh, Rufus Jack-o-lantern His time had come to go. He had to stop his scary >chase When his candle would no longer glow. > >Thumpity, thump, thump Thumpity, thump, thump Look at Rufus go. > >Thumpity, thump, thump Thumpity, thump, thump Watch out or he'll get your >TOE! > >I'm A Little Jack-o-lantern (Tune: I'm A Little Teapot) > >I'm a little jack-o-lantern short and round somebody picked me up off the >ground they put me in the window with a light and BOO I'll scare you on >Halloween night > >Five Little Bats > >This fingerplay can also be used with bat patterns on Popsicle sticks. I >attach the bats on small Popsicle sticks and then use Velcro to attach the >bat puppets to a larger stick so they hang upside down. Remove a bat after >each verse of the rhyme. > > > >Five little bats hanging upside down. The first little one didn't make a >sound. The second one said, "I'll fly far tonight." The third one said, "I >don't like sunlight." The fourth one said, "I want to eat some bugs." The >fifth one said, "Let me give you a hug." Five little bats hanging upside >down. Shhh! It's daytime, don't make a sound! > >Sung to Twinkle, Twinkle > >I am a trick or treater set to go >Here is my flashlight I'll walk slow >I always say thank you for my treats >And I never run across the street! > >Halloween Chant Start by holding up 5 fingers above opposite wrist wiggle >hand- > >"5 little pumpkins sitting on a gate." (hold up 1 finger for 1st pumpkin >then 2 etc.) The 1st one said "my it's getting late". The 2nd one said >"there are witches in the air". The 3rd one said "I don't care". The 4th one >said let's run let's run". The 5th one said "Isn't Halloween fun?" (make >swishing gesture) Then swish went the wind and out went the lights and the 5 >little pumpkins rolled out of sight. (roll hand over hand) > >This is a Halloween song sung to the tune of the itsy bitsy spider. > >A creepy, crawly monster is coming straight at me. Closer and closer he >climbs upon my knee. Up to my shoulder the monster's much too near, "Happy >Halloween" he whispers in my ear. > > >I'M A LITTLE PUMPKIN (the tune of I'm a Little Tea Pot" > >I'm a little pumpkin orange and round (hold arms in a circle) >Here is my stem, (place fist on head) >There is the ground. (point down) >When I get all cut up ("cut" palm with opposite hand) >Don't you shout! (shake head and point finger) >Just open me up (open top of head) >And scoop me out! (scoop out tummy) FiveBlack Bats > >Five black bats >Ready to soar; >One stayed behind, >Now there are four. > >Four black bats >Hanging from a tree; >One fell down, >Now there are three. > >Three black bats >Wondering what to do; >One flew away, >Now there are two. > >Two black bats >Sitting in the sun; >One fell asleep, >Leaving only one. > >One lonesome bat >With no place to go, >Went hiding in a cave, >Now there are zero It's sung to the tune of "Take Me Out To The Ball Game". Take me out to the Pumpkin Patch Take me out to the farm. I want to buy some pumpkins there, Big and round and orange. Take me out to the Pumpkin Patch. I need one for Halloween. For it's one, two, three pumpkins there, Jack-o-lanterns beam! Halloween Songs > >This Old Ghost (This Old Man) > >This old ghost, he played one, >He played peek-a-boo on the run. >With a boo! boo! Boo! and a clap! clap! snap. >This old ghost is a friendly chap. > >This old ghost, he played two. >He played peek-a-boo in a shoe. >With a boo! boo! boo! and a clap! clap! snap. >This old ghost is a friendly chap. > >This old ghost, he played three. >He played peek-a-boo behind a tree. >With a boo! boo! boo! and a clap! clap! snap. >This old ghost is a friendly chap. > >You could add other verses on to this one..... > > >Six Little Ghosts That I Once Knew (Six Little Ducks) > >Six little ghosts that I once knew;, >Spooky ones, kooky ones, shy ones too. >But the one little ghost had a special job to do, >He led the others with a Boo! Boo! Boo! >Boo! Boo! Boo! >Boo! Boo! Boo! >He led the others with a Boo! Boo! Boo! > >Down to the haunted house they flew, >In and out, round about, through and through, >But the one little ghost had a special job to do, >He led the others with a Boo! Boo! Boo! >Boo! Boo! Boo! >Boo! Boo! Boo! >He led the others with a Boo! Boo! Boo! This idea takes a little work but once you have done it you can use it >year after year. Purchase plastic golf balls and spray paint them >orange. >Next using permanent marker draw different silly and spooky faces on >them. Let dry. Place these balls in your water table and give your >children strainer nets or fish nets and let them catch all the pumpkins >and put them in a large jack lantern (plastic store bought one) My kids >love this activity and I look forward to bringing it out year after year Jack-o-latern fruit salad ---from Disneys Family Cookbook Makes 1 per person. You need assorted fruit such as kiwis, melon, strawberries, and apples. 1 orange per person Mint leaves, optional 1. Chop assorted fruits and mix them in a large bowl. (You will need about 1/2 cup fruit for each orange) 2. Carve pumpkin cup slices off top of orange as you would a jack-o-latern. Using a knife to loosen the edges, scoop out inside of the orange. 3.Toss juice from the orange in with the fruit. 4. Carve a small face in each orange 5. Fill orange with fruit salad and replace the top. 6. As finishing touch, garnish each pumpkin with a peppermint leaf for stems. I haven't done this yet... but it sounds yummmy! MAGIC WANDS from the Disneys Family Cookbook Makes 12 wands What you need: 1 cup chocolate chips 12(8 inch) pretzel rods Colored Sprinkles 1. Melt Chocolate in top of double broiler. 2. Dunk each pretzil halfway into chocolate 3. Roll in bowl of sprinklers. 4. Let dry on wax paper WITCHES BREW from the Disneys Family Cookbook Makes 3 3/4 cups You need: 1 cup of popped corn, 3/4 cup of mini pretzels, 1/2 cup of mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, raisins, and goldfish crackers. Sir in ingredients together in a large bowl CAT OF MANY COLORS Once there was a cat all white who wished that he were black as night. He was thirsty as could be, and in the cupboard, what did he see? Grape juice right before his eyes! He drank it. Then to his surprise, he turned from white to something new. Deep dark purple was his hue. He peered into his little cup, saw tomato juice, and lapped it up. He soon became the brightest red. He thought, "maybe I should go to bed." But he wasn't tired, and so he looked for somewhere else to go. He spied an orange on the floor, and pounced on it, and played some more. As he played this little game, orange was what he became. He played with some blueberries, too. So suddenly the cat turned blue. A sour lime sat on the ground. The kitty licked it and he found that he felt strange and not so keen, for he had turned the colour green. Now he was a sad little fellow. So he ate a banana and turned the colour yellow. Just then he saw a tasty treat, another food he had to eat. A long black piece of licorice gave the little cat his wish. He ate it all, and soon he was black from his head to his paws! Why did this happened? You guessed it right if you blamed it on Halloween night. BODY PARTS GAME Here are some things to use when putting together a fun Halloween game. You can set up a dark room and have the people feel their way through. Make sure everything is cold and oily. Use your discretion with younger children! Eyeballs: peeled grapes or green olives Guts: cold, oiled spaghetti Liver: canned peach half Hair: corn silk or wig Skin: a soft, oiled flour tortilla Fingers: tofu hot dogs Teeth: un-popped popcorn Hand: fill a surgical glove with water, drape over a bowl and freeze. Stick in a container of dirt so they have to feel around in the dirt for the buried hand. Hand in the Bucket: Cut a hole in the bottom of the bucket and stick a rubber glove through the hole and attach. Someone hides under the table with a hand in the glove. When people are feeling the hand... grab them! Have fun! Copy a picture of corn (with kernels) in the husk on to construction paper. Cut small strips of paper (2" x 6") in different colors. Have the children use the hole punch to make "kernels" from strips of paper, to glue on to the corn. The more colors the better! This is good for fine motor skills. Swamp jello w/ frog eggs (I only serve jello once a year and here it is) mix orange and lime jello as directed- add just a few pomogranate seeds. It is really simple, really disgusting, and a HUGE hit with all the dc young ones! Believe it or not- it tastes great- just has a VERY swampy look to Pumpkin Candy Brownies 1 Pkg Fudge Brownie Mix(any brownie mix) 2 eggs 1/3 cup water 1/4 cup Oil 1 cup creamy chocolate frosting 26 pumpkin candies 1/2 cup Creamy Vanilla frosting green food coloring 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 26 muffin cups with foil liners or place liners on baking sheet. 2. Combine Brownie mix,contents of fudge packet from mix,eggs,water and oil in large bowl.Stir with spoon until well blended, about 50 strokes. Fill each fiol liner with 2 levels measuring tablesppons batter. Bake 15-17 minutes or until firm. Cool 5-10 minutes in pans. Remove to cooling racks. 3. Place chocolate frostin in small saucepan. Melt on low heat, stirring constantly. Frost top of 1 warm brownie with generous 1/2 teaspoonful melted frosting.top with 1 pumpkin candy;push down slightly. 4. Tint vanilla frosting with green food coloring. Place in decorating bag fitted with small leaf tip.Pipe 3 leaves around each pumpkin candy. http://www.kidsturncentral.com/holidays/hcolor6.htm Throw a Daycare Halloween Party Ideas and resources for planning a fun celebration in daycare. One thing that I do every year with the kids is the simple pumpkin patch picture. Give the child a peice of paper and a cotton ball and some orange paint. Dip the cotton ball in the paint and have them randomly dab the paint on the paper for a pumpkin patch. I also give them a Q-tip to paint stems and vines. I have also taken a black T-shirt and painted their feet white and had them step on the shirt 2 times for ghost prints. The toes are the bottom of the ghost. You could also do this on black paper or cardstock. Decorate cookies is also a fun one. this is a simple halloween art project we did yesterday with our two year olds. gave them a paper plate and had them paint it orange. next week we are going to add a green stem, two eyes, a nose and mouth. I thought of a few more that I have done. Draw a ghost on a half sheet of black card stock and let the kids glue marshmallows on the ghost or cottonballs. This idea came from a Punky member last year and the kids had fun. Draw a tree with simple stick branches on cardstock and have the kids glue cornflakes for leaves. then have them paint them. Very cute!!!!!! Make pumpkin masks from paper plates. Cut holes for eyes, mouth and nose. Let them color them. You can attatch it to a craft stick and then they can hold it up to their face. Songs, Poems, Stories, & Fingerplays I'm a Mean Old Witch - sung to "The Farmer in the Dell" I'm a mean old witch with a hat,I ride on my broom with my cat.My shoes are pointy,My chin is too,If you don't watch out I might scare you.I'm a mean old witch with a hat.BOO! Witchy Song I'm a witch Boom! Boom! (clap, clap) I'm a witch Boom! Boom! (clap, clap) With a pointed hat on my head.... (hands point over head...forming a hat) I jump on my broom (pretend to jump on broomstick) And I sweep the sky (sweeping motion) While children are in bed (head resting on hands) Arts & Crafts Witch Mobile Cut 3 orange circles and 1 black triangle from construction paper. Use strips of yarn for hair. Draw witch's face on 1 circle. Glue hear and triangular hat to face. Place witch's head face down on table. Place remaining circles below head approximately 1" apart. Place end of string in center of bottom circle. Extend string through center of all circles and triangle. Tape string to each shape. Tie a loop above the hat and hang from room. ~Submitted by Hope in Florida Witch Hats Black & yellow construction paper,sturdy paper long enough to fit around a child's head. Cut a large triangle from black paper to form the hat. Add a yellow strip about one inch wide, about one inch or so from the base of the triangle for a hat band. Use the scraps of black (or use any color from your scrap box) to cut long strips for hair and glue to the base of the hat. Fit a one inch band of sturdy paper or light cardboard around the child's head and staple. Staple or glue the hat to the band. ~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare In The Kitchen Witches Fingers 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup icing sugar 1 egg 1 tsp almond extract 1 tsp vanilla 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 3/4 cup whole blanched almonds 1 tube red decorator gel In bowl beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla; beat in flour; baking powder and salt. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Working with one-quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remaining dough refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoons full of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press almond firmly into one end for nail. Squeeze in centre to create knuckle shape. Using a paring knife make slashes in several places to form knuckle. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet in 325 degree over for 20-25 minutes or until pale or golden. Let cool for three minutes. Lift up almond; squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place so gel oozes out from underneath. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool. Repeat with remaining dough. Makes about 5 doz fingers! Witch's Snack In a large cauldron (bowl), mix 2 1/2 cups of crushed bat wings(blue corn chips), with 1 cup each of frog eyes(corn nuts), lizard gizzards(raisins), legs of rat(pretzel sticks), fish ribs(shoestring potato sticks), and mole bones(cheese sticks). Sprinkle 1/2 cup of hearts of newt(shelled pistachios) on top. (Other things, even fruits, could be used in place of some of these items for a healthier snack.) A very old witch sits stirring her pot Oooo..Oooo - Oooo..Ooo Along came a ghost says "What have you Got" Oooo..Oooo - Oooo..Oooo Tip toe, Tip toe Tip toe, Boo!! Witchy Treats On a cookie sheet freeze place full, round scoops of lime sherbet. Freeze. When ready to decorate and serve, place a sugar cone on each scoop of sherbet. Poke short pieces of shoestring black licorice for hair up under the hat. Use small orange candies for the eyes, and a cashew for a crooked nose. You can eat the melting creations right away or refreeze before serving. Witch's Hats Use a large, flat, dark cookie for the brim and an ice-cream sugar cone for the crown. Fill the cone with ice cream even to the rim and center it on top of the cookie. You can use icing to decorate the hat. Theme Ideas Boiling Hot! Boiling hot, boiling hot stir "witch's soup" in a big cauldron What will we put in the witch's pot Boiling hot, boiling hot We'll put some spiders* in the witch's pot toss something imaginary in the pot *stinky socks, hair, muddy boots, etc. Have the children provide suggestions to add to this ghoulish recipe! Worms in Witch's Brew Use a large kettle with 4" of water which contains a small amount of black tempera. In kettle, place rubber worms (found at sporting goods stores), colored rubber bands, or S-shaped styrofoam packing pieces. Player reaches into kettle, grasps a handful of"worms" and counts them. A treat is received for each "worm" counted. Get Off My Hat - game Big brown paper bag, Pencil, Scissors, tape or CD player or radio Cut the bag so that you can open it out flat. Draw a big witch's hat and cut it out. Put the hat on the floor. Have the children get into a straight line and shut their eyes. When the music starts, the players walk back and forth across the hat. Any player on the hat when the music stops is out of the game. The last player left wins. Links Witch Coloring Page - Sheryl's Originals Books Gus Was A Friendly Ghost - Jane Thayer Songs, Poems, Stories, & Fingerplays Five Little Ghosts - 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! If You're a Ghost and You Know It - sung to "If You're Happy and You Know It" If you're a ghost and you know it, Then say "Boo!" If you're a ghost and you know it, Then say "Boo!" If you're a ghost and you know it, And you really want to show it, If you're a ghost and you know it, Then say "Boo!" ~June Meckel Friendly Ghost - sung to "Frere Jacque" I'm a friendly Ghost, I'm a friendly Ghost, Watch me fly, watch me fly, I can fly right through the air See how all the people stare. Way up high in the sky ~Submitted by Paulette Arts & Crafts Ghost Windsock Draw thick straight lines every two inches along the short side of 12 x 18 pieces of white construction paper. The lines should end about halfway up the paper. Let the children (or you, for the younger ones) cut strips to make tatters in the ghost's sheet. Have them draw a face in the middle of the uncut paper. (Or glue features cut from black paper.) Staple the edges of the paper together to form a windsock. Punch holes at the top and run yarn through them. Hang the ghost windsocks where they will catch the wind. Simple Cotton ball Ghosts - Very easy for kids of all ages Materials Cotton balls Wiggle eyes Glue Masking tape Brooch pin back or magnetic strips (optional) Instructions: Take one cotton ball and pull and manipulate into a ghost shape. Glue wiggle eyes onto ghost's face. Put a piece of rolled up masking tape on back to temporarily stick to your shirt. (Or, glue a brooch pin back to the back side of the ghost for a permanent Ghost Pin. Magnetic strips could also be glued to the back to use as Ghost Fridge magnets.) Appearing Ghost Adult draws ghost with white crayon on white paper. Children then paint the paper with dark color watercolors or diluted tempra paint wash. Encourage child to paint entire page. Ghost appear through paint. Foot Ghost Step on white paper. Trace around shoe. Use crayon or felt-tipped pen to make face. Cut out. Decorate room or yard with the ghost. Tissue Ghost Roll a facial tissue or aluminum foil into a ball and place in the center of another tissue. Attach string, twister seal or rubber band below ball to secure head. Leave ends free. Glue two small black circles on face to make eyes. Bean Ghost Pictures Supplies: ~Black Construction Paper ~Large Lima Beans ~Glue ~Fine point Markers Glue the beans onto the paper, and use a fine point marker to make a face on the bean. This is the ghost. If you want, you can have the child draw a scene on the paper too! Theme Ideas Ghost Bowling - game Buy 3 paper bowling pins (from Michael's for example) & paint them white & put some Halloween ribbon around the neck of the pins. Decorate the pins to look like a ghost. Mark the bowling area with an "X" to show the children where the pins go back each time. Tell the children to set the pins up after they knock them down. Use a large rubber ball to knock the pins down. Ghost Pin Drop Make ghosts out of clothes pins, square piece of cotton cloth, yarn, cotton balls and marker. Place cotton ball in the pincher of the clothes pin and cover with cloth and tie it on. Use different candy buckets for tossing into (plastic buckets shaped like jack-o-lantern, ghost, bat.) In The Kitchen Ghost Toast Ingredients: loaf of bread, margarine, shredded coconut, raisins or chocolate chips Each child makes ghost toast by spreading margarine to make faces on toast then sprinkling coconut on it. Put raisins or chocolate chips for eyes and mouth. Toast again slightly, if desired. Book List Apples and Pumpkins - Anne Rockwell It's Pumpkin Time - Zoe Hall Pumpkin Face - Emma Rose Pumpkin Fair - Eve Bunting Pumpkin, Pumpkin - Jeanne Titherington The Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin - Stan & Jan Berenstain The Biggest Pumpkin Ever - Steven Kroll The Little Pumpkin Book - Katharine Ross The Magic Pumpkin - Lucille Sette The Pumpkin Book - Gail Gibbons The Pumpkin Patch - Elizabeth King Too Many Pumpkins - Linda White Songs, Poems & Fingerplays This Little Pumpkin This little pumpkin was taken to market (Pointer) And sold for fifteen cents. This little pumpkin was made into a jack-o-lantern (Middle finger) And stood high on a fence. This little pumpkin was made into a pie (Ring finger) And nevermore was seen. This little pumpkin was taken away (Little finger) On the night of Halloween. Cauldron, Bubble Turn ordinary apple juice into a witches' brew. What you need: Apple juice Dry ice A bowl Oven mitts 1. Get a piece of dry ice (look in your Yellow Pages under "Dry Ice") and put it into a bowl. (Be sure not to touch the ice with your hands, and don't let kids touch it; hold the bowl with oven mitts so your hands don't get too cold.) 2. Give each child a cup of apple juice and ask him to pour it into the "cauldron." Poof! The liquid will start to bubble and smoke. 3. Afterward, ladle the apple juice back into the children's cups—it's perfectly safe to drink. __________________ FALL Songs and Fingerplays ________________ Autumn Autumn winds begin to blow (blow) Colored leaves fall fast and slow (make fast and slow motions with hands) Twirling, whirling all around (twirl around) "Til at last, they touch the ground (touch ground) __________________ Leaves Little leaves fall gently down Red and yellow, orange and brown. (flutter hands like leaves falling) Whirling, whirling around and around. (turn around) Quietly, without a sound. (put finger to lips) Falling softly to the ground (begin to fall slowly) Down and down and down and down. (lie on floor) ________________ This is the Way We This is the way we rake the leaves rake the leaves, rake the leaves This is the way we rake the leaves in the middle of Autumn. This is the way we jump on the leaves, jump on the leaves, jump on the leaves This is the way we jump on the leaves in the middle of Autumn. This is the way we throw the leaves Throw the leaves, throw the leaves This is the way we throw the leaves in the middle of Autumn. This is the way we rake the leaves rake the leaves, rake the leaves This is the way we rake the leaves in the middle of autumn. ____________ Brown Squirrel, Brown Squirrel Brown squirrel, Brown squirrel Swoosh your bushy tail (hold elbow in your other hand and move your arm back and forth) Brown squirrel, brown squirrel Swoosh your busy tail Put a nut between your toes Wrinkle up your little nose Brown squirrel, Brown squirrel Swoosh your bushy tail. FALL __________ Science Materials Needed: Various leaves Magnifying glass Collect leaves from a variety of trees. Place them and a magnifying glass on the science table for the children to explore. ______________ Math Materials Needed: Construction paper Out of construction paper or tag board, prepare pairs of various-shaped leaves. The children can match the identical leaves. Arts and Crafts Materials Needed: Pinecones Hole punch Red, yellow, orange, brown construction paper Glue Using a whole punch cut out circles in the various fall leaf colors. Have children glue the circles to the ends of the pinecone branches. ____________ Group Time Materials Needed: Brown, orange, red, yellow construction paper Old jigsaw puzzle (with missing pieces?) Take a fall color piece of construction paper and make a brown tree with just the limbs, no leaves. Take puzzle's that are missing pieces and let the children glue the on the tree as leaves. The different colors and shapes make a beautiful fall tree. from the childfun newsletter We paint pumkins since we are in Texas instead of carving them. The kids enjoy it and if you wash the paint of f they can re-paint their pumkins. This is a great introduction to a pumpkin unit (or a fall seed unit). If you have a pumpkin in your garden this works really well! Read "I'm a Seed" by Jean Marzollo, Illus. by Judith Moffatt. It compares how a marigold seed grows with a pumpkin seed. (It also brings out the point that a marigold seed will grow marigolds and pumpkin seeds will grow pumpkins.) Bring in a marigold plant and a vine from a pumpkin plant (and maybe a small pumpkin). Compare how the marigold plant is different from the pumpkin plant. Have the children touch the leaves and see how each of the leaves feel different. Notice the different colors, the size, the shape, etc. Notice the art used in the book--it is paper cut into shapes and glued onto a background paper to form a picture. You can use the book as an example and let the children create their own art using the same cut and paste technique. You can also read this book right before a pumpkin patch field trip using it to point out the characteristics of a pumpkin plant. (This book is a great springboard for MANY activities! And my 4yo at home absolutely loves it! I have to read it almost every day! She says it's her favorite book--at least this week! LOL.) Cute pumpkin books. Cut the book in the shape of a pumpkin out of orange construction paper. The cover says "What is inside a pumpkin?" Cut open a real pumpkin and let each child explore and study the contents, then give them yellow yarn, yellow construction paper and their own copy of a pumpkin book. They covered the inside of their books with stringy yarn and ripped paper seeds. You could play "pin the eyes, nose and mouth on the pumpkin" similar to "pin the tail on the donkey". _____________ Stuffed Pumpkin: Stuff a small lunch bag with papers. Twist the top and secure with masking tape. Paint. Add leaf and vine if desired. Can add Jack O' Lantern face if desired. __________________ Pumpkin Head: I saw this idea in Mailbox I think -- use the plastic "Mr. Potato Head" pieces to practice decorating a pumpkin head. Make the holes in the pumpkin in the appropriate places and let the children have fun! _______________ Pumpkin face: Let children draw on pumpkin with washable markers. Wipe clean for the next child's turn. _____________ Pumpkin on the Ground (Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle) Pumpkin, pumpkin on the ground, How'd you get so big and round? You started as a seed so small. Now you are a great round ball. Pumpkin, pumpkin on the ground, How'd you get so big and round? ____________ Books to read Cooper,Helen. Pumpkin Soup Hall,Zoe. It's Pumpkin Time! Hutchings, Amy. Picking Apples and Pumpkins Johnston, Tony. Vanishing Pumpkin King, Elizabeth. The Pumpkin Patch (Picture Puffins) Kroll, Steven. The Biggest Pumpkin Ever Miller, Edna. Mousekin¹s Golden House Rockwell, Anne. Apples and Pumpkins Rockwell,Anne. Pumpkin Day, Pumpkin Night Titherington, Jeanne. Pumpkin Pumpkin White, Linda. Too Many Pumpkins ________________ Cut several basic shapes from a 'gutted' pumpkin and allow the children to use them as stamps in the painting center. Have children estimate how long a piece of yarn needs to be to go around the pumpkin. After everyone has cut their piece of yarn from the ball, have them actually put their piece around the pumpkin. Graph the results. How many were to short? Too long? Close to or right on? ____________ I found a web site dedicated to the pumpkin theme. Unfortunately, you cannot copy the page, so any ideas will need to be written out by hand or printed out. The address is: www.geocities.com/~stepbystepcc/pumpkins.html You might be able to get there with just www.stepbystepcc.com as I found it doing a search. They also have a great Halloween site. _________________ Paper bag pumpkin -Orange poster paint -Paintbrush -Brown or white lunch bag -Black construction paper -White glue -Rubber band -Newspaper Fill bag with newspaper, tightly wrap rubber band around neck of bag for pumpkin's stem. Paint stuffed bag with orange paint and allow to dry. Meanwhile, cut jack-o-lantern's eyes, nose, and mouth from construction paper. Glue them onto the paper bag. ________________ 5 Little Pumpkins 5 little pumpkins sitting on the fence the first one said I'm so immense the second one said there are witches in the air The third one said I don't care The fourth one said lets run and run and run The fifth one said lets have some fun ohhh went the wind and out went the light and the five little pumpkins ran out of site. ___________ I stumble onto an activity with pumkin and I hope this helps. We had a lot of small paperbags and I had the children stuff them with paper. After that they painted them. Being from a children development center that can not celebrate Halloween I called it make believe and the pumkins I hanged on a line outside my classroom and called it our pumkin patch. The children enjoyed doing them and that's the most important thing. They were so proud when people walked under our pumkin patch and they were able to show off their pumpkin. ____________ Books Vanishing Pumpkin - Tony Johnston (Great for a skit or flannel story) Pumpkin Circle: Story of a garden - George Levenson Big Pumpkin - Erica Silverman Patty's Pumpkin Patch - Terri Sloat Pumpkin, Pumpkin - Titherington (Cook some pumpkin seeds and plant some) Too Many Pumpkins - Lind White 5 Little Pumpkins - Yaccarino _____________ Pumpkin Math Weigh Circumference Count Seams Sequence many pumpkins Sort individual pumpkins: stem/no stem, size, color Make a book about the pumpkins. ______________ We play pass the pumkin; I am thinking I got this idea off of childfun but it works well. I do plastic canvas so I made a small plastic canvas pumkin and the children passed it around the circle while I played a drum. When I stopped they had to stop passing. I made sure everyone got a turn starting the game. __________ Roast Pumkin Seeds Every quarter we have a parents day were the parents come in and do activities with us. I was surpise how many parents didn't know how to roast pumkin seeds. It was easy I let the children dig all the seeds out of the pumkin and clean them. With a toaster oven, we place the clean seeds on the tray, place the tray in the oven and roasted them. It takes maybe 2 to 5 minutes. I salt after roasting some people like to salt before roasting. _____________ Finger-play: Jack-O'-Lantern I am a pumpkin, big and round. (Show size with arms) Once upon a time, I grew on the ground. (point to ground) Now I have a mouth, two eyes, and a nose. (point to each) What are they for, do you suppose? (point to forehead and "think") Why-I'll be a jack-o'-lantern on Halloween night. ______________ Sensory: Measuring seeds. Pumpkin seeds and measuring cups can be added to the sensory table. The children will enjoy feeling and pouring seeds. ____________ Math: Counting Pumpkin Seeds Cut circles from construction paper. The number needed will depend upon the developmental level of the children. Write a numeral on each paper circle and place each into a pie tin. The children may count enough pumpkin seeds into each tin to match the numeral on the circle. ___________ Weighing Pumpkin Seeds In the match area, place a scale and pumpkin seeds. The children may elect to experiment by balancing the scale with the pumpkin seeds. _____________ Books: Dillon, Jana (1992) Jeb Scarecrow's Pumpkin Patch. ____________________ Craft: Pumpkin Tambourine Celebrate the harvest by shaking a pumpkin tambourine! To make one, paint the backs of two paper plates orange. When the paint is dry, secure the rims of the plates together with several paper clips: Then use a hole puncher to punch an even number of holes through the rim. Remove paper clips. Thorough every pair of holes, thread a length of green yarn thorough both plates, Thread jingle bell on the yarn: then tie the yarn in to a bow. Shake, Shake, Shake the tambourine! _____________ My Pumpkin See my pumpkin round and fat. See my pumpkin, orange and yellow. Watch him grin on Halloween. He's a very funny fellow. __________________ Going Batty for Pizza What you need: Pita pocket bread Tomato sauce Shredded mozzarella cheese Black and green olives Baking sheet 1. Adults only: Use a sharp knife to cut a pita pocket bread in half. 2. Make a zigzag pattern on the bottom edge of each half to form bat wings. 3. Place on a baking sheet. Spread tomato sauce over the bread and top with shredded mozzarella cheese and sliced black and green olives. 4. Place in a 400°F oven and bake until the cheese melts. 5. To assemble the bat, place the wings side by side on a plate and add an extra piece of pita bread to form the head. Don't forget the black olive eyes. __________________ Wacky Witches What you need: Small, ripe pear Chocolate syrup Shredded coconut Green food coloring Chocolate ice cream cone Icing A variety of candies 1. With a spoon, use chocolate syrup to make a circle at the top of the pear around the stem. 2. Generously sprinkle shredded coconut (which you've colored green with 2 drops of green food coloring) onto the chocolate circle to form the witch's hair. 3. To make a hat, press a chocolate ice cream cone to the coconut circle (you may need to add a little more chocolate syrup to the end of the cone). 4. Refrigerate the pear for 3 minutes. 5. Then, use small dabs of icing and a variety of candies to form the witch's eyebrows, eyes, nose, and mouth. Let your youngster be as inventive as he wishes. ________________ Scarecrow Candy Jar What you need: Blue felt Red yarn Raffia hair Empty peanut butter jar Acrylic poster paint Paintbrush Googly eyes Scissors Glue 1. Start with a rectangle of blue felt, folding the top corners in until they overlap to form his nifty hat. 2. Add raffia hair before gluing to the top of an empty peanut butter jar. 3. Paint the front of the jar tan (or leave it clear so candy can show through); add some googly eyes, a triangular felt nose, and a scrappy yarn smile, and he's ready to guard your favorite candy crop! ____________ Autumn Suncatchers Give each child a piece of clear contact paper 12" x 12" sticky side up, put dabs of autumn color finger paint on it. Let the children blend, mix and create with the paint. Place another piece of clear contact paper the same size, sticky side down, on top and then cut out a leaf design. These are beautiful suncatchers, and look great suspended from the ceiling too! ____________ Place mats/Counters Find an appropriate haunted house pattern. Make several copies and color, decorate, and laminate them as place mats. Find white lima beans at the grocery store and turn them into ghost counters. Add eyes and mouth to the beans and you have a great math center for Halloween. Have the kids put the ghosts in the haunted house and count them as they go. A Halloween Haunted House! A fun Halloween project for the whole family! You will need: 2 containers (16 ounce) chocolate fudge frosting* Decorations: pretzel sticks graham crackers black licorice and red twists candy corn M&Ms Foil wrapped Halloween Candy rice crackers Orange Sprinkles Colored icing for writing or decorating 2 empty 1 qt. milk cartons, rinsed and dried 1 large tray covered with foil. *You can use a thick homemade frosting instead. Tape each milk carton closed at top. Tape milk cartons together to make a house. Wrap with foil. Attach firmly to the covered tray with tape. Frost cartons with chocolate frosting. Frost the tray also to use as the lawn. Decorate with the assorted treats! Some ideas- *Sprinkle orange sugar on the roof of the house. *Rice crackers make neat "attic" windows. *graham crackers for windows and doors-highlight with icing. *pretzel stick window panes *M&M "pathway stones" leading to the door. *Candy corn "icicles" under the roof After you have the house and pathway finished add details to the lawn area. Foil wrapped candy is great because you buy little mummies, ghosts or pumpkins and place them on the pathway and around the house. Buy from the bulk section of your grocery store to get a really good selection without having to buy a lot of one type of candy. After all the oohs and ahs have subsided and Halloween is over, let the kids pick off all the candy while they discuss what to do for next year's Haunted House Spectacular! _______________ FRIENDLY SCARECROWS Scarecrows are actually very easy to make and look like you spent hours assembling them. For a friendly scarecrow, use either a plastic smiling pumpkin for the head, or a carved or painted pumpkin with a happy face. Choose a long sleeved shirt or coat, a pair of pants or jeans, and a hat if you choose. You may even go so far as to include shoes for it's feet and gloves as it's hands. Stuff the clothing with newspapers or dry leaves to keep the scarecrow from getting too heavy that you can't carry him. If you have straw available, poke some out from inside the shirt collar and wrist cuffs of the shirt. If not using gloves, you can use straw or sticks for the hands. Secure all the clothing together with safety pins, or by hand sewing 8-10 stitches every 4-6 inches or so. _____________ SPOOKY SCARECROWS Follow the instructions above for the clothing, simply replace the happy pumpkin face with a scary or angry expression. Another option is to use planks of wood set up easel style, then drape lengths of cloth all over to form ghostly apparel. Using more wood, and a few nails, hammer arms so that they are pointing out to the sides. Using a spooky carved face and leaving the hat off gives an eerie appearance! A Grim Reaper can also be constructed this way by using black sheets or cloth and forming a hood over the pumpkin head. _________________ CARVED PUMPKINS With Halloween comes the tradition of carving pumpkins. You can carve an extravagant expression or a simple smile. Be certain to use caution when using any sharp object to carve the pumpkins. Be creative. Draw your ideas on paper before carving to eliminate mistakes you cannot reverse. ____________________ For some really cool, free pumpkin carving patterns visit http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/halloween/pumpplans.html and for wonderful carving instructions be sure to hit http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/halloween/jack101.html __________________ PAINTED PUMPKINS An alternative to carving is painting. This is very popular with families with small children. Kids want to be a part of the process, and this is a wonderful way to let them decorate their own pumpkin. You can use markers or tempura paints. Because you are not cutting into the pumpkin, it will last longer and you will be able to use it in recipes after the holiday. Just be sure to wash all the paint off! __________________ GHOSTS, WEBS, & SPIDERS Simple hanging ghosts can be made from squares of white fabric. Place the square of fabric down flat on the table. In the center of the fabric, put a balled up wad of fabric scraps, cotton, or yarn. Using newspaper as the stuffing is not recommended because of rain drenching the paper and possibly bleeding the ink through the white fabric. Wrap the fabric around the ball in the center and tie off with a piece of orange or black yarn. Use a black marker to paint on eyes and a mouth. Make longer ones by using larger scraps of fabric. Hang ghosts in a tree or from your doorway. ____________________ Spiders and webs are fairly easy to decorate with. You can purchase small plastic spiders and webbing at craft and discount stores. Thread webbing across bushes and windows to create an eerie effect. String it through trees and branches and over doorways. _________________ To make large yard spiders, fill a black plastic garbage full with dry leaves or old newspapers. Tie off the end. Using another black garbage bag, fill again, but only 1/3 of the way. Tie off. The smaller bag is the head. Attach the head to the larger bag (body) with packing tape. Using yet another black garbage bag, cut lengthwise into thin strips, enough for eight legs. Tape or hot glue sides together once you have lined them with a filling such as leaves or newspaper. Hot glue or tape legs to body. ____________ Rattling Skeletons Use white paper to form paper chains (like the kind you make to count down the days until a holiday), and then connect to make a skeleton. Make one for each arm, each leg and then trace children's hands and feet on white paper, cut and glue to the ends of the arms and legs. Cut an oval shape and draw on the face. ________________ Cardboard Box Costumes http://childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=303 Costume Ideas for Couples http://childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=302 Creative Halloween Costumes http://childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=301 Homemade Halloween Makeup http://childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=300 Sppok Food for the Fainthearted! http://childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=285 Halloween Fun Foods and Recipes http://childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=277 Halloween Songs, Stories and Fingerplays http://childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=12 Easy Costumes for Infants and Up http://childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=11 Halloween Games and Activities http://childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10 Halloween Craft Projects http://childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9 Halloween Coloring Pages http://coloringbookfun.com/halloween/index.htm Halloween Ecards http://www.childfun.com/cards/hol_hal.shtml Classic Halloween Costumes http://childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=8 Goofy Spooks Halloween Cake http://childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7 Halloween Books http://childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=6 Witches hands- freshly chopped hand of a witch fried to a golden brown and served on a platter of fresh lettuce. (That is really a chicken breast with breading and you cut the breast so it has fingers and when it's cooked the fingers curl up and look spooky like a hand...then you serve some dipping sauce in a bright red color near the top of the wrist to look like fresh dripping blood). witch's broomsticks (those are just celery sticks with the leafy ends still on and served with cheese spread in the center), Baked brains and eyeballs- we've hunted down lots of ghouls to get enough brains for this delightful dish. The brains are baked in a light sweetened sauce and topped with a frozen eyeball. This dish is sure to please any taste buds. Egor's old toes- Served steaming hot with a warm dipping sauce. (These are biscuts rolled into toe shapes with an almond sliver on the end to resemble the toe nail and served wi! th warm red colored honey and butter) Nasty little monster noses- We had to travel many miles to find enough little monsters willing to donate their noses for our meal. These are served chilled. They make a delightful appetizer. Warning Not all the boogers were able to be picked out before serving!!! ( these are small pickles served with squirt cheese out of little holes in the pickles) And last on the menu is boiled bat blood- boiled to the perfect temperature and topped with the beating heart. The perfect way to wash down a monsterish meal. ( This is apple juice boiled with little red hots and topped off with a marishino cherry) _____________ Candycorn Napkins What you need: Potato Paper napkin Plain cloth napkins or tablecloth Acrylic poster paint Paintbrush Pencil Paring knife 1. Draw some simple, holiday-theme shapes (such as a pumpkin, a witch's head, or candycorn) on a paper napkin with a pencil. 2. Then cut a large potato in half and press it firmly on the napkin, transferring the pattern to the potato. 3. Adults only: Use a paring knife to carefully carve around the shape, cutting away the excess to form a raised silhouette. 4. Let your child brush on some paint, and she can stamp the design onto some plain cloth napkins or even a tablecloth! __________ Pumpkin Painting Buy several small, fresh pumpkins. Cut them in half. Let the children dip the pumpkin halves into paint to make prints. http://www.pioneerthinking.com/ara-ghoultreats.htmlhttp://holiday.allrecipes.com/halloween/home.asphttp://www.robinsfyi.com/holidays/halloween/treats2.htmhttp://dmoz.org/Home/Cooking/Holidays/Halloween/ cow patty's (pancakes with peanut butter and bananas) for breakfast fingers, eyeballs, cat noses and a half a moon (fish sticks, grapes, corn and half white circle bread) for lunch brains and blood (spaghetti) are for dinner I cut pumpkin shapes from a used yellow/orange mailing bag with the popable bubbles, the kids loved these! We made felt pumpkins and glued them to a sheet of back felt, wrote 'boo!' in glitterg glue, added a hanger. We used autumn rubber stamps and ink pads for a collage. we made eatable spiders with two ritz crackers, pb in the middle, 4 thin pretzles broken in 1/2 for legs and 2 choc chips for eyes stuck with pb(you can also use raisins for eyes) we used a pumpkin cookie cutter for our pb&j sandwiches we made little individual pumpkins to take home to mommies, we soaked construction paper and made pulp, mixed it with sparkle glue and then formed the pulp over aluminum foil balls. We put little florist-wire curlys at the base of the stem like little tendrils. Blotto fall leaves, dropping red, yellow and a little green onto paper than folding it and rolling over it with a rolling pin, very pretty mixing the colors for fall. After they dry we will cut into big leaves and hang from your seasonal tree Ghostly Goodie Bag1. Ask an adult for permission to recycle a plain white pillowcase. Place a few flat sheets of recycled newspaper inside the pillowcase. 2. Use Crayola® Washable Markers to draw a large ghost outline (or any other Halloween image) on each side of the pillowcase. 3. Color the areas around your drawing by placing interesting textures inside the pillowcase on top of the newspaper. Rub the markers over the pillowcase, pressing on the textured surface for an interesting effect. 4. Blend marker colors with a damp Crayola® Paintbrush if you wish for a more ghostly effect. Dry. 5. Draw spooky eyes and other details on your ghost. You’re ready to trick or treat in style House of Treats Safety guidelines recommend this art project is suitable for children age 4 years and older. Kids create a haunted Halloween house and get a treat bag all in one! 1. Draw the doors, windows, and other features of a haunted house on a flat lunch bag with Crayola® Washable Markers. Leave space at the top of your bag to attach a roof. 2. Use Crayola® Glitter Glue and Crayola® Metallic Colored Pencils to add Halloween images such as ghosts, spiders, and words. Separate a small cotton ball into a spider web. Glue on your bag with Crayola® School Glue. Dry. 3. Draw a witch and broom, or other Halloween figures, on construction paper. Cut them out with Crayola® Scissors. Glue pieces on the bag. 4. Fold a sheet of construction paper in half for the roof. Trim the roof to fold over the top of the bag. 5. If you are using your House of Treats as a decoration, stuff the bag with crumpled newspaper. Glue the roof closed. For a treat bag, attach just half of the roof. Spider Treat Bag Safety guidelines recommend this art project is suitable for children age 4 years and older. It takes a spider’s eight legs to hold this bag! Make these creepy spiders for scary movies, Halloween parties, or any time you’re ready for a treat! 1. Using Crayola® Colored Pencils on black construction paper, draw a large spider. Make eight separate legs. Color in the spider with Crayola® Gel FX Washable Markers. 2. Cut out the spider pieces using Crayola® Scissors. With Crayola® School Glue, attach one end of each leg to the back of the spider. Dry. 3. Make a bag with construction paper that’s large enough to cover most of the spider’s belly and eight candies, one for each leg. Write Trick or Treat!, or other words, on the bag with Crayola® Washable Markers. 4. Cut a piece of foam produce tray that’s a little smaller than the spider. Glue it to the center of the spider’s belly with Crayola® School Glue. Glue the bag to the foam so it stands out from the spider’s body. 5. Fold your spider’s legs over the candies so they touch the bag. Glue to the bag. 6. Add touches of Crayola® Glitter Glue to make your spider sparkle. Dry. Paper Strip Pumpkin Safety guidelines recommend this art project is suitable for children age 4 years and older. Pumpkins are a colorful, traditional fall symbol. Kids create this beautiful seasonal decoration for a Halloween party or to grace your Thanksgiving table. 1. Choose a few sheets of construction paper in harvest colors, such as orange, yellow, and brown, or use white paper. Color the paper with Crayola® Gel FX Crayons, layering different Halloween colors over each other for a rich, multi-layered effect. Use several colors per sheet, and color both sides if you like. Cut most of your paper into long, narrow strips with Crayola® Scissors. Save some whole sheets for stems, leaves, and vines. 2. Cut a paper towel tube into thirds. Cover one piece with construction paper or the paper you colored. Glue the paper in place with Crayola® School Glue. This will be the central core of your pumpkin. 3. Glue five or six paper strips into one end of this central core. Dry slightly before attaching more strips. Continue this process until the entire top of the core is filled evenly with paper strips. Dry thoroughly. 4. Gently curl the end of each strip around and down so it can be glued into the bottom of the central core. Each strip bows out, creating a round pumpkin. Glue the strip in place and dry slightly. Complete this step with all of the strips. Add more strips to fill any spaces. Dry thoroughly. 5. Cut green construction paper, crayon-colored paper, or a paper bag into the size of a large index card. Roll the paper into a cylinder, and insert into the top of the central core for a stem. Glue it in place. 6. Cut paper leaves and vines. Arrange in a pleasing way to complete your unique centerpiece Creepy Spider Web Doorway Safety guidelines recommend this art project is suitable for children age 4 years and older. Greet your Halloween guests with this spooky spider door decoration! Kids will really get the hang of this scary holiday! 1. Draw a spider web in two corners of black posterboard with Crayola® Metallic Markers. Silver and green give a creepy, Halloween effect. Create a natural arch by having the webs meet in the middle of the paper. 2. Decorate the webs with Crayola® Glitter Glue. Dry. 3. Use Crayola® Scissors to cut out your spider web in one big piece, leaving extra posterboard around the edges and in the middle for stability. 4. Cut a creepy, long-legged spider from the posterboard trimmings. Decorate with glitter glue and dry. 5. Attach a string to the spider and the web with Crayola® School Glue. Dry. 6. Hang your Creepy Spider in its web from a doorway. Wicked Witch CupcakesFor the cupcakes:---------------------------1 1/2 cups flour1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder1 tsp. baking soda1/2 tsp. baking powder1/2 tsp. salt1 cup sugar1/2 cup butter, softened2 large eggs1 1/4 cups milk1 1/2 cups prepared vanilla frosting, tinted with green food coloringFor the witch hats:---------------------------2 1/2 c. prepared vanilla frosting1/2 c. milkfood coloring (purple is neat)12 sugar cones1 box of fruit roll upsFor the faces:--------------------fruit roll upscandy corncandy coated chocolates (m & m's are great!)Making the cupcakes:---------------------------------Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a muffin pan or use paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium, beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.On low speed, alternately beat in flour mixture and milk until blended. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups, filling each about 2/3's full. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack and cool completely. Frost cupcakes with green tinted frosting.Making the hats:-------------------------In a small bowl, combine frosting, milk and food coloring. Mix well. Spoon frosting over cone. Place on waxed paper until almost set. Unroll fruit roll up and cut out shapes (like stars or bats) using 1 inch cookie cutters. Press shapes onto frosted cones.Place hats on cupcakes. Make faces using fruit roll ups for mouth, candy corn for nose and chocolate candies for eyes. SPIDER COOKIES1 pkg. black or chocolate licorice twists1 pkg. fudge sandwich cookies (about 24)1 can prepared chocolate frostingred cinnamon candies (red-hots)Cut licorice in half. Remove the top of each sandwich cookie; press 8 licorice pieces into the fudge center to resemble spider legs. Spread a little chocolate frosting over the licorice; replace cookie tops. Frost the tops of the spider cookies with frosting. Place red cinnamon candies on top for eyesBewitching Cocoa Bites Ingredients5 cups cereal, crispy rice cereal 6 tablespoons butter or margarine 3 cups miniature marshmallows 1 2/3 cups peanut butter chips 1/3 cup cocoa powder 1/3 cup light corn syrup DirectionsMeasure cereal; set aside. In a large saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add marshmallows, peanut butter chips and cocoa. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until marshmallows and chips are melted. Remove from heat. Stir in corn syrup. Add cereal; stir until well coated.Using hands, shape into 1 1/2 inch balls, stirring mixture a few times during shaping. Place on a cookie sheet. Cool completely. Decorate as desired. Store Cocoa Bites in a cool dry place. Makes about 40 treats. Ghosts Put white tempera paint inside empty 2-liter soda bottles. Have children roll bottle around until inside is covered in white. Let children make a ghost face on the outside of the bottle. Remove cap and let dry. Once dry, replace cap, tie string around top of bottle and hang around roomEgg Cup Spiders Give each child a cardboard egg carton cup and four 4" pipe cleaner pieces. Help the children poke their pipe cleaners through their egg cups to make spider legs. Have them bend the legs slightly downward. Let the children paint their spiders black and glue on plastic moving eyesBoogers on a Stick8 ounce Jar Cheez Whiz3 or 4 drops Green food coloring3 dozen pretzel sticksMelt Cheeze Whiz in the microwave according to jar directions. Allow the cheese to cool slightly in the jar. Carefully stir in food coloring using just enough to turn the cheese a pale snot green. To form boogers: Dip and twist the tip of each pretzel stick into the cheese, lift out, wait twenty seconds, then dip again. When cheese lumps reach a boogerish size, set pretzels boogers on wax paper to cool. EDIBLE HAUNTED HOUSE"PHOTO of this craft available here:http://www.thefamilycorner.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump.cgi?ID=7418Here's a fun Halloween project for the whole family. Useyour imagination to decorate this house any way that youdesire. Watch out for ghouls and goblins, they may justdevour your masterpiece early!You will need:2 containers (16 ounce) chocolate fudge frosting*2 empty 1 qt. milk cartons, rinsed and dried1 large tray covered with foil.*You can use a thick homemade frosting instead.Decorations:pretzel sticksgraham crackersblack licorice and red twistscandy cornM&MsFoil wrapped Halloween Candyrice crackersOrange SprinklesColored icing for writing or decoratingTape each milk carton closed at top. Tape milk cartonstogether to make a house. Wrap with foil. Attach firmlyto the covered tray with tape. Frost cartons with chocolatefrosting. Frost the tray also to use as the lawn. Decoratewith the assorted treats! EYEBALLS1/2 cup butter, softened1 1/2 cups peanut butter1 lb icing sugar1 tablespoon vanilla extract12 ozs white chocolateCream the butter and peanut butter together. Addthe icing sugar and vanilla and blend thoroughly.Shape into small 1-inch balls and refrigerate onwaxed paper for half an hour. Melt the white chocolate(you can use a microwave for this). With a toothpick,dip the "eyeballs" into the chocolate, covering allbut a small circle on the top. Let cool on waxedpaper. Makes around 40 eyeballs.________________________________________FROZEN JACK-O'-LANTERNS8 small oranges1 qt. chocolate ice creamfour 1/2 inch pieces of black licoriceCut a 1/2 in slice from the tops of the oranges; using a spoon, scoop out flesh and discard.Using a ball point pen, outline a jack-o'-lantern face onto each orange. Using a small paring knife, cut out the faces. Fill orange cups with ice cream. Freeze until ready to serve. Just before serving, insert licorice pieces into top of ice cream in each jack-o'-lantern for stems! What you'll need:1 (18-ounce) tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough1/8 cup flour1/3 cup mini-marshmallows1/2 cup roughly chopped SNICKERS® Brand FUN SIZE® Bars1 cup M&M'S® Brand Chocolate Candies for Halloween What to do: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, knead the cookie dough into a ball. Transfer the ball to the cookie sheet and roll into a 12-inch circle, flouring the rolling pin as needed. Score the dough into 'pizza' wedges, using the tip of a knife. Bake for 15 minutes.Remove and top with the mini-marshmallows, chopped SNICKERS® Brand FUN SIZE® Bars and M&M'S® Brand Chocolate Candies for Halloween. Return to the oven and bake for another 7 minutes, simply to soften candies. To serve: cut into wedges.Makes 12 servings. Halloween Mummy DogsIngredientsHot DogsPillsbury bread stick dough Mustard / Ketchup DirectionsWrap the dough spirally around hot dog, leaving space for the face.) Place on cookie sheet and follow cooking directions according to the bread stick package. When they are cooked, remove from cookie sheet and place two dots (as eyes) with mustard or ketchup. Arrange on plate and serve. Both kids and adults will gobble them up. BLOODY FINGERS1 pkg. ladyfingersRaspberry jamConfectioners' sugarAlmond slicesPlace the ladyfingers on a tray. Spread with raspberry jam. Place an almond slice at the tip of the finger. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and serveGHOST POPS3 ripe bananasPopsicle sticks2 C. white chocolateMiniature chocolate chipsPeel bananas and cut in half widthwise. Insert popsicle stick in each half through the cut end, wrap each half in plastic wrap and freeze for 3 hours. Melt white chocolate and frost the whole banana halves (apply with butter knife). Set on wax paper and press in miniature chocolate chips for eyes and mouth. Freeze until ready to serve.GORY HAND OF ICETake a clean rubber glove and fill it with water, tie it and put it in the freezer. Keep it in there until your party. When you're ready, take it out of the glove and put it in the punchbowl instead of ice!WITCH HAT COOKIESFudge Stripe CookiesHershey KissesOrange or black frostingTurn a cookie over on the solid chocolate side. Squeeze a blob of orange frosting onto the middle of the cookie. Squash a kiss into the orange frosting. The frosting will hold the kiss, and then you have a Witch's Hat! "Pin the Nose" on the pumpkin. I cut triangles from black construction paper and number them with a white crayon and use a store bought cardboard pumpkin to "pin" the nose on. We play it like Pin the Tail on the Donkey. 1) Make ghosts out of clothes pins covered with a ball of tissue and then a piece of white cloth - tie with a white ribbon. Use to throw into a witch's cauldron for a prize. 2) The old fashioned bobbing for apples - 2thru5's - leave the stem on or buy the apples with really long stems. Place a lowsided bucket/bin on a low table and put a shower curtain under it. Layer towels all around and leave a small stack of hand towels for drying faces afterwards. 3) Tie strings thru the openings of donuts. Hang from above - try to eat as much of the donut as possible before it falls off - have a small trash can near for throwing away the fallen pieces. 4) Piñatas - fill with small trinkets instead of candy. My parties start off with this. 5) Painting pumpkins - lots of papers underneath - large paper plate for sitting pumpkin on and writing names on. 6) goodie bag walk - make up goodie bags, print out different paper sized (8.5x11) pictures of Halloween things - tape edges down in a large circle. Make coordinating smaller versions to use in the drawing winner bucket. Use Halloween music to walk around to - really popular game! 7) Blow up a gazillion water balloons - staple tie end to a foam board - play darts - tape off lines for ages at different distances. ADULT SUPERVISED ALL THE TIME but the kids absolutely love this one! 8) Pin the: Nose on the pumpkin;Wart on the Witch;Chains on the ghost (fun to use if you have little plastic links in your manipulatives - kids can make the links first then just use a piece of tape to tape the chain on.);Bat on Dracula;Teeth on the monster - also fun to use if you have those plastic teeth.Spider on the webI use the black plastic masks they sell at Halloween time - cover with soft cloth - already has elastic. 9) Face Painting area - also adult or teenage kid ran. THE LEAVES ARE FALLING DOWN ( SUNG TO THE FARMER IN THE DELL)The leaves are falling down The leaves are falling downRed,yellow,green and brownThe leaves are falling down FIVE LEAVESFive little leaves so bright and gay,Were dancing about on a tree one day.The wind came blowing through the town,And one little leaf came tumbling down.(Continue with 4 leaves,then,3,2,1) Bats are Sleeping(Sung to Frere Jacque)Bats are sleeping bats are sleepingUpside down upside downWaiting for the night to comeWaiting for the night to comeUpside down upside down Pick a Pumpkin(Sung to London Bridges)Pick a pumpkin from the vine.Pumpkin round, Pumpkin finePick a pumpkin from the vine.Let's pick pumpkins! Pick a pumpkin from he vine.You pick yours and I'll pick mine.Pick a pumpkin from the vine.Let's pick pumpkinsThey are fine. Bat and Spider Cups Great for drink or to hold those ghoulish goodies!!! Bat Antenna Buddy High-flying fun for your car's antenna this Halloween. Boo-ti-ful Bushes This makes a great Halloween decoration for your bushes. Candy Corn Pin or Magnet A quick, fun, and easy project to make. Candy Corn Votive Cup An easy votive cup to paint. Cat and Ghost Streamers These are cute hanging around your house. Cereal Box Gravestones A SPOOKY way to dress up your yard for Halloween. Cool Whip Lid/Grocery Sack Ghost The kids just love how they fly! Creepy Crawly Spider Bracelets Animated spiders the kids will love. Decorated Pumpkin Cake Use it for Halloween or Thanksgiving dessert. Egg Carton Spiders Great for classrooms or groups to make. Ghost and Pumpkin Yard Decorations Quick to make up and fun for all to see! Ghost Antenna Buddy A fast fun decoration for your car's antenna this Halloween. Greeting Card Place Mats Make some for every holiday! Hair Fun with Barrettes Dress up barrettes for the holidays! Hair Fun with Scrunchies Dress up scrunchies for the holidays! Halloween Cat Cup A fun treat cup to make for Halloween. Halloween Centerpiece Pumpkin shaped gourds make candleholders. Halloween Concentration Game Make these for your child's Halloween classroom party. Halloween Images A group craft for 3 to 6 year-olds! Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe Tic-Tac-Toe in a Halloween theme! Halloween Window Hangings A quick decoration for kids to make. Handy Halloween Treat This is a favorite classroom or Scout treat! Holiday Pillowcases Better make plenty! These make great gifts!! Holiday Shower Curtain A fun way to decorate your bathroom for the holidays! Jack-O-Candle Let Jack-O-Candle brighten up your table. Jack-O-Lantern Antenna Ball A fun antenna ball to paint. Kids' Halloween Wreath A kid craft from another kid. Macaroni Skeleton He's cute and educational! Make a Theme Wreath Wreaths for any occasion. Milk Container Pumpkins A safe way to light up your walkway. Paddle Pop Star A quick, inexpensive group craft. Paint some Pumpkins Decorate some pumpkins with paint! Pumpkin Block Heads No cutting is required, just find a block and paint it! Pumpkin Table Decoration Make this pumpkin to use as a place setting or table decoration. Puzzle Spider Creepy, crawly fun! Q-Tip Skeleton A fun and easy way to create a skeleton picture. Refrigerator Magnets Candy molds make them quick and easy! Roasted Pumpkin Seeds A tasty treat you can make. Seasons Greetings Blocks Rotating blocks display holiday greetings. Sew-A-Pumpkin A candy filled party favor that can be modified for any holiday! Simple Holiday Pins These can be adapted to any holiday. Spider Web Tablecloth An easy way to decorate your table at home or classroom. Sucker Ghost A very easy favor to make for classroom parties or Halloween treats. Swinging Bat Let this bat hang inside your window at home or swing in your car window! Tissue Ghosts Inexpensive and easy way to decorate for Halloween! Trick or Treat Witch This witch will bring a smile to your face. Vinyl Placemat So easy you may want to make one for every holiday. Window Pumpkin Faces Make Halloween shadows and silhouettes. Visit Kids Domain's Halloween Party Ideas for games, recipes, and more! Visit our Halloween Costumes See also our Halloween Craft Recipes for ghoulish treat ideas. Be sure to visit our Fall Crafts for additional ideas. See also our Halloween Craft Links The Pumpkin Vine (song) I looked out my window and What did I find?Green leaves a-growing on my pumpkin vine. (2X) Gree-een leaves, green leaves a growing (2X)Gree-een leaves a growing on my pumkin vine. ...yellow flowers growing...black bugs crawling...pumpkins growing You can add silly things that the children come up with like............apples growing...watermelons growing...etc!************************************************Rain of Leaves by Aileen Fisher It’s raining big,It’s raining small,It’s raining autumn leavesIn fall. It’s raining goldAnd red and brownAs autumn leavesCome raining down. It’s raining everywhereI look.It’s raining bookmarks On my book!*********************************************To Pumpkins at Pumpkin Time by Grace Cornell Tall Back into your garden-beds!Here come the holidays!And woe to the golden pumpkin-headsAttracting too much praise. Hide behind the hoe, the plow,Cling fast to the vine!Those who come to praise you nowWill soon sit down to dine. Keep your lovely heads, my dears,If you know what I mean…Unless you want to be in pie,Stay hidden or stay green!!***********************************************Pumpkin poem One day I found two pumpkin seeds.I planted one and pulled the weeds.It sprouted roots and a big, long vine.A pumpkin grew; I called it mine.The pumpkin was quite round and fat.(I really am quite proud of that.)But there is something I'll admitThat has me worried just a bit.I ate the other seed, you see.Now will it grow inside of me? (I'm so relieved since I have foundThat pumpkins only grow in the ground!)************************************************Pumpkins When you see me in the fields,My orange glowing in the sun,It's time to say goodbye to summerand hello to autumn fun!!**********************************************Pumpkin song (tune: I'm a little teapot) I'm a little pumpkinOrange and round.Here is my stem,There is the ground.When I get all cut up,Don't you shout!Just open me upAnd scoop me out!************************************************Vegetables (tune: Mary had a little lamb) We are pumpkins, big and round,Big and round, big and round.We are pumpkins, big and round,Seated on the ground. We are string beans green and fine.....growing on a vine.We are onions round and white....we make soup taste right.We are carrots, orange and long...help us sing the song.We are cabbage green or red....see our funny head.We are corn stalks tall and straight...don't we just taste great!*************************************************The apple I have a little apple,red and round.On a tree it is found.If you take a biteYou will seeJust how tasty it will be!*************************************************Mr. Pumpkin (tune: Where is thumbkin) Mr. Pumpkin,Mr. Pumpkin,Round and fat.Round and fat.Harvesttime is coming.Harvesttime is coming.Yum, yum, yum.That is that!*************************************************Two little apples (tune: This old man) Way up high, in a tree,Two red apples smiled at me.So I shook that tree as har-r-rd as i could.Down came the apples. Ummmmm, were they good!***********************************************Pumpkin, Pumpkin Pumpkin, Pumpkin,Sitting on the wall.Pumpkin, Pumpkin,Tip and fall.pumpkin, Pumpkin,Rolling down the street.Pumpkin, Pumpkin,Good to eat!!************************************************Harvest Poem When all the cows were sleepingAnd the sun had gone to bed,Up jumped the pumpkin,And this is what he said: I'm a dingle dangle pumpkinWith a flippy floppy hat.I can shake my stem like this,And shake my vine like that. When all the hens were roostingAnd the moon behind a cloud,Up jumped the pumpkinAnd shouted very loud: I'm a dingle dangle pumpkin........**********************************************Pumpkin Song (tune: Have you ever seen a lassie?) Have you ever seen a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin,Have you ever seen a pumpkin, that grows on a vine?A round one, a tall one, a bumpy one, a squashed one.Have you ever seen a pumpkin, that grows on a vine?(You can add your own adjectives to describe it)**********************************************Harvest Time (tune: twinkle, twinkle) Harvest time is here againIn the garden we must digCarrots, radishes, onions tooAll so fresh and yummy too.Harvest time is here againWon't be long till you know when!! (thanksgiving) HALLOWEEN IDEAS:Recipes/ Crafts/ IdeasJack-o-Lantern SandwichesIngredientsWheat BreadYellow BreadButter / MayonnaiseUsing wheat bread, spread with butter or mayonnaise. Lay on a slice ofyellowcheese. On the top slice of bread cut out a jack-o-lantern, Enjoy! Pumpkin SeedsIngredients:1 tsp. butter for each cup of pumpkin seedssaltRinse pumpkin seeds and set on paper towel to dry. Melt butter and stir inseeds. Spread seeds on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt and bake in a 325degree oven until light brown. (We recommend that an adult melt the butterand mix in the seeds. Cooking near a hot stove with children is not a safeactivity.) Cheesy PumpkinsIngredients:Velveta Cheeseraisinsthin red licorice strandsparsleyChildren roll a small chunk of Velveta cheese in a ball. Raisins, licoriceand parsley are added for facial features. Children can eat this treat withcrackers.Bulletin Board Idea:Place pumpkin cutouts on the bulletin board to represent each child and thanadd a photo of him/her on it. Above the pumpkins in bubble letters write outor cut out with contruction paper; " Our Pumpkin Patch"Sign Language Ideas: I will try to describe these the best way I can as myscanner is still not working.SCAREDBoth hands start in "S"knuckles facing outwardHand move quicklytoward each other openinginto 5 shapes.PUMPKINFlick backside of "S"hand with middle finger.SPIDERFive shape both handsinterlock thumbs, wigglefingers and move forwardWITCHX shape on nose, curveout to tap both indexfingers of both handstogether.ORANGEMake squeezing motion.BLACKTake the index finger and trace the eyebrowBOOKS:Books AuthorRotten Ralph's Trick or Treat Jack GantosVery Scary Jack-O-Lantern Joanne BarkanIt's Halloween Jack PrelutskyLoose Tooth Steven KrollWitches Four Marc BrownGhosts Alvin SchwartzPumpkin Pumpkin Jeanne TitheringtonCranberry Halloween Wende & Harry DevlinRed Leaf, Yellow Leaf Lois EhlertThe Pumpkin Patch Elizabet KingClifford's Halloween Normal BridwellFunny Bones Jane & Allen AhlbergScary Scary Halloween Eve BuntingThe Halloween Performance Felecia BondIn a Dark, Dark Room Alvin SchwartzThe Biggest Pumpkin Ever Steven KrollWinnie the Witch Korky & ValericThomasLeaf Magic Margaret MahyBerenstein Bear's Prize Pumpkin Stan & Jan BerensteinTrick A Treat Bags:Materials:Brown bagscrayons, markers, paintstencils spongesdecorate as desired.Jack O'Lanterns:Cut out Orange pumpkins. Black triangles, and mouth shapes.Allow the children to glue where they feel the eyes and nose and mouthbelongs. :o)Try not to correct "their" art. :o)SONGS:(sing to the tune of "One Little, Two Little, Three Little Indians")One little, two little, three little pumpkins,Four little, five little, six little pumpkins,Seven little, eight little, nine little pumpkins,Ready for Halloween Night!"HAVE YOU MADE A JACK-O-LANTERN?"(SANG TO THE TUNE OF "MUFFIN MAN")Have you made a jack-o-lantern,A jack-o-lantern, a jack-o-lantern?Have you made a jack-o-lanternFor Halloween night?FIVE LITTLE WITCHESFive little witches standing by the door.(hold up 5 fingers)One flew out and then there were four(flying motion with hand)Four little witches standing by a tree.(four fingers)One went to pick a pumpkin and then there were three.(picking motion then three fingers)Three little witches stirring their brew.(stir)One fell in and then there were two.(two fingers)Two little witches went for a run.(run with fingers)One got lost and then there was one(one finger)One little witch yes, only one(one finger)She cast a spell and now there are none.(make motions as if to cast spell and then put hands in lap)***** Instead of Duck Duck Goose.... try Ghost Ghost Witch! They LOVEthis!!!!! Halloween WreathUse a paper plate with the center circle cut out. Paint this wreath with green tempera paint. Have the children cut out Halloween figures--jack-o'-lantern, ghosts, bats, black cats, candy shapes, etc.--Glue the shapes around the circle. Some of my kids wanted to tie yarn and ribbons around the circle. COOKIE CUTTER FUNI use Halloween cookie cutters & let the children dip in paint & then on paper. I usually buy them after the holiday is over so you can get them for 75% to 90% off.I have a good collection. This works great for other holidays, Christmas etc... Halloween ChainOrange and Black construction paperCut orange and black strips of paper, three to four inches long and one-half inch wide. Form a circle with one strip and glue or staple ends. Take next strip and loop it through first circle, again gluing or stapling ends. Continue on making as long as you like, alternating colors.TombstonesStyrofoam sheets *Thick Black Marker Cut Styrofoam shapes into shape of tombstone. Write epitaph on Styrofoam with black marker. Prop up against doorways or walls. Eye MasksInexpensive eye masks *Sequins *Feathers *Buttons *Dried beans Have kids attach a variety of items on hand to the masks with glue to make their own decorated eye masks. Halloween table clothWhite paper table cloth *Sponges *Tempera acrylic paint *Markers *Stickers *Halloween cutouts On white paper tablecloth decorate with assorted shapes cut from sponges. Glue on Halloween cutouts or stickers. Trick or Treat BagsBrown paper lunch bags ~Felt-tip markers ~Halloween stickers ~Cutout pumpkins, ghosts, bats, cats ~Glue Decorate the brown paper bags with assorted Halloween designs. Larger brown paper grocery bags can be decorated and used for trick or treating. Bone mobile~Bone shaped dog biscuits ~White spray paint ~String ~Coat hanger Spray paint dog biscuits white on both sides. Once dry tie together with string in a variety of patterns. Hang from coathangers or crossed dowels. Barnyard BashInvitations: Cut out animal shapes on construction paper and write the party information on these. Hand deliver to your guests.Decorations: bales of hay, bunches of dried cornstalks, autumn leaves, pumpkins, gourds, dried corn cobs. Serve food in western bandanas attached to sticks. Be sure to make a scarecrow. Carved out pumpkins make great serving dishes or chip bowls. Paper Plate OwlNeed: paper plates (the kind with the ridged edges), circles of orange construction paper for eyes. V-shaped pieces of orange construction paper for bills & claws, a magic marker, brown tempera paint, & glue. Using the magic marker, draw cutting lines on each paper plate at 10, 2, 5 and 7 O'clock, & along the inner edge of the ridges (these will be the wings). Have the children cut their plates on the lines, then have them paint the pieces of the paper plate with brown tempera paint and let dry. Staple the owl's wings to the bodies for the children (or use brads for more moveable wings). Have the children glue the eyes, beaks & claws onto their owls. Wise owlGlue the following on blue or black paper or fabric: 1/2 walnut shell for body, curly pretzel for head, 2 beans for eyes, straight pretzel for perch, two round oat cereal pieces for claws, a red bean for a beak. Halloween Candy HolderThis is a great craft that the children can use to go trick or treating with, or you can use it as a decoration. Take a large can (coffee can, spaghetti sauce can..) & wash thoroughly, making sure to remove all outside paper & stickiness.Paint the can with one coat of white paint & let dry. Then paint the can with a coat of orange paint - let dry. Then either with black paint, or a black marker draw the face of a jack-o'-lantern on the can. Punch two holes into the top edges of the can on opposite sides. (Use a hammer and nail) Tie string or twine to make a handle. Optional: Use smaller cans, fill them with candy & stuff & use them as party favors at a Halloween party. Wise OwlCut an owl from brown and tan construction paper. Make eyes from orange & yellow pieces of construction paper. Tear up small pieces of newspaper & glue to the chest area for a mottled feather look. PAPER BAG MASKSVery simple or very elaborate masks can be made from grocery bags. Start with crayons, markers, scissors and glue, and let your imagination go wild.Playdough pumpkinsMake orange play dough and roll it into balls (little pumpkins).Trick or Treat bags Two or three days before Halloween, the children decorate their treat bags, (white lunch sacks) with black, orange and green makers and Halloween stickers. THE BOO MASK is a mask that a child can hold up to his face and remove when desired. Eyes look through the O's in BOO. Cut out of black paper. Add popsicle stick handle and colorful streamers on the side.Spooky Designsblack construction paper, white chalkChildren use the chalk to draw designs on the black paper. Lightly spray the finished designs with hair spray, so the chalk is less easily rubbed off.Boo Mask: This mask is not scary, but colorful. It is made like a mardigras mask for eyes only. Using a paper plate and a craft stick cut out a mask. Let kids decorate freely using colorful pom-poms, feathers, yarn scraps, sequinsCookie Cutter Prints: Dip Halloween cookie cutters into paint and let kids press onto construction paper. (This works for any theme you can find cookie cutters for!)Paper Napkin Ghosts Have children make paper ghosts from unfolded white paper napkins. Help them place cotton balls in the center of the napkin. Show them how pull down the corners of the napkin over the cotton ball. Tie a piece of white yarn around the "neck". Use markers to draw a face. Tape a thin piece of string from the top of the head and hang from the ceiling. Paper Plate Bat Using a small paper plate, paint black with black finger paint, let dry. Cut triangle shapes from black construction paper, 3 for each wing and lay them out so you can glue the two top corners to another triangle. Fasten the wings to the back of the paper plate and draw a face with white correction fluid or chalk. Punch a hole in the top to hang. Paper Plate Masks Make a silly, scary mask using paper plates and cardboard egg cartons. Cut eye holes in a large paper plate. Cut apart the cups of an egg carton and arrange them on the plate to make a nose, beard, bumps. When you have an arrangement you like, use glue or masking tape to attach the cups in place. Paint the mask with finger paints and add facial features. Let the paint dry. Punch a hole in each side of the paper plate and string a piece of elastic or string through each hole to go around the head. Halloween countdown.about 2 weeks before the holiday make a black and orange paper chain. Take 1 off a day till HalloweenDo a candy collage after Halloween------- Trick or Treat Torchesusing markers, draw the face of an animal, monster, or other disguise on a paper bag ( lunch bags work best). If desired, glue on felt ears and yarn or string for hair. Punch about 20 holes in the bag in random places so the light can shine through. Place the bag over the head of a flashlight, pulling it down about 4 inches ( be sure bag doesn't cover on/off switch), and secure it to the flashlight with string, tape, or rubber bands. Then Light up!Gruesome handiworkCover inside of a latex glove with vegetable spray, coating fingers. Fill with 2 packages cherry gelatin mix, diluting with amount of water for 1 package. Place glove in fridge, upright, by clipping to shelf with clothespins; chill until firm. Cut glove down wrist and fingers to remove hand.Pumpkin Face: Have large pumpkins cut out. Provide different shapes for eyes, nose and mouth. Let the child pick the features.Paper Plate Pumpkins Paint paper plates orange using finger paints. Let the paint dry and using yellow paint, add eyes, nose and a mouth. Cut a stem from orange construction paper and fasten to the top of the pumpkin. Pumpkin PeoplePlace orange crepe paper or orange tissue paper underneath clean milk cartons or juice containers. Bring paper together at the top, and tie with a bow. Have children add black construction paper features, and display your creatures. Jack-o'-lantern with Glowing EyesCarve your pumpkin as you would normally, then place sections of a lime with rind removed in the eye cutouts. With a lit candle inside the eyes will glow green. HANGING PUMPKINPaint 2 paper plates orange. Lay one on top of the other and staple 3/4 of it leaving a small area to the top, add a green stem and hang with green yarn. Add eyes nose and mouth. We did it with Black foam shapes. You could use almost anythingSCRAP PAPER JACK-O'-LANTERNSOn black paper, draw a circle and paint it with glue. Tear scraps of orange paper into small pieces and arrange on glue. Add torn scraps of yellow or black paper for eyes, nose and mouth. Silly SquashLong ago, people believed that carved pumpkins could keep away evil spirits. You can decorate miniature pumpkins to bring happy faces to your friends. Use markers, stickers, glue, construction paper, beads, feathers and other decorations to make funny faces on the pumpkins. Then give the pumpkin heads to your friends.PROJECT PUMPKIN Convert your classroom into a pumpkin paradise; then provide lots of opportunities for your young P.I.'s and Pumpkin Investigators to explore and experience pumpkins! JACK-O'-LANTERN JARUse a large glass jar, the big fat pickle jars are best for this. Paint the jar orange with poster paint, then add eyes and other features using black electrical tape. Put a candle in it and you have a pretty jack-o'-lantern to set in the window. MARGARINE TUB JACK-O'-LANTERNCover a small margarine tub, with the lid on, with orange crepe paper. Turn on side using flat top for face. Make face by gluing on black paper features. Pumpkins on a FenceFence -Cut long strips from brown paper for the rails and a few shorter ones for the posts. Glue on to a background paper.Pumpkins - Cut circles from orange paper for pumpkins & glue them along the top of the fence. Draw or paste a different face on each pumpkin. Add a stem to the top. Add anything else you want to finish the scene.PumpkinsThe children fingerpaint directly on our plastic topped table with orange paint. When the children are finished painting, press pre-cut paper (a large pumpkin shape) on each child's work to capture the print. The next day when the pumpkins are dry, have the children glue on a stem precut from green construction paper - any place on the pumpkin is fine.The pumpkins look good displayed along the classroom walls. For vines, I use lengths of green curling ribbon to connect the pumpkins to each other by their stems and add leaves.RATTLING SKELETONSUse white paper to form 5 paper chains, and then connect to make a skeleton. Trace children's hands and feet on white paper, cut and glue to the ends of the arms and legs. Cut on oval shape and draw on the face. These work best when made in small groups. Hang around the classroom for "spooky" decorations! (Cute?) Wiggly Eyed PumpkinMake a pumpkin (with orange constrc. paper) with a pair of triangle shaped eyes that are cut out. Then cut a vertical slash on the outside of each eye not too close to eye. Guide a piece of paper through one slash, behind the eyes, and through the slash next to the other eye. With the strip centered behind the eye holes, draw a pair of eyes on the strip through the holes. Move the strip back and forth to make the eyes wiggle. Halloween-take a paper bag fill it with shredded news paper. Tie the top. let children paint the bag orange for a pumpkin. Add a face.Jack-o'-lantern Milk Jugs-Use a clean milk jug & pour some orange paint inside. Have the children will swirl the paint around to coat the inside of the jug so that all you will see is orange. Then cut out some triangle shapes for the eyes & nose. The mouth will need to be cut by an adult if you make a regular jack-o'-lantern mouth with teeth. The cap will be the stem (covered in brown or green constr. paper) of the pumpkin & then cut out a leaf to glue on the stem. Pumpkin Patch: Choose a 6 inch pumpkin and decorate it with permanent makers and stickers. Humphrey the Blue-Nosed Pumpkin(ou Humphrey, citrouille au nez bleu)andSongs of the Graniteville Goblins Jack-O-Lantern Rufus Jack-o-LanternBoo! Boo! Boo! What Will We Do? Over the Graveyard Shivery YellsNow Sing We All She'll Be Riding on a BroomstickWe Three Ghosts Trick or TreatGhosties We Have Heard on High Deck the HallsSpirit Wonderland Paint a paper plate orange/brown mixture for the pumpkin pie, cut thisinto pie sections. Paint the outside edge brown for the crust. Sprinklepumpkin pie spice on while still wet or use glue that dries clear; and then add acotton ball for the cool whip. You can even hang these on the fridge withmagnets.http://members.tripod.com/~bobbie24tj/9b-halloween.htmlPatterns, puzzles, stories, printables!! GREAT SITE!!!http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/halloweenJokes, Games, Coloring Pages, Jigsaw Puzzles, jokes, etcwww.kidsdomain.com/holiday/halloween/print.htmlStuff to print, cut and colorhttp://www.familyeducation.com/article/0,1120,2-19118,00.htmlHalloween Printableshttp://www.graphicgreetings.com/printableshalloween.htmCrafts, coloring, decorations, costumes, carving patterns, etchttp://w3.gwis.com/~ack/Halloween.html http://www.melborponsti.com/kids/hallow/Just Kids Recipes - Halloween Recipeshttp://members.aol.com/Pumpkinave/paperstuff/coloring.htm#Coloring Pages FIVE ORANGE PUMPKINSOnce there were 5 orange pumpkins growing in a pumpkin patch.There was aGIANT pumpkin, a large pumpkin, a medium pumpkin, a small pumpkin and a tinypumpkin. (Put them on the flannelboard one by one.)A man came by and looked at the five pumpkins. He picked up the giantpumpkin. "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 thepumpkin patch. She picked up the large pumpkin. "This will be a finepumpkinto set on my doorstep" she said. (Remove large)Next a teacher came by and looked at the three pumpkins still growing in thepumpkin patch. She chose the medium pumpkin. "This will be a fine pumpkinfor my classroom!" she said. (Remove medium)Then a baker came by and looked at the two pumpkins still growing in thepumpkin patch. He found the small pumpkin. "This will be just fine for apumpkin pie!" he said. (Remove small).Finally a little boy dressed in a ghost costume stopped by the pumpkinpatch.He saw the tiny pumpkin that was left. "This is just right to take to myHalloween party!" he said. So he took the pumpkin, painted a face on it andsaid "This is my best Jack-o-lantern ever!"PUMPKINS: (felt board story)Ten Little PumpkinsCut 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 pumpkinsAll in a line,One became a jack-o-lantern,Then there were nine.Nine little pumpkinsPeeking 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 pumpkinsFull of jolly tricksA white ghost took one,Then there were six.Six little pumpkins,Glad to be aliveA black cat took one,Then there were five.Five little pumpkinsBy the barn door,A hoot owl took one,Then there were four.Four little pumpkins(As you can plainly see),One became a pumpkin pieThen there were three.Three little pumpkins,Feeling very blue,One rolled far away,Then there were two.Two little pumpkinsAlone in the sun.One said, "So long,"And then there was one.One little pumpkinLeft all aloneA little boy chose himThen there were none.Ten little pumpkinsIn a patch so greenMade everyone happyOn Halloween.Pumpkin PinsWhat you need:Felt- orange, green, blackGlue- tacky glue or a hot glue gun works wellPin backs- can be bought easily at local craft storeScissorsJuice can tops- the size depends on how big you'd like your pin to be.Permanent magic markersPencil- a sewing marking pencil may be good here.What you do:Place juice can top on felt and trace around it with a pencil or sewingmarking pencil. You are going to cut TWO of these shapes out of the felt-onefor the front of the pin and one for the back of the pin. The juice topformsa stable middle for the pin.Using your scissors cut out TWO tracings of the can top. You can make thecircle appear more pumpkin like by cutting a small notch in the circle toform the place where the pumpkin's stem would come out.Using either felt or a permanent magic marker create a face for your pumpkinpin. Do this for only one of the two circles. The remaining circle will beonthe back of the pin. You can add the traditional "pumpkin vertical line"withthe marker. The pin can be personalized using bits of ribbon, buttons fortheeyes etc. Please do all decorated before assembling the pin.Attach face pieces to the front of your pin with either tacky glue or hotglue gun. With the juice top sandwiched in between the two pieces of felt,glue the edges of the felt pieces together. Glue a pin backing onto the backof the undecorated pumpkin (the back of your pin).I want not only to be loved,But to be told that I am loved.~George Eliot________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Pumpkin PatchWhat you need:Hard boiled eggs ( how many depends on how big you'd like your pumpkin patchto be)Orange food coloringif you need to make the orange from red and yellow coloring it would be agreat opportunity to show your child how to create colors.Black laundry magic markerPiece of cardboardToilet paper rolls or rolls from paper towelsGreen construction paper, green crayoned paper or left over Easter "grass"What you do:Once you have dyed your eggs orange and they are completely dried, you andyour preschooler can draw faces on them . I would recommend drawing the facein pencil first and then trace over it with the black marker. You canincludeblack lines from top to the bottom to look like the natural marks found on apumpkin. Make your own jack-o' lantern! Then cut a piece of the paper rollsothat the egg fits in it. This provides a stand for the egg. The stand can becolored with crayons or decorated with glitter.Attach the Easter grass with glue to the cardboard. If you are not usinggrass you can make some with green colored/ construction paper. Just letyourlittle one cut strips of paper and again attach with the glue.You can add little fences to the patch or anything you like to make apersonalized patch. It makes a great table decoration and your child canreally get into it.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Make a pumpkin chainshow the pumpkin life cycle in a little bookmake pumpkin placematsCRAFT A PUMPKIN CANDLEHOLDERThese Festive candleholders light up our dinner table for the month ofOctober. To make one, cut the top off a mini pumpkin (make sure the hole isno bigger than a quarter). Remove the seeds with a small spoon or the tip ofan apple corer, then stick a candle into the hole.http://family.go.com/Categories/Activities/Features/family_1997_10/famf/famf107pumpkin/famf107pumpkin4.htmlWHAT can you do with four odd-size pumpkins? This solution--making each aletter in a word--is so clever it's scary.First, draw the letters and exclamation point in pen on the pumpkins. Cutthetops off with a sharp knife (parents only); for best results, carve at aninward angle. Cut a small hole in each cap to allow heat from the candle toescape. Remove the seeds with an ice-cream scoop and scrape the walls untilthey are about 1 inch thick. Cut out the drawn letters with a paring knifeorpumpkin-carving tool, then light a candle in each one.http://family.go.com/Categories/Activities/Features/family_1997_10/famf/famf107pumpkin/famf107pumpkin2.htmlPuzzle PinsMATERIALS:Puzzle piece.Pin back, 1â€� long.Clear acrylic varnish.Black permanent fine-tip marker.Pumpkin:Acrylic paints: orange, green, brown.Supplies: Scissors, ruler, pencil, thick craft glue, paintbrush, paper plate(for palette), paper towels.INSTRUCTIONS :Using photo as a guide, choose appropriate puzzle piece for desired pin. Theback of the puzzle piece becomes front of pin. (Note: Squeeze small amountsof paint onto paper plate as needed. Let paints dry between color changes.Use photo as painting guide.)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~These pumpkins are made out of plastic clothes dryer hose. They turn outrealcute.Supplies needed:Dryer hoseOrange spray paintGreenfeltFake fall leavesTacky GlueGreen spray paintCone shaped styrofoamSmall wiggly eyesSmall black pom pomGreen pipe cleaners* Cut off section of dryer vent and make into a circle gluing the two endstogether. (So you have a nice size pumpkin)* Spray paint the dryer vent orange (let dry)* Spray paint the Styrofoam green for the stem (let dry)* Curl the green pipe cleaner around your finger. Put a little glue on thepipecleaner and place on top in center hole of pumpkin. Place glue on Styrofoamstem and press down into center on top of pumpkin.* Cut two green leaves out of felt and place on top of pumpkin.* Glue additional fake fall leaves to the bottom of the pumpkin (it thenlookslike it's sitting in a pile of leaves.)* Glue wiggly eyes to the black pom pom and glue on green leaf on topofpumpkin.That's it! You now have a real neat looking centerpiece. With the ruffleddryervent it really looks like a pumpkin.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dip yarn (orange) into equal parts of glue and water; wrap around a smallballoon (variety of sizes here) Let dry, then pop the balloon. Smallpumpkins.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Paper Mache GhostSimilar to the Great Ghost above except replace wallpaper paste with PaperMache RecipeMaterials:Paper Mache RecipeBalloonPaint (optional)String for hangingDrop cloth, bowl, scissors InstructionsTake strips of newspaper and soak in paper mache. Cover entire balloon andallow to dry over night.You may do as in the Great Ghost idea and cover entire balloon in largesheets of paper or instead hang white streamers from the underside of theballoon.Paint the balloon white and draw on eyes or paint eyes.Attach string to top for hanging.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bag PumpkinsMaterials:Paper bag (lunch or grocery)String or green yarnMarkers, crayons or paintsNewspaperInstructions:For smaller pumpkins use lunch bags with flat bottoms, for larger pumpkinsuse grocery bags. Stuff the bag 3/4 full with scrunched up newspaper. Gathertop of bag and tie with string or yarn to form stem of pumpkin. Shape bag tolook like pumpkin using your hands. Decorate pumpkin with paints, markers orcrayons as you desire.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Filled "Pumpkin" Cookies Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method-------- ------------ -------------------------------- -----COOKIES----- 1 c Butter 1 c Sugar 1 ea Large egg 1 t Vanilla 2 ts Baking powder 1 tb Pumpkin pie spice 2 3/4 c Flour Orange food color -----FILLING----- 2 c Raisins 3/4 c Chopped walnuts 1/2 c Frozen orange juice -concentrate -- thawedPreheat oven to 375 degrees.In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer.Beat in egg and vanilla. Add baking powder, spice, and flour onecup at a time mixing after each addition. The dough will be verystiff; blend last flour in by hand. Do not chill dough. To tintwith icing color, add small amounts until desired color isreached. Divide dough into 2 balls. On a floured surface, rolleach ball into a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter.Dip Wilton "Jack-O-Lantern Cutters" in flour before each use.Place half the cookies on cookie sheets. Place 1 tablespoonfilling on cookie. Cut eyes and mouth from remaining cookies.Place on top of filling. Press to seal edges. Bake for 12 to15 minutes or until lightly browned. To make filling justmix all ingredients in a bowl. You can also use jelly.From http://www.garvick.com/recipes/meal-master.htm?adm.Posted by Pat Evans~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TOAST THE SEEDSPreparing the pumpkin seeds for toasting was the slimiest activity wetried.Some kids loved it; others were totally grossed out. All, however, enjoyedmunching on the freshly toasted seeds.1 small pumpkin2 tbsp. vegetable oilSaltUse an ice-cream scoop to remove the seeds from the pumpkin and transferthemto a large bowl. Now for the tough part: Separate the seeds from the pumpkinfiber (this is a messy job that you should do outside). To make the processalittle easier, fill the bowl with water and let the pumpkin seeds soak. Havea bowl of clean water nearby and a colander, too.Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Toss the rinsed pumpkin seeds into asmallerbowl, drizzle with the oil, and sprinkle with salt. Spread the seeds on acookie sheet and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until slightly brown.http://family.go.com/Categories/Activities/Features/family_1997_10/famf/famf107pumpkin/famf107pumpkin3.html~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BAKE MINI PUMPKIN PIESTeaching my neighborhood kids how to make pumpkin pie from real pumpkin(instead of canned filling) took a full afternoon, but the processfascinatedthem.3 eggs1/2 cup sugar1/4 cup packed brown sugar2 cups Pumpkin Mush (see recipe below) or canned pumpkin2 tsp. cinnamon1 tsp. ginger1/2 tsp. cloves1/2 tsp. salt1 12-oz. can evaporated milk8 mini pie shells (available at most grocery stores)Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs andthe sugars. Blend in the Pumpkin Mush, the spices, salt and evaporated milk.Pour the filling into the pie shells. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heatto 350 degrees and bake for another 50 minutes, or until the pies set.Serves6 to 8.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Pumpkin MushUse this pureed pumpkin in all your favorite pumpkin recipes. Preheat theoven to 375 degrees. Cut a medium-size pumpkin, such as a sugar pumpkin, inhalf. Prick the skin with a fork, and place on a cookie sheet, cut-side up.Bake for 50 minutes, or until it is very soft when poked with a fork. Letthepumpkin cool, then scoop out the seeds with a big spoon. Scoop out thepumpkin meat and compost the skin. Mash the pumpkin meat with a potatomasheror puree in a food processor. Makes about 4 cups, depending on the size ofthe pumpkin.http://family.go.com/Categories/Activities/Features/family_1997_10/famf/famf107pumpkin/famf107pumpkin8.html~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SERVE PUMPKIN PATCH MUFFINSThese moist, wholesome muffins are loaded with vitamin A. For flavoredmuffins, we tried chocolate chip, raisin and autumn spice.1 cup Pumpkin Mush or canned pumpkin1/2 cup packed brown sugar1/4 cup melted butter or margarine2 eggs2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 cup all-purpose and 1 cup whole-wheat flour)2 tsp. baking powder1/2 tsp. saltPreheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl or bowl of anelectric mixer, mix or blend the Pumpkin Mush, brown sugar, melted butterandeggs.In a separate bowl, sift the flour with the baking powder and salt.Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir or blend only untilcombined. Spoon the batter into a 12-cup muffin tin lined with paper liners.Bake the muffins for 20 minutes. Makes 10 to 12, depending on their size.PUMPKIN-CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS: Stir 1/2 cup chocolate chips into the batterbefore scooping it into the muffin tin.PUMPKIN-RAISIN MUFFINS: Stir 1/2 cup raisins into the batter before scoopingit into the muffin tin.PUMPKIN-SPICE MUFFINS: Sift 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg withthe flourhttp://family.go.com/Categories/Activities/Features/family_1997_10/famf/famf107pumpkin/famf107pumpkin9.html~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE* Low Calorie Dessert ** Great Cooking Activity for Kids *Makes 12 servings.Ingredients:12 gingersnaps2 1/2 cups part skim ricotta cheese1 cup canned pumpkin puree1/2 cup granulated brown sugar2 large eggs1/1/2 tsp vanilla1/2 tsp ground allspice1/2 tsp cinnamon1/4 tsp ginger3/4 cup frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawedPlace one ginger snap in bottom of cupcake papers. Beat ricotta untilsmooth.Add remaining ingredients, except topping and mix until well combined. Pourmixture into cups.Bake 20 minutes at 350° until lightly set; turn off heat. Let stand in oven1hour. Cool on rack and chill overnight. Serve with 1 tbsp topping.http://www.makestuff.com/foodstuff/cheesecake3.html~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~RING A HULA HOOP AROUND A PUMPKINYes, a pumpkin can become a game piece, as the kids in my neighborhooddiscovered. In this version of ring toss, paint points on pumpkins, andarrange them with the highest score farthest from the starting line. Playersstand on the line and try to toss a hula hoop around a pumpkin. Three triesfor each child; the highest score wins. Halloween has come at last.Witches goblins big black cats.Funny faces round aboutpeople laugh and people shout....BOO!Up against the moon so highsee the ugly witches flyPumpkin faces laugh at meI'm as scared as I can be.There was a small witch on a Halloween nightwho wanted to see if her hat was on rightshe looked in the mirror and gave a loud screamfor she really looked like a very bad dream.Jack'olantern...jackolantern you are such a funny sightAs you sit by the window looking out at the nightYou were once an orange pumpkin growing on a slender vineNow you are a jackolantern see the candle light shineGhostylocks and the tree witchesOnce upon a time there were three witches who lived in a cave in the woods. The father was a great big warlock, the mother was a middle-size witch, and the baby-well, he was little! And on the edge of the woods lived a little ghost named Ghostylocks. One morning near halloween the witch family was making brew in their black pots. Father put snake tails in his brew. Mother put bat wings in her brew, and baby put spider legs in his brew. They all stirred and stirred their icky broth. When it bubbled and spit, Father warlock put his finger in the brew to taste it. "My brew is too hot." He shouted in his loud voice. Mother witch tested her brew and said in her middle-size voice, "My brew is to hot." Then the baby tried his brew, and cried in his squeaky voice, "My brew is too hot, too."So the witches decided to go for a walk in the forest while they waited for their brews to cool.Now on that same morning, Ghostylocks decided to go for a walk in the forest. She came upon the witches cave and saw that they were gone. And though she shouldn't have --and you certainly would'nt have--she walk right in.The first thing she saw was the pots of brew."Oooooo, maybe I can stir up some magic, "she whoooed" She saw a big stick and used it to stir the brew in the biggest pot,but it was too hot to do magic. Then she used a medium-size stick to stir the brew in the medium-sized pot , but it was to cold. Then she used the little stick to stir the brew in the little pot, and it was just right. But before she can make any magic, she bumped the pot and spilled the brew all over the floor. Next Ghostylocks saw three brooms leaning against a wall. "Oooo, I've always wanted to take a spin on a witches broom." she shrieked, she climbed on the biggest broomstick. But it went too fast. Then she climbed on the middle-size broomstick but it went to slow. Then she climbed on the smallest broomstick and it went just the right speed. She rode around and around the cave, getting dizzier and dizzier, when she crashed!!. She ran into a wall, smashing the broom to pieces.Ghostylocks was still feeling whoozy from the crash when she saw three wands on a table.Oooo," she cried, "now I can make some magic!" She picked up the biggest wand, but it was to heavy. Then she picked up the middle-size wand, but it was to light. She picked up the smallest wand and it was just right!Soon the three witches returned from their walk. Father went to test his brew and said in his loud voice "Someone has been stirring my brew!" Then Mother said in her middle-size voice. "Someone has been stirring my brew!" "Someone has been stirring my brew and has spilled it all over the floor!" said baby in a squeaky voice.Father walked over to their broomsticks. "Someone has been riding my broomstick," he said in his loud voice . "Someone has been riding by broomstick." said Mother in her middle-size voice. "Someone has been riding my broomstick and has smashed it," cried baby in his squeaky voice.Then Father saw theat their magic wands were not on the table. " Someone has been making magic with my wand," he said in this loud voice."Someone has been making magic with my wand." said Mother in her middle-size voice. "Someone has been making magic with my wand," cried Baby in his squeaky voice, "and has turned itself into a frog!"Little Ghostylocks hopped out of the cave and into the forest straight for the nearest pond. THE THREE LITTLE GHOSTS Once upon a time, there were three little ghosts. They loved to play hide & seek and peek a boo in their haunted house. They played and played all night, but in the morning they were tired of playing. " Mommy, mommy,"called the three little ghosts. "We're hungry, what's for breakfast?""Oh dear", said Mother ghost. We have run out of food. I'll have to go to the grocery store and get something to eat. "We'll go to the store for you", replied the three little ghosts. Before Mother ghost could say a word, off the three little ghosts flew to the store. The first little ghost landed in the produce section on a lovely red tomato. "This red thing looks sooo delicious, " he said. "I can't wait to taste it". And he gobbled down the whole tomato right there in the store.The second little ghost landed on top of some tender sweet corn . "This yellow stuff looks tasty," said the little ghost, I can't wait to taste it!" And she nibbled up all the corn right there in the store.The third little ghost landed on some fresh green beans. "These greenthings look mighty good, I can't wait to try some." And he ate up all the green beans right there in the store. Meanwhile, Mother ghost was getting worried and wondered. "What could be taking my little ghosts so long at the store?" she said. A minute later the first little ghost arrived home, looking strangeand red. "Mommy, mommy, I don't feel so good," he said.. "I have a tummy ache." "Oh my poor little ghost. You look so red. Did you eat something red?" "Yes," confessed the little ghost sadly. "I ate a tomato." Just then the other two ghosts flew in looking yellow like the corn and green like the green beans. "We're sick too!" they cried."Oh dear", said Mother ghost. "My baby ghosts didn't know that ghosts only eat white foods." Quickly Mother ghost flew to the store to get a carton of white milk, some white cottage cheese and some plain white yogurt. As soon as the little ghosts ate the white foods, they looked and felt much better. "Hooray, white foods are best!" the little ghosts shouted and they lived happily ever after... The Witch Rides Tonight-- (tune; Farmer in Dell)The witch rides tonightThe witch rides tonightHeigh-ho, it's Halloween The witch rides tonight!The witch takes a cat...The cat takes a bat...The bat takes a spider...The spider takes a goblin...The goblin takes a skeleton...The skeleton takes a ghost...The ghost scares them all... This Old Ghost(tune; This Old Man) This old ghost, he played one,He played peek-a-boo on the runWith a boo! boo! boo! and a clap, clap, clapThis old ghost is a friendly chaptwo: peek-a-boo in a shoethree: peek-a-boo behind a treefour: peek-a-boo near a door Old Mother WitchOld Mother Witch is coming to townComing to town, coming to townOld Mother Witch is coming to townSo early in the morning.This is the way she rides her broom...This is the way she wears her hat...This is the way she stirs her brew...This is the way she pets her black cat...This is where she has her wart...This is how she scares you BOO...Old Mother Witch is going away... Five Little PumpkinsFive little pumpkins sitting on a gateThe first one said, "Oh, my it's getting late."The second one said, "There are witches in the air".The third one said,"But we don't care!"The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run".The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun!"Wooooo, went the windAnd out went the lightAnd the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight! For This Is Halloween(tune; 10 Little Indians)One little skeleton hopping up and down,One little skeleton hopping up and down,One little skeleton hopping up and down,For this is Halloween.Two little children playing trick or treat...Three little pumpkins standing in a row...Four little goblins running all around...Five little witches flying through the air... We're Not Afraid(tune; Twinkle, Twinkle)Ghosts and goblins, cats and bats,We're not afraid of this or that.They are only make-believe,Funny costumes on Halloween.Ghosts and goblins, cats and bats,We're not afraid of this or that. Who's That Ghost?Seat children in a circle. Choose a volunteer to stand away from the circle and close his eyes. Have a child put a ghost mask over his face. When the other child returns, he tries to guess "Who's that ghost?" Witch's SpellHave kids form a circle. The Witch (teacher) will stand in the middle of the circle, spin around, then raise her hand and cast a spell on the kids, turning them into a particular animal. Say: "Hocus, Pocus, Ala Kazam! Turn into dogs, if you can!"To change all animals back into kids: Say: "Hocus Pocus Ala Kazam! Now turn back into you!"Dog, cat, bird, cow, rabbit, fish, horse, sheep, ghost, witch, etc. 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 ger YOU!!! (Shout "you" and Jump up with arms extended) One little bat was trying to behave.He hung upside down from his feet in a cave.Another bat flew in, and said, "How do you do?"The second joined the first, and then there were 2!2 little bats were trying to behave.They hung upside down from their feet in a cave.To help pass the time, they sang "Do re me"Another bat joined the song, and then there were 3.3 little bats were trying to behaveThey hung upside down from their feet in a caveFrom their cave perch, they looked down at the floor,A new bat joined the game, and then there were 4.4 little bats were trying to behave.They hung upside down from their feet in a cave.One little bat zoomed inside and did a dive.He stayed to take a rest, and with him there were 5. HALLOWEEN NIGHTMaterials:moon, broom, witch, cat, owl, and ghostThis 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 acrossthe 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. THE CORNY GAME:YOU NEED:-one small glass -20 kernels of corn-a chair1) Put the glass on the floor.2) Put the chair so that the back of the chair is facing the glass.3) Each player takes turns kneeling on the chair and trying to drop the kernels into the glass.4) The player who gets the most kernels in the glass wins. GET OFF MY HAT:YOU NEED:-Big brown paper bag-Pencil-Scissors-Record player or radio1) Cut the bag so that you can open it out flat.2) Draw a big witch's hat and cut it out.3) At the party, put the hat on the floor.4) The players get into a straight line and shut their eyes. 5) A leader is at the front to see that no one peeks. Whoever peeks is out of the game.6) When the music starts, the players walk back and forth across the hat.7) Any player on the hat when the music stops is out of the game.8) The last player left wins. LITTLE GHOST (fingerplay):I saw a little ghost (hold hands over eyes)And he saw me too! (point to self)When I said "HI" (wave hand)He said, "BOO." Nasty WitchI saw a nasty witch last night,Sailing through the pale moonlight.She whooped and zooped among the leaves,She caused a fuss mong the trees!She landed right before my feetAnd shouted at me, TRICK OR TREAT! Have You Seen.....?sung to "The Muffin Man"Have you seen the pumpkin man,The pumpkin man, the pumkin manHave you seen the pumpkin man,Who lives in the pumpkin patch?Have you seen the old black witch,The old black witch, the old black witch,Have you seen the old black witch, Who lives in the haunted house?Have you seen the scary ghost,The scary ghost, the scary ghost,Have you seen the scary ghost,Who lives in the old ghost town?Have you seen the big black bat,The big black bat, the big black bat,Have you seen the big black bat,Who lives in the cold dark cave?Yes, we have. We've seen these things,Seen these things, seen these things,Yes, we have, we've seen these things,We saw them on Hallowe'en! Feed the SpiderThis is a revised version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. On a large piece of white butcher paper or tag board, draw a spider web with a black felt pen. Draw a large spider on the web, at a place of your choosing. Cut out various shapes of green, brown, orange or yellow contruction paper for bugs. Allow the children to decorate their own bugs with crayons or felt pens. Place a piece of double stick tape on the underside of the bug. Explain to the children how they will be blind-folded and will try to feed the spider with the bug, and that the bug closest to the spider will win a prize. It is usually best to demonstrate with an older child first. Ghosts added 8-11-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: White Lima Beans, marker, branchDirections: Find white lima beans at the grocery store and turn them into ghost. Add eyes and mouth to the beans. Glue them to a branch, that is placed in a pot.Ghost Magnet added 8-11-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: Oatmeal Container, black paper, white paint, and a marbleDirections: Make a ghost cut out of black construction paper and place in an old oatmeal canister with one teaspoon white paint and marbles and shake. Makes a really cute spooky ghost. Mount them on fun foam and add glitter and a magnet for a spooky fridge magnet.Spooky Spider Webs added 8-11-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: Paper plate, pie pan, black paint, marble, spider ringDirections: Put a paper plate in a pie pan and give the student a small dab of black paint. You can also paint a paper plate black and do the activity with the white paint to look more realistic. After the small dab of paint is placed on the student'' plate, drop a marble in and let the child move the pie pan in all different directions to make a spooky spider web. After it has dried, punch a hole in the plate and attach a plastic spider ring or sponge paint a spider in the web.Rattling Skeletons added 8-11-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: White paper, crayons, and glueDirections: Use white paper to form 5 paper chains, and then connect to make a skeleton. Trace children's hands and feet on white paper, cut and glue to the ends ofthe arms and legs. Cut an oval shape and draw on the face. These work best when made with small groups of children.Tempera Paint Spider Webs added 8-11-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: Black paint, Straws, and paperDirections: Using runny black paint, allow the children to use a straw to blow the paint across the page to make a spider's web.Glue Ghosts added 8-11-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: Wax, paper, pencil, glue, marker, and stringDirections: Have the child draw a ghost outline on a piece of waxed paper, and then have them fill in the outline with white school glue. Dry overnight, and then have the child add facial features. Place on a string and you have a spooky ghost necklace.Giggly Ghosts added 8-11-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: Quilt batting, Narrow elastic, Construction paper, GlueDirections: Have the children tear off a wad of the quilt batting. Have the children form the "ghost" any way they want. Next, have the children cut eyes, legs, arms, etc. from the construction paper and glue onto their ghost. Finally, cut some of the elastic and tape to the top of the ghosts and hang them from the ceiling. The kids love to watch them bob up and down.Halloween Pasta Collage added 8-11-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: pasta Halloween shapes, glueDirections: Check out your local grocery store, Michael's, Trader Joe's, or Ben Franklin craft store to find pasta in Halloween shapes. Let your kids create a cool collage with the pasta and whatever else you decide to add.Halloween Cookie Cutter Prints added 8-11-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: Halloween Cookie Cutters, paint, and paperDirections: Buy an assortment of Halloween cookie cutters. Let the children dip the cookie cutters into paint and then press onto paper.Halloween Pasta Necklaces added 8-11-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: Pasta Halloween shapes, stringDirections: Find Halloween shaped pasta. Let your children string the pasta shapes on a piece of yarn to create a necklace or bracelet.Footprint Ghosts added 8-11-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: white paint, Black paper, markersDirections: Paint each child's foot with white paint and print it on a black sheet of construction paper. When it dries add eyes to the heel part of the foot. That will be the ghost's head.Paper Bag Pumpkins added 8-11-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: Lunch size paper bags, Orange paint, Green paint, Newspaper, StringDirections: Have the children crumple up newspaper and stuff their paper bags so they are ½ full. Twist the un-stuffed part of the bag and tie at the bottom to make a stem. Let the children paint their pumpkins. When they are dry, the children can draw faces on them.Pumpkin Painting added 8-11-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: small pumpkins, paint, and paperDirections: Buy several small, fresh pumpkins. Cut them in half. Let the children dip the pumpkin halves into paint to make prints.Spaghetti Cobwebs added 8-11-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: Cooked spaghetti (cold), White glue, Waxed paperDirections: Have the children dip the spaghetti into the glue and arrange the pieces onto the waxed paper. When the spaghetti dries, carefully peel the "cobweb" off the waxed paper. Hang from the ceiling.Cheese Cloth Ghosts added 8-11-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: Cheese cloth, 2 cups white glue, 16-oz. plastic cupsDirections: Dilute the white glue with ½ to ¾ cups of water. Let the children dip a piece of cheesecloth into the diluted glue. Have the children drape the wet cheesecloth over the 16 oz. cups. Let the "ghosts" dry for two days. Carefully remove the cup from the hardened cheesecloth. Let the children decorate their ghosts. Hang the completed ghosts from the ceiling.Puffy Paint Cobwebs added 8-11-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: Flour, salt, water, paper plate or Cunstruction paperDirections: Mix equal parts of flour, salt, and water in a large bowl. Pour the mixture into squeeze bottles. Give each child a black paper plate or a piece of black construction paper. Let the children squeeze the white puffy paint onto the black paper. When the puffy paint dries, it will look like glittery cobwebs.Pumpkin Pies added 9-15-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: Orange paper, powdered Cinnamon, powdered ginger, whole cloves, paper cup, glueDirections: Cut pie shapes out of orange construction paper. Set out small containers of powdered cinnamon and ginger and place a few whole cloves In a paper cup for each child. Have the children brush glue on their pie shapes. Then let them sprinkle the spices over the glue to create fragrant "pumpkin pies."Pasta Pumpkins added 9-15-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: Tagboard, glue, assorted pasta, popsicle sticks, and orange paintDirections: Cut pumpkin shapes out of tagboard or lightweight cardboard. Pour glue into small containers and set out bowls of assorted pasta shapes (macaroni, wheels, bows, etc.). Let the children use Popsicle stick applicators to glue the pasta shapes all over their pumpkins. Then after the glue has dried, let them paint their pasta pumpkins orange. If desired, punch holes in the tops of the shapes and insert yarn to make hangers.Shape Ghosts added 9-15-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: Black tag board, Black yarn, White lima beans, GlueDirections: Cut tag board into circles, triangles, and squares, about four or five inches across. Punch a hole in the top of each shape. Cut an18 in. length of yarn for each child. Explain that the black shapes are ghosts and the beans are ghost eyes. Then the left the children glue of the bean eyes on their ghosts.Spiders Web added 9-15-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: String or yarn, 6 6 inch pieces of string, 4 12 inch pieces of string, Diluted white glue or liquid starch, Wax paperDirections: Let the children dip pieces of string into dishes of glue or starch. Then have them lay their strings on wax paper to create the spider's web. Lay the string in the shape of a spiral overlapping the ends. Lay the large pieces of string over the spiral in the shape of a cross. When the strings dry, they will become stiff and hold their shapes.Footprint Ghost 2 added 9-28-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: paper, crayonsDirections: Using white paper, have children step on paper and trace around their shoes. To make a face, use crayons, pens, or black construction paper with white chalk.Garbage Bag Ghost added 9-28-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: large white garbage bag, permanent black marker, newspaper, strong stringDirections: Stuff one corner of a large white garbage bag with crumpled newspaper to form a head. Twist shut, folding other corner down and secure with string. Draw a face on the ghost with permanent markers. Let face dry. Cut bottom part of bag into 3-4" wide strips. Attach string to top of head with wide tape; knotting string so it doesn't pull out. Make lots and hang them indoors or out. *Please note: please be careful of plastic bags around small children. No one should ever put a plastic bag over their own or anyone else's head or use this craft as a "costume" .Halloween Wreath added 9-28-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: paper plate, green paint, Halloween patterns, yarn, ribbonDirections: Use a paper plate with the center circle cut out. Paint this wreath with green tempera paint. Have the children cut out Halloween figures--Jack-o-Lantern, ghosts, bats, black cats, candy shapes, etc.--Glue the shapes around the circle. Some of my kids wanted to tie yarn and ribbons around the circle.Paper Bag Masks added 9-28-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: Grocery Bag, crayons, markers, scissors, and glueDirections: Very simple or very elaborate masks can be made from grocery bags. Start with crayons, markers, scissors and glue, and let your imagination go wild.Pumpkin Collage added 9-28-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: pre-cut pumpkins (different sizes and shapes), orange, yellow, green paint, pumpkin seeds, yellow and orange wool (for pumpkin guts)Directions: Paint pumpkins and let dry. Then let children arrange seeds and wool on pumpkins.Spiders added 9-28-98 Original Author UnknownNeed: black tempera paint, medium Styrofoam balls, black pipe cleaners (wide ones), wiggly eyes, fishing line, needleDirections: Have the kids paint their Styrofoam balls black. Cut your pipe cleaners in half and stick into the painted ball. Four on each side of the ball. Then glue wiggly eyes on. We strung fishing line through them and hung them from the ceiling with just a piece of scotch tape. HANGING SPIDER You will need: paper plates black construction paper, cut into long thin strips scissors glue string Cut eight long strips of black paper and a circle for the spider's head. Glue the two small paper plates together, top to top, with the legs and head placed between them. Paint the body black and glue a long piece of string to the middle of the back so the spider can dangle from the ceiling. SPIDER HATS You will need: Black and orange construction paper glue scissors Cut eight strips of black paper 1 1/2" x 9" 2. Cut one strip of black paper 2" x 22" (you could substitute two 11" pieces glued together). Using the picture as a guide, cut the following: Large black circles Medium orange circles Small black circles Glue orange circle to edge of large black circle. Glue small black circle to edge of orange circle. Measure the 22" piece around child's head, overlap and glue ends together. Glue the eyes to the hat band with black eyes touching as shown. Fold the leg strips in half. Fold one end of each leg strip back 1". Glue the straight end to the inside edge of the hat band. Fold and glue the remaining legs. You will have four legs on each side of your hat as shown. Thought I would share this. One of my children's Mom that I care for brought this to me this morning. You take come candy corn and put it in a snack size zip lock bag along with this note: "PUMPKIN POOP" I STARTED TO CARVE A PUMPKIN WITH MY CARVING KNIFE AND SCOOP BUT THE PUMPKIN GOT SO SCARED HE TOOK A LITTLE POOP! IT LOOKED SO CUTE AND FUNNY JUST LIKE A CANDY TREAT SO I AM SHARING IT WITH YOU NOW BECAUSE YOU ARE SO SWEET! Five little goblins on a Halloween night Made a very, very spooky site The first one danced on his tippy-tip-toes The next one tumbled and bumped his nose Than next one jumped high up in the air The next one sang a Halloween song Five goblins played the whole night long 10093.1 Five little ghosts dressed all in whiteWere scaring each other on Halloween night."Boo!" said the first one, "I'll catch you.'" (Hold up pointer)"Wooo said the second, "I don't care if you do! (Hold up middle finger)The third ghost said, "You can't run away from me." (Hold up ring finger)And the fourth one said, "I'll scare everyone I see! (Hold up little finger)Then the last one said, "It's time to disappear." (Hold up thumb)"See you at Halloween time next year!" One time I got a great deal on clay vases at AC Moore Craft store. 15 cents for 1" and 4" pots. Here is a favorite craft with my dck's: Take a walk in the woods to find wild flowers & plants. Have them make a bouquet out of what they found. Wrap a tie twist (from a loaf of bread) around the stems. Hang the bouquets upside down in a dark, dry place (the basement) for about a week. This will dry the flowers out. Have each child paint a clay pot, any design or color they want. One of my dcg's painted poka dots on her vase with her finger tips! Place foam or play dough into the clay pot and stick in the bouquet of dried flowers. Glue moss on top of the foam or play dough to cover it up. If you don't have moss or dried plant material, have the kids cut up green paper into thin strips and crinkle them up. Or find moss out side and dry it out. You have a beautiful, inexpensive flower vase! It makes a great gift for dc mom's, grandparents, Mother's Day, etc. And it only cost 15 cents! They last for years. Spray hair spray on the dried plants to keep them intact. You can use floral tape to wrap around the stems before placing them in the vase. We bought inexpensive mini lace doilies and glued them on the bottom of the vases for a Victorian look! Nobody likes me. Everybody hates me. I’m gonna eat some worms. CHORUS: (sing after each verse) Long, slim slimy ones, Short, fat, juicy ones, Itsy, bitsy, fuzzy, wuzzy worms. First you get a bucket. Then you get a shovel. Oh, how they wiggle and squirm. First you pull the heads off. Then you suck the guts out. Oh, how they wiggle and squirm. Down goes the first one. Down goes the second one. Oh, how they wiggle and squirm. Up comes the first one. Up comes the second one. Oh, how they wiggle and squirm. Everybody likes me. Nobody hates me. Why did I eat those worms This morning we made paper plate pumpkins and when they dry, we are going to put happy faces on them. I made a glue mixture out of flour and water. I originally was going to use orange tissue paper but thought that the heavier crepe paper (the no-bleed kind) would hold up better. I cut the paper into workable strips and had the kids dip the strips into the glue and spread out on their paper plate. Caution: the crepe paper shrinkled up...yes SHRINKLED is a word at least my 3 year old says it is. And it got mushy in spots. Looking back I would use the tissue paper LOL. Although my older kids (4/5) did a very good job. I did tell the kids beforehand that it was okay to get messy and their hands sticky. I think it always takes some pressure off if they don't have to worry about getting icky. Recipe 4 Counting Book http://www.bry-backmanor.org/actpag164.html :0,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,..,:0 Recipe 4 A Haunted House http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7134/Halloween/halhouse.htm :0,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.:0 Recipe 4 Halloween Crossword Puzzles For all levels:) http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/halloween/cross.html :0.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,,,.:0 Recipe 4 Lots of Printables This site will keep you very busy:) http://www.graphicgreetings.com/printableshalloween.htm :0.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.:0 I also wanted to give you a fun place to go to get some fun Halloween goodies if you still need some: www.recipes4learning.makesparties.com/catalog/template.php3?event=7 Make a black headband out of black paper for each child. Cut 6 or 8 strips of black paper per child. Have them fold the strips accordian style for the spiders legs. Attatch to the head band and be a spooky spider!!!!!! Most of mine are too little to fold the paper, so I will make most of them........ RIDING WITCHES (Tune: Yankee Doodle) A witch went riding on a broom On a cold October evening; She met a ghost and a big black cat, And down her neck they were breathing. "Jump up on my broom," she said, "Let's come out of hiding," "Jump up on my broom," she said, "And let's all go a-riding!" Pumpkin pumpkin big and round, I'm glad you grow upon the ground. I'm glad you don't grow in a tree for then you might fall down on me. How about a vest with for an astronaut on it... attach a kleenex box to the >>back for the air tank and use a bleach bottle cut out and decorated for the >>helmet. >> >>Western Vest - Add some fringe and some brands with potatoe prints. >> >>Bug Costumes - put the vest on backwards attaching wings to each of the >>flaps. Make a variety of wings and vests.. butterflies, dragonflies, plain >>old flies, etc. >> >>Nursery Rhyme Costumes - decorate each vest to coordinate with a nursery >>rhyme character, either worn front-ways or back wards. Set the scene for Halloween fun…with a delightful Jack-O-Lantern kids will love to display! This activity is appropriate for kindergarten to 2nd grade students. You will need:• Orange Tempera Paint• Paint Brush• Black Construction Paper• School Glue• Scissors• Butcher Paper• Yarn• Green Tissue Paper• newspaper• hole punch Directions:1. Cut two identical pumpkin shapes out of white construction paper. 2. Paint both pumpkins with orange tempera paint. Set aside to dry. 3. Place two pumpkins back to back, then punch holes along the outer edges. 4. Lace orange yarn through the holes to string the two pumpkins together. Be sure to leave a small opening. 5. Stuff the pumpkin with newspaper through the opening, then lace the pumpkin completely together and tie a small knot at the top. 6. Encourage kids to turn their pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern by cutting eyes, a nose and a mouth out of black construction paper. Glue the pieces onto the stuffed pumpkin. 7. Use green tissue paper to cut out a stem and a vine. Now kids can display their own Halloween Jack-O-Lantern! Celebrate the fall season…with beautiful autumn leaves kids make themselves! This fun and simple craft is appropriate for preschool to 2nd grade students. You will need:• White Construction Paper• Washable Tempera Paint• Washable Glitter Fingerpaint• Paint Squishers• Yarn• Paint Brushes• Scissors• Hole punch• Leaf template Directions:1. Trace a leaf template onto a sheet of white construction paper then cut it out. 2. Invite children to dip paint squishers into tempera paint then press them onto the leaf. Set aside to dry. 3. Once the leaf is completely dry, use glitter paint to create leaf veins. Set aside to dry. 4. Turn the leaf over and encourage kids to repeat the process on the other side. Set aside to dry. 5. Punch a hole at the top and thread with yarn. Kids are ready to display their colorful fall leaves! I found this site on one of the boards and it has alot of great Halloween Printables.:) http://www.teachingheart.net/halloweenprint.html For Halloween that morning we are making sugar cookies (I have small hospital gloves for them to wear) and icing them and sprinkline them with black and orange sprinkles. We are making them for the parents to come to snack. Then that afternoon after snack we are painting mini pumpkins. I have lots of halloween books out for parents to read with the children and I am encouraging them to bring children's costumes so we can walk around the neighborhood that afternoon. We are also making ghost puppets earlier in the week with index cards ( learned this at training last week). Hope that helps. All of this stuff could be done after hours (kids could cook cookies during dc hours, if you want)seasonal songs http://www.night.net/halloween/halloween-carols.html-ssi Theme: Skeletons/Skulls/BonesArt/crafts, Small motor, Science, languageMacaroni Skeleton Black construction paper (approximately 6" x 11.5") Glue that will dry clear Lima beans (head, thorax, hips) Short, small macaroni in a tube (spine) Thin twisted macaroni (arms, legs) Elbow noodles (ribs) Small shells (joints) Spaghetti (fingers, toes) Black permanent marker How To Make ItAs preparation for this project, study the human skeleton. Talk about symmetry between the two sides of the body, how many ribs, fingers, and toes we have. The skeleton to the right was made by a 2nd grader. Make a sample skeleton for the children to copy from. Review the key features with them. Let them build their skeleton, starting with the head, then the neck/trunk, working down, gluing the macaroni and beans to the paper. When they are done, they can draw a smile and eyes on the 'head'.For a more simple scaled down skeleton for younger kids use: 2 pieces of spiral pasta (spine), 1 seashell pasta (head), 8 rigatoni pasta (arms and legs), 6 regular macaroni (ribs) Glue pasta on black paper to look like a skeleton. Hang up for a fun filled bulletin board!! Theme: Skeletons/Skulls/BonesCooking/Snack, Small motor, LanguageSkull and CrossbonesUse a pear half and raisins to create the skeleton head. Add crossbones by stuffing celery with cream cheese. Boo-tee-ful Crafts Not-so-scary Halloween Projects By Donna Smith Halloween can be a fun, but sometimes scary, time for little ones. If your child is a little intimidated by witches, ghosts and monsters, help him make one of our not-so-scary crafts! He'll have a screaming good time!Decoupage PumpkinsThe kids are too little to carve? Decoupage your pumpkins! They're less messy than painting, and the kids love it!You'll need:Pumpkin Scissors Decoupage solution (available at craft stores)Gift wrap or old magazines to cut Plastic bugs, optionalHere's what you help your child do:Cut pictures out of magazines or gift wrap. Apply a layer of decoupage solution to an area of a pumpkin. Lay picture over solution on pumpkin. Brush another thin layer over your picture. Continue all around pumpkin. Let dry. Apply one or two additional coats, drying between coats. Glue on plastic bugs.Trick-or-Treat BucketsOur little buckets are great for trick-or-treating, especially with glow-in-the-dark tape added.You'll need:Halloween Woodsies (available at MakingFriends.com) or craft foam cut into Halloween shapesPlastic bucket 5mm wiggle eyes Glow-in-the-dark tape (available at craft stores)Satin cord White, black and orange paint Yellow and orange pony beads Alphabet beadsScissors White glue, tacky glue or low-temp glue gunHere's what you help your child do:If using, paint Halloween Woodsies. Let dry. Glue on wiggle eyes. Run glow-in-the-dark tape all around the bucket at the top and the bottom. Glue Woodsies or craft foam shapes to bucket. Cut two 12-inch lengths of black satin cord. Tie one on each side of the handle. String alphabet beads on one cord, spelling out the trick-or-treater's name. Tie end. String pony beads on the other three cords. Tie off.Not-so-spooky PlacematsLet your little one eat his Halloween meals on this fun placemat that he can help make!You'll need:A large sheet of black craft foamSeveral smaller sheets of craft foam Craft knife or scissorsSharpie or other fine tip black markerGlueHere's what you help your child do:Cut pumpkins, cats, trees or whatever your child would like out of the smaller sheets of craft foam. Use the Sharpie to draw in eyes on the cats and decorate the pumpkins. Put a few dots of glue on the back of each cut out. What your child can do on his own:Let your child stick the shapes all over the larger piece of black craft foam. When he's done, let it dry at least an hour before using. Glowing Pumpkin DrawingYou'll Need:Construction paperOrange and black crayonsBlack (or other contrasting color) tempera paint and brushVarnish (optional)Using crayons, help your child draw an outline of a pumpkin on a piece ofconstruction or other paper. He should press hard, and fill in the outlinewith plenty of thick coloring. Then have him paint the picture with black(or other contrasting color) tempera paint. Since wax repels water, thecolored areas will resist the paint and the painting will "glow." For areally dramatic effect, use flourescent crayons, and finish with a coat ofvarnish.This idea came from: http://www.mommysavers.com/preschoolers_busy_book.htmHalloween and Preschoolers:Keep it Light! By Jill Eggleton Brett Halloween can be a fun-filled time of year for children of all ages. However, when the ghouls and goblins abound this October 31, how will you explain Halloween to your preschooler? After all, they will see pumpkins and candy mixed with frightful masks and people shouting "Boo!" Parents can be sure the Halloween festivities will be lighthearted and full of good memories if they keep them simple and safe. Ana Hernandez, a preschool teacher in Fontana, Calif., offers her ideas: "I integrate the concepts of make-believe and reality. Children are already familiar with this concepts, so explain that a person's scary mask is make-believe -- but there's a real person underneath it." Hernandez says that this will help ease the shock and confusion some preschoolers may encounter on Halloween, due to the wide variety of costumes they will see that night."Our family focuses on the 'fun' aspect of Halloween," says Michele McNally, mother of three in West Chester, Ohio. "We don't go into the historical details of the holiday and discuss all the facets of ghosts and spirits, etc. Why expose my kids to that, when they won't comprehend it, and let their imaginations run wild?" "I haven't even explained Halloween to my preschooler yet," says Kendra Lutz, mother of four in Miamisburg, Ohio. "She's too young to understand the 'good vs. evil' debate surrounding the holiday. She just knows that she gets to dress up and get candy. I'm getting a kick out of her costume dilemma: Cinderella or a ghost?"A big concern for parents on Halloween, of course, is safety. Hernandez says she uses the illustration of Hansel and Gretel to teach her students the importance of adhering to safety rules set by their parents during trick-or-treating. The basics of the fable are that a young boy and girl, Hansel and Gretel, are taking a walk when they notice a trail of candy. They follow the trail, which leads to a beautiful house completely made out of candy. The children go up to the door and a pretty, kind woman invites them in for more candy. After they're inside, the pretty woman locks the door and turns into an ugly, mean witch. Now the kids are trapped, and the witch plans on keeping the kids for herself. Hernandez says that when she shares this story with her students, they become wide-eyed and full of questions. This is an opportunity to teach the kids all about trick-or-treating safety, as well as, the notion of things not being always as they appear. If your kids do go trick-or-treating, what about all that candy? The loot bag alone could initiate a sugar-high that lasts till next Halloween! Try this clever idea shared by McNally: Explain to your preschooler about the friendly Halloween Witch. She is a friendly helper to all the children who didn't get any candy on Halloween. Children who went trick-or-treating should pick 10 pieces of candy for themselves, and then leave the rest in a bowl outside their front door. While the children are asleep, the Halloween Witch comes to their house, takes the candy from the bowl and leaves a surprise for the child that lives there. (The surprise can be anything from a new book or video to a new toy car or doll.) The friendly Halloween Witch then takes all the collected candy and leaves it on the front porches of those children who didn't get any candy on Halloween. McNally says that this teaches young children about the concept of sharing, helping those less fortunate and waiting for a reward. For the parents, this activity dispels ideas about witches being scary and evil -- and best of all, it gets rid of all that candy!Some parents opt to avoid trick-or-treating all together, and head to fright-free environments. "My husband and I decided to take our kids to a Harvest festival in our area, instead of getting involved with trick-or-treating," says Rhonda Wallace, mother of three in Chino Hills, Calif. "We also go to a local pumpkin patch, and the city zoo when it's decorated for the fall."Preschools typically offer Halloween parties as well. "We have an alternative to Halloween parties called Hallelujah parties," says Kimberly Mueller, a preschool teacher at Friendship Christian Preschool and Kindergarten in Ontario, Calif. "The students are still allowed to dress up, but not in any scary costumes. During the party, we play games, decorate cookies, sing songs and pass out candy. We purposely stay away from the dark side of Halloween. Our school celebration focuses on thanking God for our blessings in a unique way."The preschool that McNally's children attend also stays on the light side of Halloween. "I am helping put together the Halloween activities at my children's preschool. Some of the things we plan on doing are a field trip to a pumpkin patch and a Dad's Night at the school to carve pumpkins. Dad's Night will be a neat time for the kids to share their school environment with their dads."However you choose to explain and celebrate Halloween, try to keep the explanations simple and the festivities safe. Halloween and Preschoolers:Keep it Light! By Jill Eggleton Brett Halloween can be a fun-filled time of year for children of all ages. However, when the ghouls and goblins abound this October 31, how will you explain Halloween to your preschooler? After all, they will see pumpkins and candy mixed with frightful masks and people shouting "Boo!" Parents can be sure the Halloween festivities will be lighthearted and full of good memories if they keep them simple and safe. Ana Hernandez, a preschool teacher in Fontana, Calif., offers her ideas: "I integrate the concepts of make-believe and reality. Children are already familiar with this concepts, so explain that a person's scary mask is make-believe -- but there's a real person underneath it." Hernandez says that this will help ease the shock and confusion some preschoolers may encounter on Halloween, due to the wide variety of costumes they will see that night."Our family focuses on the 'fun' aspect of Halloween," says Michele McNally, mother of three in West Chester, Ohio. "We don't go into the historical details of the holiday and discuss all the facets of ghosts and spirits, etc. Why expose my kids to that, when they won't comprehend it, and let their imaginations run wild?" "I haven't even explained Halloween to my preschooler yet," says Kendra Lutz, mother of four in Miamisburg, Ohio. "She's too young to understand the 'good vs. evil' debate surrounding the holiday. She just knows that she gets to dress up and get candy. I'm getting a kick out of her costume dilemma: Cinderella or a ghost?"A big concern for parents on Halloween, of course, is safety. Hernandez says she uses the illustration of Hansel and Gretel to teach her students the importance of adhering to safety rules set by their parents during trick-or-treating. The basics of the fable are that a young boy and girl, Hansel and Gretel, are taking a walk when they notice a trail of candy. They follow the trail, which leads to a beautiful house completely made out of candy. The children go up to the door and a pretty, kind woman invites them in for more candy. After they're inside, the pretty woman locks the door and turns into an ugly, mean witch. Now the kids are trapped, and the witch plans on keeping the kids for herself. Hernandez says that when she shares this story with her students, they become wide-eyed and full of questions. This is an opportunity to teach the kids all about trick-or-treating safety, as well as, the notion of things not being always as they appear. If your kids do go trick-or-treating, what about all that candy? The loot bag alone could initiate a sugar-high that lasts till next Halloween! Try this clever idea shared by McNally: Explain to your preschooler about the friendly Halloween Witch. She is a friendly helper to all the children who didn't get any candy on Halloween. Children who went trick-or-treating should pick 10 pieces of candy for themselves, and then leave the rest in a bowl outside their front door. While the children are asleep, the Halloween Witch comes to their house, takes the candy from the bowl and leaves a surprise for the child that lives there. (The surprise can be anything from a new book or video to a new toy car or doll.) The friendly Halloween Witch then takes all the collected candy and leaves it on the front porches of those children who didn't get any candy on Halloween. McNally says that this teaches young children about the concept of sharing, helping those less fortunate and waiting for a reward. For the parents, this activity dispels ideas about witches being scary and evil -- and best of all, it gets rid of all that candy!Some parents opt to avoid trick-or-treating all together, and head to fright-free environments. "My husband and I decided to take our kids to a Harvest festival in our area, instead of getting involved with trick-or-treating," says Rhonda Wallace, mother of three in Chino Hills, Calif. "We also go to a local pumpkin patch, and the city zoo when it's decorated for the fall."Preschools typically offer Halloween parties as well. "We have an alternative to Halloween parties called Hallelujah parties," says Kimberly Mueller, a preschool teacher at Friendship Christian Preschool and Kindergarten in Ontario, Calif. "The students are still allowed to dress up, but not in any scary costumes. During the party, we play games, decorate cookies, sing songs and pass out candy. We purposely stay away from the dark side of Halloween. Our school celebration focuses on thanking God for our blessings in a unique way."The preschool that McNally's children attend also stays on the light side of Halloween. "I am helping put together the Halloween activities at my children's preschool. Some of the things we plan on doing are a field trip to a pumpkin patch and a Dad's Night at the school to carve pumpkins. Dad's Night will be a neat time for the kids to share their school environment with their dads."However you choose to explain and celebrate Halloween, try to keep the explanations simple and the festivities safe. Halloween Safety Guidelines for Parents From SafeChild.Net Halloween is an exciting time for children, but costumes, candy and trick-or-treating can pose hazards. Each year, on one of the most exciting of all holidays for children, many youngsters are needlessly injured. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that roughly four times as many children aged 5 to 14 are killed while walking on Halloween evening compared with other evenings of the year. The good news is that if parents take some simple precautions, many of those injuries could be prevented. Costumes · Make sure your child's costume (including the wig and mask) is flame resistant, easily visible at night (consider using reflective tape), allows for safe walking and is loose enough to accommodate warm clothing underneath. · Use non-toxic face paints and avoid masks, scarves and hats that obscure vision or restrict breathing. If your child wears headgear, be sure it fits and will not obstruct vision. · Costume accessories, such as swords and knives, should be of a soft, flexible material. · Avoid capes that pose a strangulation risk (including ones that could get caught on structures or protrusions your child may come in contact with while trick-or-treating). · Choose costumes that are light, bright and visible to motorists. Put reflective tape (available at bicycle and sporting goods stores) on costumes to increase visibility. · Hem costumes to mid-calf to prevent tripping. Also, put reflective tape on your child's bag to increase visibility. · If you buy a costume, try to find one that is made of flame-retardant material. Flame retardant material may still catch fire but it will resist burning and is easily extinguishable. · Have your child wear sneakers or other comfortable walking shoes rather than high heels or shoes that could cause a fall. Trick-or-Treating· Allow your child to trick-or-treat only at homes of friends or neighbors you know personally. · Small children should always be accompanied by an adult. · Take young children early before it gets too dark and before the older children are out. · Children under 10 should trick-or-treat with an adult or an older sibling. · Do not allow them to walk in the street or otherwise ignore pedestrian safety rules. · Teach your child not to sample any of the treats until he gets home. Provide a good, nutritious meal before your child goes out to trick-or-treat to avoid temptation. · Inspect all of your child's treats before allowing her to sample any. · Discard anything not in its original and undamaged wrapper. · Keep homemade food only if you are certain who prepared it. · Discard small candy and other small items that could cause a small child to choke. · Cut open all fruit and inspect for foreign objects, like razor blades. · Call the Poison Control Center (1-800-222-1222) if you suspect your child has ingested something harmful. · Notify the police of any suspicious treats. · If you decide to give out non-edible treats, make sure they are not small enough to pose a choking hazard to young children who may put them in their mouths.For older children: · Make sure your child knows how to reach you. Give her a cell phone, if possible, or money to call home. · Make sure your child knows what time she should be home and that you expect her on time. · Have her trick-or-treat with friends in a group. · Consider throwing a Halloween party for your child and his or her friends in lieu of extended trick-or-treating.Hazardous Treats for Children Under 4· Hard candies · Small or loose treats such as jelly beans, raisins or nuts · Any chewy candy with nuts or caramel · Small erasers · Items that have small parts that can break off and cause a child to choke · Any item that will fit through a roll of toilet paper Safety Rules for Children· Plan your costume so that you will be able to see clearly and move easily. · Avoid masks, hats and scarves that block your vision. · Be sure your costume does not drag the ground and will not trip you. · Wear sneakers or other shoes that fit properly and will not cause you to trip or fall. (Tie your shoelaces!) · Place reflective tape on it so that you can be seen. · Always go trick-or-treating with a buddy or a group of children you know. Young children should always be accompanied by an adult. · Plan your entire route, and make sure your family knows what it is. · Eat dinner before going out. · Carry a flashlight. · Observe safe pedestrian rules: o Cross the street only at corners or crosswalks. o Don't enter the street between parked cars. o Stay on sidewalks. If there are no sidewalks, walk on the left side of the street, facing traffic. o Obey traffic signals. o Don't cut across yards or driveways. Walk, don't run, between houses. Don't cut across lawns where you may be tripped up by clotheslines or furniture or driveways where you could be hit by a car backing out. o Watch for cars.· Wear a watch that you can read in the dark so that you can be home on time. · Only visit houses or apartments of people that your family knows and that have the porch light on. · Accept treats only at the front door. NEVER go inside a house or an apartment. · Stay away from jack-o-lanterns that are lit with candles. · Have someone in your group take a cell phone, if possible. · Don't talk to strangers. If you think you are being followed, go to a house you know and tell an adult. · Say "thank you" for your treats. · Wait until you get home and your parents check your treats before you eat any.Homeowner Halloween Safety Checklist· Clear your yard of hazards that can trip young children such as ladders, flowerpots and children's toys. · Turn on your porch light. · Use a battery to light your pumpkin. If you decide to use a candle, put the pumpkin behind a window inside the house away from curtains or other flammable material or somewhere else where it cannot burn children or their clothing. · Make sure that any hanging yard decorations will not blow into the faces of children and scare them or blow into the candle of a pumpkin and start a fire. · Consider giving healthy treats or small toys to children instead of candy such as: o Halloween pencils o Stickers o Crackers with cheese or peanut butter o Small boxes of cereal o Fruit rolls o Sugarless chewing gum · Make sure not to give items small enough to pose a choking hazard to young children who may put them in their mouths. · If you must drive, go slowly and watch carefully for children. ~ HALLOWEEN ART IDEAS ~ Pumpkin Pie Craft- Submitted by Barb Paint a paper plate orange/brown mixture for the pumpkin pie, cut this into pie sections. Paint the outside edge brown for the crust. Sprinkle pumpkin pie spice on while still wet or use glue that dries clear; and then add a cotton ball for the cool whip. You can even hang these on the fridge with magnets. *****Cookie Cutter Fun- Submitted by Barb I use Halloween cookie cutters & let the children dip in paint & then on paper. I usually buy them after the holiday is over so you can get them for 75% to 90% off.I have a good collection. This works great for other holidays, Christmas etc... *****Halloween Chain- Submitted by Barb Orange and Black construction paper Cut orange and black strips of paper, three to four inches long and one-half inch wide. Form a circle with one strip and glue or staple ends. Take next strip and loop it through first circle, again gluing or stapling ends. Continue on making as long as you like, alternating colors. *****Tombstones- Submitted by Barb Styrofoam sheets, Thick Black Marker Cut Styrofoam shapes into shape of tombstone. Write epitaph on Styrofoam with black marker. Prop up against doorways or walls. *****Eye Masks- Submitted by Barb Inexpensive eye masks, Sequins, Feathers, Buttons, Dried beans Have kids attach a variety of items on hand to the masks with glue to make their own decorated eye masks. *****Halloween Table Cloth- Submitted by Barb White paper table cloth, Sponges, Tempera acrylic paint, Markers,, Stickers, Halloween Cutouts On white paper tablecloth decorate with assorted shapes cut from sponges. Glue on Halloween cutouts or stickers. *****Trick or Treat Bags- Submitted by Barb Brown Paper Lunch Bags, Felt-tip markers, Halloween stickers, Cutout pumpkins, ghosts, bats, cats, Glue Decorate the brown paper bags with assorted Halloween designs. Larger brown paper grocery bags can be decorated and used for trick or treating. *****Bone Mobile- Submitted by Barb Bone shaped dog biscuits, White spray paint, String, Coat hanger Spray paint dog biscuits white on both sides. Once dry tie together with string in a variety of patterns. Hang from coathangers or crossed dowels. *****Barnyard Bash- Submitted by Barb Invitations: Cut out animal shapes on construction paper and write the party information on these. Hand deliver to your guests. Decorations: bales of hay, bunches of dried cornstalks, autumn leaves, pumpkins, gourds, dried corn cobs. Serve food in western bandanas attached to sticks. Be sure to make a scarecrow. Carved out pumpkins make great serving dishes or chip bowls. *****Paper Plate Owl- Submitted by Barb Paper plates (the kind with the ridged edges), circles of orange construction paper for eyes. V-shaped pieces of orange construction paper for bills & claws, a magic marker, brown tempera paint, & glue. Using the magic marker, draw cutting lines on each paper plate at 10, 2, 5 and 7 O'clock, & along the inner edge of the ridges (these will be the wings). Have the children cut their plates on the lines, then have them paint the pieces of the paper plate with brown tempera paint and let dry. Staple the owl's wings to the bodies for the children (or use brads for more moveable wings). Have the children glue the eyes, beaks & claws onto their owls. *****Wise Owl- Submitted by Barb Glue the following on blue or black paper or fabric: 1/2 walnut shell for body, curly pretzel for head, 2 beans for eyes, straight pretzel for perch, two round oat cereal pieces for claws, a red bean for a beak. *****Halloween Candy Holder- Submitted by Barb This is a great craft that the children can use to go trick or treating with, or you can use it as a decoration. Take a large can (coffee can, spaghetti sauce can..) & wash thoroughly, making sure to remove all outside paper & stickiness.Paint the can with one coat of white paint & let dry. Then paint the can with a coat of orange paint - let dry. Then either with black paint, or a black marker draw the face of a jack-o'-lantern on the can. Punch two holes into the top edges of the can on opposite sides. (Use a hammer and nail) Tie string or twine to make a handle. Optional: Use smaller cans, fill them with candy & stuff & use them as party favors at a Halloween party. *****Wise Owl- Submitted by Barb Cut an owl from brown and tan construction paper. Make eyes from orange & yellow pieces of construction paper. Tear up small pieces of newspaper & glue to the chest area for a mottled feather look. *****The Boo Mask- Submitted by Barb This is a mask that a child can hold up to his face and remove when desired. Eyes look through the O's in BOO. Cut out of black paper. Add popsicle stick handle and colorful streamers on the side. *****Spooky Designs- Submitted by Barb black construction paper, white chalk Children use the chalk to draw designs on the black paper. Lightly spray the finished designs with hair spray, so the chalk is less easily rubbed off. *****Halloween Wreath- Submitted by Barb Use a paper plate with the center circle cut out. Paint this wreath with green tempera paint. Have the children cut out Halloween figures--jack-o'-lantern, ghosts, bats, black cats, candy shapes, etc.--Glue the shapes around the circle. Some of my kids wanted to tie yarn and ribbons around the circle. ***** Pumpkin Face- Submitted by Barb Have large pumpkins cut out. Provide different shapes for eyes, nose and mouth. Let the child pick the features. *****Paper Plate Pumpkins- Submitted by Barb Paint paper plates orange using finger paints. Let the paint dry and using yellow paint, add eyes, nose and a mouth. Cut a stem from orange construction paper and fasten to the top of the pumpkin. *****Pumpkin People- Submitted by Barb Place orange crepe paper or orange tissue paper underneath clean milk cartons or juice containers. Bring paper together at the top, and tie with a bow. Have children add black construction paper features, and display your creatures. *****Jack-o'-lantern with Glowing Eyes- Submitted by Barb Carve your pumpkin as you would normally, then place sections of a lime with rind removed in the eye cutouts. With a lit candle inside the eyes will glow green. *****Hanging Pumpkin- Submitted by Barb Paint 2 paper plates orange. Lay one on top of the other and staple 3/4 of it leaving a small area to the top, add a green stem and hang with green yarn. Add eyes nose and mouth. We did it with Black foam shapes. You could use almost anything *****Scrap Paper Jack-o-Lantern- Submitted by Barb On black paper, draw a circle and paint it with glue. Tear scraps of orange paper into small pieces and arrange on glue. Add torn scraps of yellow or black paper for eyes, nose and mouth. *****Silly Squash- Submitted by Barb Long ago, people believed that carved pumpkins could keep away evil spirits. You can decorate miniature pumpkins to bring happy faces to your friends. Use markers, stickers, glue, construction paper, beads, feathers and other decorations to make funny faces on the pumpkins. Then give the pumpkin heads to your friends. *****Jack-o'-Lantern Patch - Submitted by Julia To make the prettiest pumpkin patch in town, dip one side of a jumbo-sized cotton ball in orange paint. Dab the cotton ball on brown construction paper to make several pumpkins. Dip one end of a cotton swab in green paint and add a vine. Dip the other end of the swab in black paint to create a jack-o'-lantern face on each pumpkin. Fantastic fall fun! ***** Paper Jack-O-Lantern Craft- Submitted by Chris Construction Paper, Glue Hold an orange and black sheet of construction paper together and cut out a pumpkin shape (You can tape the edges of tha paper together to make the cutting easier if you like). From the orange pumpkin shape, cut out eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Sometimes it is easier to cut out the pumpkins and the facial features by folding the paper in half like when you cut out a heart shape. Glue the black pumpkin to the back-side of the orange pumpkin so that is what you see through the facial features. If you like, cut a stem and leaves out of paper and glue them on. ***** Pumpkin Hat- Submitted by Chris from About.com Toilet Tissue Roll, Brown Paint, Green Felt or Construction Paper, Hole Puncher, Thin Elastic Paint a Toilet Tissue roll brown to be the pumpkin stem. Once the paint is dry add a few green felt or construction paper leaves. To make this stem onto a hat, punch two holes across from each other on one edge of the toilet tissue roll. Cut a piece of elastic that will be long enough to tie in one of the holes you punched, wrap around under your chin snuggly, and then can be tied into the other hole you punched. String the elastic through the holes and tie securely. ***** Pipe Cleaner Spiders- Submitted by Sherry Provide the children with pipe cleaners to make spiders. Have the children twist the pipe cleaners together to form a body and legs. Discuss how many legs a spider has. ****** Balloon Jack o Lanterns- Submitted by Sherry Blow up an orange balloon and let the child use a black marker, stickers, or finger paint to create facial features. Ask the child how does the jack o lantern feel? ****** Paper Plate Jack o Lanterns- Submitted by Sherry Have your child paint a paper plate orange. When dry, have the child glue on pieces of black construction paper for the facial features. These pieces may be cut with scissors or torn, depending on your child's ability level. For older children, try using glue to form the facial features and sprinkle glitter, or various items (i.e. buttons, beans, noodles, pebbles) on the glue. ****** Pumpkin Puppets- Submitted by Sherry Each child should cut out a pumpkin shape from orange construction paper. Then either cut out facial features, or color them on with a black crayon. Paste to the bottom of a paper lunch bag. Then add a green construction paper stem. ****** Sponge Painted Ghosts- Submitted by Sherry Cut out or buy ghost shaped sponges. You will need black construction paper and white tempera paint when showing the child how to dip the sponges in the paint and press on the paper to make ghost prints. ****** Spider Paper Plates- Submitted by Sherry Use a smaller and larger paper plate to make these spiders. Staple the smaller plate onto the larger plate, as if the smaller plate will be the spider's head. Have the child paint both sides black. Then add black streamers for legs and white construction paper for eyes. Hang them from the ceiling. ****** Trick or Treat Bag- Submitted by Sherry Have your child decorate a brown paper bag. They can make a pumpkin, a black cat, or a witch. Reinforce the bottom and add handles. ****** Tissue Ghosts- Submitted by Sherry Supply each child with two pieces of tissue paper and a piece of string or yarn. Have each child ball up one of the tissues, then place it in the center of the second tissue. Next, have the child, or assist the child, in tying the yarn around the second tissue to hold the balled tissue within the second tissue. The child may use a marker to make eyes. ****** Pumpkin Seed Art- Submitted by Sherry Collect pumpkin seeds from inside a pumpkin. Let them air dry and have the children use the pumpkin seeds to make a collage. ****** Pumpkin Seed Shakers- Submitted by Sherry Dried pumpkin seeds from inside your pumpkin, two paper plates (for each child) and a stapler. Have the children put some seeds on one of the paper plates (bottom side down). Next, have them place the other plate on top of the first plate (bottom side up). Help the children staple their plates together with the seeds inside. Let the children paint, use markers or crayons to decorate their shakers. ****** Fingerprint Pumpkins- Submitted by Sherry Have the children make orange fingerprints on a piece of paper. Use a non-toxic orange ink pad. Show the children how to use one finger at a time. Use a green pen to draw stems on the paper and draw vines to connect some of the pumpkins. (You can do this for younger children or have older children draw the vines and stems themselves.) ****** Fingerprint Spiders- Submitted by Sherry Have the children use a black non-toxic ink pad to make fingerprints on a piece of paper. Have the children draw on eight legs on their fingerprints to represent spiders. ****** Spider Gum Drops- Submitted by Sherry Supply the children with large black gum drops and eight toothpicks per child. Have the children push the toothpicks in the gum drops to represent the spiders legs. ****** Witch Hat- Submitted by Sherry Cut out triangular shapes from black material to represent a witch hat. Let the children decorate the hats with glitter and foil. ****** Broom Art- Submitted by Sherry Supply the children with a broom, a large piece of butcher paper and some paint. Tape the paper on the floor and add the paint. Have the children use the broom to paint the paper. You may want to have the children take off shoes and socks, and roll up long pants... this is REALLY MESSY!!! ****** Place mats/Counters- Submitted by Chris Find an appropriate haunted house pattern. Make several copies and color, decorate, and laminate them as place mats. Find white lima beans at the grocery store and turn them into ghost counters. Add eyes and mouth to the beans and you have a great math center for Halloween. Have the kids put the ghosts in the haunted house and count them as they go. ****** Ghost Callers/Ghost Hunt- Submitted by Chris Materials: Two ghosts; draw them or use two ghost figures.Directions:Cut white construction paper into 4"x5" pieces. Roll and tape to form tubes.These are the ghost callers. Make one for each child. 1. Go on a ghost hunt. Show everyone the two ghosts. Have children close their eyes. Teacher hides the ghosts. 2. Children open eyes and count 1-2-3 GHOST! On the count of "ghost" the hunt begins. 3. The children who find the two ghosts sit by the teacher. Give them a ghost caller and let them make ghost noises for the next ghost hunt. The noise helps call the ghosts from their hiding places. 4. Continue until all children are making ghost noises. ****** Handprint Ghosts- Submitted by Chris Have the children paint their hands white and press onto black construction paper. When they dry have the children turn them upside down and add faces. ****** Leaf Witches- Submitted by Chris Have children glue down pressed leaves on construction paper for witches body. Then allow them to fill in their own features on the witch. Perhaps theyed like to have the witch riding on her broom or standing next to her brew. ****** Trick-or-Treat Bags- Submitted by Chris Provide large paper bags. Fold down twice, staple handle on, and let children decorate front and back. I always provide stickers also for the children ****** Ghost Magnet- Submitted by Chris Make a ghost cut out of black construction paper and place in an old oatmeal canister with one teaspoon white paint and marbles and shake. Makes a really cute spooky ghost. Mount them on fun foam and add glitter and a magnet for a spooky fridge magnet. ****** Spooky Spider Webs- Submitted by Chris Put a paper plate in a pie pan and give the student a small dab of black paint. You can also paint a paper plate black and do the activity with the white paint to look more realistic. After the small dab of paint is placed on the student's plate, drop a marble in and let the child move the pie pan in all different directions to make a spooky spider web. After it has dried, punch a hole in the plate and attach a plastic spider ring or sponge paint a spider in the web. ****** Rattling Skeletons- Submitted by Chris Use white paper to form 5 paper chains, and then connect to make a skeleton. Trace children's hands and feet on white paper, cut and glue to the ends of the arms and legs. Cut an oval shape and draw on the face. These work best when made with small groups of children. ****** Tempera Paint Spider Webs- Submitted by Chris Using runny black paint, allow the children to use a straw to blow the paint across the page to make a spider's web. ****** Glue Ghosts- Submitted by Chris Have the child draw a ghost outline on a piece of waxed paper, and then have them fill in the outline with white school glue. Dry overnight, and then have the child add facial features. Place on a string and you have a spooky ghost necklace. ****** Giggly Ghosts- Submitted by Chris Materials:Quilt batting, Narrow elastic, Construction paper, Glue Directions:Have the children tear off a wad of the quilt batting. Have the children form the "ghost" any way they want. Next, have the children cut eyes, legs, arms, etc. from the construction paper and glue onto their ghost. Finally, cut some of the elastic and tape to the top of the ghosts and hang them from the ceiling. The kids love to watch them bob up and down. ****** Halloween Pasta Collage- Submitted by Chris Check out your local grocery store, Michael's, Trader Joe's, or Ben Franklin craft store to find pasta in Halloween shapes. Let your kids create a cool collage with the pasta and whatever else you decide to add. ****** Halloween Cookie Cutter Prints- Submitted by Chris Buy an assortment of Halloween cookie cutters. Let the children dip the cookie cutters into paint and then press onto paper. ****** Halloween Pasta Necklaces- Submitted by Chris Find Halloween shaped pasta. Let your children string the pasta shapes on a piece of yarn to create a necklace or bracelet. ****** Footprint Ghosts- Submitted by Chris Paint each child's foot with white paint and print it on a black sheet of construction paper. When it dries add eyes to the heel part of the foot.That will be the ghost's head. ****** Paper Bag Pumpkins- Submitted by Chris Materials: Lunch size, paper bags, Orange paint, Green paint, Newspaper, String, Directions:Have the children crumple up newspaper and stuff their paper bags so they are full. Twist the unstuffed part of the bag and tie at the bottom to make a stem. Let the children paint their pumpkins. When they are dry, the children can draw faces on them. ****** Pumpkin Painting- Submitted by Chris Buy several small, fresh pumpkins. Cut them in half. Let the children dip the pumpkin halves into paint to make prints. ****** Spaghetti Cobwebs- Submitted by Chris Materials: Cooked spaghetti (cold), White glue, Waxed paper, Directions:Have the children dip the spaghetti into the glue and arrange the pieces onto the waxed paper. When the spaghetti dries, carefully peel the "cobweb" off the waxed paper. Hang from the ceiling. ****** Cheese Cloth Ghosts- Submitted by Chris Materials: Cheese cloth, 2 cups white glue, 16-oz. plastic cups, Directions: Dilute the white glue with 1/3 -1/2 cups of water. Let the children dip a piece of cheesecloth into the diluted glue. Have the children drape the wet cheesecloth over the 16 oz. cups. Let the "ghosts" dry for two days. Carefully remove the cup from the hardened cheesecloth. Let the children decorate their ghosts. Hang the completed ghosts from the ceiling. ****** Puffy Paint Cobwebs- Submitted by Chris Mix equal parts of flour, salt, and water in a large bowl. Pour the mixture into squeeze bottles. Give each child a black paper plate or a piece of black construction paper. Let the children squeeze the white puffy paint onto the black paper. When the puffy paint dries, it will look like glittery cobwebs. ****** Foot Ghost- Submitted by Chris Using white paper, have children step on paper and trace around their shoes. To make a face, use crayons, pens, or black construction paper with white chalk. ****** Paper Bag Pumpkin- Submitted by Chris Using a large grocery bag, crumple newspaper and stuff. Twist top of paperback and tie. Have children paint the bag orange. Paint the face black. Paint stem green. ****** Shape Ghosts- Submitted by Chris Materials:Black tag board, Black yarn, White lima beans, Glue, Directions:Cut tag board into circles, triangles, and squares, about four or five inches across. Punch a hole in the top of each shape. Cut an18 in. length of yarn for each child. Explain that the black shapes are ghosts and the beans are ghost eyes. Then the left the children glue of the bean eyes on their ghosts. ****** Spiders Web- Submitted by Chris Materials: String or yarn: 6 6 inch pieces of string, 4 12 inch pieces of string, Diluted white glue, or liquid starch, Wax paper Directions:Let the children dip pieces of string into dishes of glue or starch. Then have them lay their strings on wax paper to create the spider's web. Lay the string in the shape of a spiral overlapping the ends. Lay the large pieces of string over the spiral in the shape of a cross. When the strings dry, they will become stiff and hold their shapes. ****** Balloon Jack-o-Lanterns- Submitted by Chris Blow up an orange balloon for each child. Out of construction paper make face and feet pieces to create a jack-o-lantern. You may apply these pieces to the balloon with rubber cement. ****** Decorate Masks- Submitted by Chris I buy plastic half masks(found in dollar stores or party stores. Usually you can get 12 in a pack). I then give each child a mask. They then decorate the masks with feathers, stickers or gems found in craft stores. They really enjoy this and like to take the masks home to show mom or dad. ****** Ghost- Submitted by Chris Take a tp tube, stand it up and stuff a paper towel in the top, making a rounded mound on top. The child then dips a heavy, white paper towel in liquid starch, squeezes out the excess starch and drapes it over the tube. Have him/her arrange the bottom to looked draped. Add two black dots for eyes near the top. Allow to dry thoroughly. Then,you can remove the tp tube and the ghost is stiff enough to stand alone. Really cute and fairly easy. ****** Halloween Votives- Submitted by Chris Collect one baby food jar, one votive, back & orange tissue paper, glue and paint brush for each child.Soak labels off of jars. Let the jars dry. Let each child cut tissue paper pieces and glue onto the jar with paint brush...Much like a decoupage. They can make mosaics or even a jack-o-lantern. With permanent marker add child's name and date to the bottom of the jar. Add a votive. When they get home they have a wonderful, keepsake to use year after year. ****** Ghost Footprints- Submitted by Chris Materials: *white paint in a cookie sheet, *black construction paper, *black circle stickers, *large dishpan of soapy water, *towels, *scissors (optional), Children take off socks & shoes, step onto cookie sheet with white paint (caution: it is very slippery--supervise closely), step onto black construction paper, step into dishpan of soapy water and then dry their feet. After paintings have dried, children stick black stickers onto paintings as the ghosts' eyes (heelprint will be ghosts' head). Optional: Cut out ghost footprint. ****** Halloween Bags- Submitted by Chris Materials: *paper lunch bags (white ones look good), *tissue paper goblins, ghosts, pumpkins, witches hats, cats, *Halloween stickers, *orange & black crepe paper, *orange & black crayons/felt pens, *glue & glue sticks, Directions: Give the children the materials and let them decorate their bags. ****** Halloween Fingerpainting- Submitted by Chris Materials: *black or dark blue fingerpaint, *construction paper fences, pumpkins, moon, ghosts, *fingerpainting paper, Procedure:Children fingerpaint on paper then stick on fences, pumpkins, moon, and ghosts. Variations: *make table prints instead of fingerpainting on paper. *make the painting about the 'Five Little Pumpkins' and give the children five pumpkins to stick on the fence in their paintings. ****** Mini Jack-o-Lanterns- Submitted by Chris Materials: *mini pumpkins, *wallpaper paste (optional: dye orange) & glue sticks, *buttons, *yarn, *cotton balls, *buttons, *black paper witches' hats, Procedure: Children glue items on pumpkins to make mini 'Jack-o-Lanterns'. ****** Pumpkin Patch- Submitted by Chris Materials: *brown construction paper, *green yarn *cotton balls, *dry orange tempera paint, *glue & glue sticks, *small bag Procedure: Shake cotton balls and paint in the bag. Children glue green yarn (vines) and orange cotton balls (pumpkins) onto brown paper to make a pumpkin patch. ****** Witch Faces- Submitted by Chris Materials: paper plates yarn cut in approx. 5-6 inch lengths black construction paper cut into the shape of a witch's hat yellow construction paper cut into buckle shape (hollow rectangle) Directions: Cut out the center of a paper plate. Glue the yarn on both sides of the paper plate. Glue black hat on top of plate. Glue buckle on hat. Punch a hole on both sides of the plate. Tie string in holes. Tie "mask" on child. ****** Paper Napkin Ghosts- Submitted by Chris Have children make paper ghosts from unfolded white paper napkins. Help them place cotton balls in the center of the napkin. Show them how pull down the corners of the napkin over the cotton ball. Tie a piece of white yarn around the "neck". Use markers to draw a face. Tape a thin piece of string from the top of the head and hang from the ceiling. ****** Paper Plate Bat- Submitted by Chris Using a small paper plate, paint black with black finger paint, let dry. Cut triangle shapes from black construction paper, 3 for each wing and lay them out so you can glue the two top corners to another triangle. Fasten the wings to the back of the paper plate and draw a face with white correction fluid or chalk. Punch a hole in the top to hang. ****** Egg Cup Spiders- Submitted by Chris Give each child a cardboard egg carton cup and four 4" pipe cleaner pieces. Help the children poke their pipe cleaners through their egg cups to make spider legs. Have them bend the legs slightly downward. Let the children paint their spiders black and glue on plastic moving eyes. ****** Fingerpuppet Ghosts- Submitted by Chris Put white adhesive tape on each child's index finger(over top) and add eyes with black permanent marker. Have children recite and act out with ghost fingers. Little ghost(2), flying through the air. Little ghost(2)tickling my hair. Little ghost (2) flying way down low. Little ghost (2) tickling my toe. Little ghost (2) circling all around. Little ghost (2) please sit down. And--The ghosts fly in. The ghosts fly out. The ghosts are certainly all about.The ghosts fly high and then dive low. They're always spooky whereever they go. ****** Paper Bag Wig- Submitted by Chris User large paper bag that fits over head. Cut a large rectangle from front section of bag for face. Fringe bottom of bag.Curl fringe by rolling tight around a pencil. ****** What's Inside a Pumpkin?- Submitted by Chris Materials: 2 paper plates per child, pumpkin seeds, colors, paints, or markers. Paint or color one paper plate orange. On other glue pumpkin seeds. Attach paper plates (orange one on top) with brad on top of plates. ****** Mr. Pumpkin Head- Submitted by Chris Get a real pumpkin and supply washable markers, and props such as glasses, paper mustache, hats, scarves, and wigs. Let each child have turn to decorate and dress up pumpkin. When next child's turn - just wash the markers off! ****** Pumpkin Painting- Submitted by Chris After Halloween, use your carved jack-o-lantern for print making. Cut the pumpkin into chunks and let children design pulp by using nails. Press on ink pads then on construction paper. ****** Ghosts- Submitted by Chris Teacher draws ghost on white paper with white crayon. Children then paint paper with dark water colors or diluted tempera paint wash. Encourage child to paint entire page. Ghosts appear through paint. ****** Scrap Paper Jack-O-Lantern- Submitted by Chris Draw a circle on black construction paper. Paint circle with glue. Tear scraps of orange paper into small pieces. Arrange scraps on glue. Add torn scraps of yellow paper for eyes, nose and mouth. ***** Jack-o-Lantern Jar- Submitted by Cheryl Use a large glass jar, the big fat pickle jars are best for this. paint the jar orange with poster paint, then add eyes and other features using black electrical tape. Put a candle in it and you have a pretty jack-o-lantern to set in the window. ****** Margarine Tub Jack-o-Lantern- Submitted by Cheryl Cover a small margarine tub, with the lid on, with orange crepe paper. Turn on side using flat top for face. Make face by gluing on black paper features. ****** Napkin Ghosts- Submitted by Cheryl Take two white paper napkins. Roll one into a ball and place it in the center of the opened flat napkin. Gather up flat napkin around ball making head of ghost. Tie a string around neck of ghost and hang from ceilling or in front of windows. ****** Napkin Ghost Treat- Submitted by Cheryl For a treat, wrap the napkin around a sucker or Tootsie Pop tying a string under candy to form head and dot two eyes with a felt tip pen. ****** Paper Bag Masks- Submitted by Cheryl Very simple or very elaborate masks can be made from grocery bags. Start with crayons, markers, scissors and glue, and let your imagination go wild. ***** Witch Hats- Submitted by Cheryl Black and yellow construction paper, sturdy paper long enough to fit around a child's head Cut a large triangle from black paper to form the hat. Add a yellow strip about one inch wide, about one inch or so from the base of the triangle for a hat band. Use the scraps of black (or use any color from your scrap box) to cut long strips for hair and glue to the base of the hat. Fit a one inch band of sturdy paper or light cardboard around the child's head and staple. Staple or glue the hat to the band. ***** Pumpkins on a Fence- Submitted by Cheryl Fence:Cut long strips from brown paper for the rails and a few shorter ones for the posts. Glue on to a background paper. Pumpkins: Cut circles from orange paper for pumpkins & glue them along the top of the fence. Draw or paste a different face on each pumpkin. Add a stem to the top. Add anything else you want to finish the scene. *****Finger-Painted Pumpkins- Submitted by CherylThe children fingerpaint directly on our plastic topped table with orange paint. When the children are finished painting, press pre-cut paper (a large pumpkin shape) on each child's work to capture the print.. The next day when the pumpkins are dry, have the children glue on a stem precut from green construction paper - any place on the pumpkin is fine. The pumpkins look good displayed along the classroom walls. For vines, I use lengths of green curling ribbon to connect the pumpkins to each other by their stems and add leaves here & there. ***** Pumpkin Playdough- Submitted by CherylMake orange play dough and roll it into balls (little pumpkins). ***** Pillowcase Ghosts- Submitted by Barb 1 pillow case for each child, Twisty paper (for bows around the ghosts’ necks... we use orange, Newspaper, Hanger, Black and red felt (we used the kind that you peel the back off of and it is sticky, Permanent black marker (to write their names on their ghosts) Take the clothes hanger and poke it through the top of the pillow case. Take newspaper and stuff the pillowcase until the top part is pretty full. Use the twisty paper to tie a bow around Mr. Ghost’s neck (to hold the paper up and in). Cut ovals out of the felt for the eyes and mouth (black for eyes, red for mouth). Stick the felt on the ghost to make face. Label with each child’s name. Hang around the room! ***** Rub A Chalk Ghost- Submitted by Barb Cut out a ghost from paper.On one side of the shape rub some colored chalk. Place the shape with the chalk side face-up on the sheet of paper. With a smal paper towel, or tissue, rub from the center of the chalky shape onto the paper. When you have finished rubbing all around the shape, lift it and see what happened! ***** Triangle Witch- Submitted by Barb Contruction paper, scissors, crayons or makers, glue and any misc. that you choose to use. Cut a six inch isosceles triangle from black paper. Cut a smaller (about 2") triangle from lighter colored paper (I like light green or orange) for the face. Cut a skinny 1/4" by about 3" strip of black paper for the hat brim. Mount the large black triangle point up on light colored paper or drawing paper. Glue the small triangle point down about 2" from the tip of the large one. Glue the strip of black paper across the top of the face to form the hat. The children go on to add arms, legs, faces, hair, brooms, pumpkins,etc. The children have a good time deciding how to finish them. ***** Dryer Hose Pumpkins- Submitted by Sherry First, go out and buy several packages of WHITE dryer hoses, the kind that goes from your dryer to the vent outside. Count out 13 rings on the dryer hose and cut it with a strong pair of scissors. Fold the cut dryer hose around so it looks like a pumpkin and staple the two ends together. Let the children paint their pumpkins with orange paint. Finally, make a stem from rolled up brown paper bags. ***** Pumpkin Pies- Submitted by Sherry Old aluminum foil pie tins, White construction paper to fit inside the pie tins, Pumpkin Pie Spice, Orange Paint, Glue Have the children glue the construction paper into their pie tin. Next, have them paint the construction paper and inside the pie tin. Finally, have them sprinkle the pumpkin pie spice all over the paint! This smells very yummy for a long time! Here is a variation of this activity! Have the children dip their hand in paint and make a handprint directly in the pie tin. Let them shake pumpkin pie spice inside the pie tin for a wonderful fall keepsake. ***** Pocket Pumpkins- Submitted by Sherry Have students paint the front of a paper plate orange then cut another plate in half and paint the back of the one half orange, discard the other half. When dry put plates together so that you form a pouch or pocket. You can staple the plates together or punch holes around the edge for students to lace the plates together with orange yarn (this is a great eye/hand coordination activity!!) Then cut out 3 black triangles for the eyes and nose and a black mouth. Place the eyes and nose on the whole paper plate and the mouth on the front of the pocket part of the pumpkin. You can add a stem at the top if you'd like. I then explain to the children that if their behavior is good all day they will find a special treat from the "Great Pumpkin" in their pouch before they leave. I use these pumpkins for all of the month of October. It works like a charm!! ***** Shaving Cream Bag Jack-o-Lanterns- Submitted by Sherry Give each child a sandwich bag, place shaving cream, and red and yellow food coloring in each bag. Close them up tight using garbage bag ties. Watch the colors turn to orange. Let the children make Jack-o-lanterns out of the bags, by drawing faces on the bags with a permanent black marker. ***** Halloween Goop- Submitted by Sherry Make Goop (cornstarch and water). Mix to desired consistency. Add some black paint and plastic spiders, skeletons, and it has become Halloween activity. We have the children wear paint shirts but you can expect their nails to be slightly stained for a day of two. ***** Milk Jug Jack-o-Lanterns- Submitted by Sherry Take a gallon milk jug and pour orange paint inside, put the cap on and shake till the inside is orange. Paint the cap green and add a face with paint or construction to the outside of the carton and you have a pumpkin. ***** Coffee Filter Bats- Submitted by Sherry You will need a coffee filter, clothes pin, watered down paint, and a pie plate for this project. Place filter in pie plate for bats. Paint the filter black, then fold in half and pin clothes pin up the middle. Then paint pin black once they are dry you can hang them any where. ***** Skeleton Art- Submitted by Sherry Using black construction paper as a background, use white q-tips as bones and let the children create their own skeletons glued on the black paper. You may break some q-tips into smaller pieces to make fingers and toes. ***** Halloween Hand Art- Submitted by Sherry You can make several different Halloween objectsby simply painting your child's hands. Bat: You paint both of the child's hands black with a washable paint. Then you have the child put their thumbs together the the other fingers spread out. And carefully place them on the paper. (for younger child you may want to do one hand at a time. Ghost: Paint one of the child's hands with white washable paint. Have the child straighten their fingers together and print on black paper. (make sure you push down on the child's hand to assure good printing quality.) ***** Pumpkin Stamps- Submitted by Sherry Pumpkin pieces are great for paint prints. Cut out a few pieces of a pumpkin in face shapes (nose, mouth, eyes, etc.) and have the children create jack-o-lanterns out of pre-cut pumpkin shaped construction paper. ***** "Ghosts"- Submitted by Sherry Cut out ghost shapes of all different kinds and allow the children to decorate them with scraps of white material, cotton balls, tissue paper, etc. Paste a picture of each child's face on the ghost and hang on bulletin board with the heading: What A "BOOtiful" class! ***** Ghosts- Submitted by Sherry Use Elmer's glue and put a big dab of it on waxed paper. Roll around until you have a shape like a GHOST. Then let dry. Punch a hole on top and put in colored paper clips to make a chain (for kids to wear). Add two black dots for eyes. ***** Ghost Pins- Submitted by Sherry Use regular white school glue and do a glob of it and let it run down a little. Add a couple of beads for eyes. Let dry. Now punch a hole in the top to string for necklace, or put pin on the back for a pin to wear. ***** Spider Print- Submitted by Sherry Have the children make a fist. On the palm side of the fist paint it black and let the child stamp their painted fist onto a piece of white paper. Open the fist up. Paint all the fingers but the thumb! Let child put the finger prints on either side of the fist print. (this is the legs) Using their thumbs let them place two thumb prints on the spider. They have created a great holiday art project that not only they will love but the parents can keep to remember their little hands. ***** Paper Plate Spiders- Submitted by Sherry Use black paper plates or have children paint them black. Give children googly eyes and wrinkled construction paper legs. Let them glue their eyes and legs onto the plate. Punch a hole and hang from the ceiling. ***** Toilet Paper Roll Spiders- Submitted by Sherry Get an empty toilet paper roll or paper towel roll. Cut eight parts to it going up just high enough that you can bend them a little. Dip in black paint and you will have a spider. Use googlie eyes to finish. ***** Spooky Halloween Tree- Submitted by Sherry On Butcher paper or large white paper, draw a black, gnarled tree. Have each child in your class paint his/her hand in white paint, place on tree fingers pointing down, after all the ghosts have dried allow each child to draw a spooky face on their handprint. Nice classroom decoration. ***** Grocery Bag Ghosts- Submitted by Sherry Get a white plastic grocery bag and cut in circle. Put cottonballs in center and wrap bag around. Tie a long thread around neck and attatch to a stick. Draw face with marker. The kids love to run around flying their ghosts, making scary noises. They rattle nicely too ***** Coffee Filter Pumpkins- Submitted by Sherry Using white coffee filters and a eye dropper...take red and yellow dye made from food colouring. Let the children alternately drop on the two colours to make orange. For jack-o-lantern features, older children can cut and paste construction paper eyes, nose, mouth. For little tots, add features using permanent marker before they begin. ***** Handy Spiders- Submitted by Sherry paper plates, black tempera paint, liquid dishwashing detergent, navy-colored construction paper, 12-inch by 18-inch size, white crayon, wiggly eyes of an appropriate size Have the child use the white crayon to draw a spider web in the center of the navy construction paper. Pour some black tempera paint and a little of the liquid dishwashing detergent together onto a paper plate. Mix together. (The dishwashing liquid will make the paint easier to get off.) Place the child left hand in the paint and press it horizontally (so that the fingers face left) in the center of the web. Repeat the process with the right hand (the fingers should face right), overlapping the palm prints so that the handprints look like a spider with eight legs. When the paint is dry, you can clue the wiggly eyes near the intersection of the thumbs. ***** Marble Paint Spiders- Submitted by Ruth in NY Marble paint spider webs onto paper plate (we used lunch size). Lay four pieces of colored string on the plate for legs and place a colored dot sticker on top for spiders body. Use a marker to draw the face. ***** Hand Paint Ghost Activity- Submitted by Patrisha Trace the child's hand loosely on a piece of paper (kind of an oval shape) have them cut this out, (you'll have to help the little ones). Lay this on a piece of white paper in a cardboard box. Now put some thin black paint in a small spray bottle (hair spray bottle)I use a black watercolor that I have. Now spritz the paper with the paint and then lift up the cut out hand print and throw it away. You have a whiteghost among the black paint. Glue on pre cut black construction paper eyesand mouth. This turns out really cute and the parents love the fact that it is their child's hand outline. I tie this in with the Smiley the Ghost activity. We also sing this song: Sometimes I like to walk in the darkI like to shout and screamI sneak behind somebody I knowBoo! It's Halloween! ***** Smiley the Ghost Color Activity- Submitted by Patrisha To make smiley just make a simple ghost pattern the size of a piece of construction paper. Now cut 1 each of every color so they stack behind each other. Put a smiley face on each one. I tell a story about smiley the ghost who lives in the attic of an old house and every night he comes down to get something to eat from the fridge. When he eats something he changes color. (put white ghost behind stack and show orange ghost) What do you think he ate that made him turn _________ (let the kids answer orange) and then let them give suggestions about what he ate. Orange juice, carrots. Keep changing colors and let them tell you what he ate. You will laugh at what they come up with. Now he needs to sneak back up stairs what can he eat/drink that will make him turn white again. A big glass of milk! Up the stairs he goes until the next night! Boo! Very simple to put together and the kids love it! Have fun! ***** Glowing Pumpkin- Submitted by Patrisha Turn a paper lunch sack upside down and cut a jack-o-lantern face out of the front of it. Open up the sack and put it over a small flashlight. Gather the bottom of the sack around the flashlight and fasten it in place with a rubber band. Turn on the flashlight to make the jack-o-lantern glow. Now isn't that neat! ***** Lollipop Ghosts- Submitted by Patrisha you will need 10 inch squares if white material and 10 inch squares if cheesecloth, round lollipops, white twine, clear fishing line and googly eyes. wrap the white material around the sucker, layer cheese cloth over the material. Pinch neck together and tie with twine. Glue on eyes. Take some fishing twine and weave through the cheesecloth on the top of the head and hang from tree or porch or wherever! BOO! ***** Treat Holders- Submitted by Patrisha you will need clear plastic food containers(any kind) and an X-acto knife. You can poke holes for handles. You can cut slits around the top edge of the containers so kids can weave ribbon through them. Let the kids decorate them with squeeze paint and stickers. Use twine or ribbon for handles. ***** Handy Spiders- Submitted by Georgie This is a fun and easy craft to go along with a thematic unit on spiders. It can get messy, because of the use of tempera paints, so cover your work area with newspaper, butcher paper, or an old table cloth and protect clothing. paper plates, black tempera paint, liquid dishwashing detergent, navy-colored construction paper, 12-inch by 18-inch size, white crayon, wiggly eyes of an appropriate size Have the child use the white crayon to draw a spider web in the center of the navy construction paper. Pour some black tempera paint and a little of the liquid dishwashing detergent together onto a paper plate. Mix together. (The dishwashing liquid will make the paint easier to get off.) Place the child left hand in the paint and press it horizontally (so that the fingers face left) in the center of the web. Repeat the process with the right hand (the fingers should face right), overlapping the palm prints so that the handprints look like a spider with eight legs. When the paint is dry, you can clue the wiggly eyes near the intersection of the thumbs. Bat and Spider Cups- Great for drinks or to hold those ghoulish goodies!!! Adult supervision is recommended with the use of a hot glue gun. This project is rated VERY EASY to do. Black chenille stems (4 for each spider cup), Scissors, Craft glue or hot glue gun, Purple paper cups, Black poster board (for bat wings), Small wiggle eyes, Ruler, optional (only if you need to measure) Cut four pipe cleaners in half to make eight spider legs. Fold one end of each pipe cleaner up 1/4 inch. Glue the folded part to the side of the cup, putting four legs on each side. Bend legs into a spider pose. Cut two bat wings from black poster board. Bend the ends and glue one on each side of a cup. Glue eyes on each cup. Let dry. Serve drinks or treats in the cups. Have fun! ***** ~ HALLOWEEN RECIPES AND COOKING~ Orange Jack-o-lanterns- Submitted by CherylCut an orange to look like a Jack o lantern & fill with ice cream! ***** Ghoulies and Ghosties- Submitted by Cheryl You'll need the cakes, cookies & candies called for each creature, although there's alot of room for creativity. For eyes, Mini baking bits (M&M's) work well, as do any small candies. Also have ready tubes of piping gel ( we used red, green and black), red, blue and orange food color and a bit of light corn syrup as "GLUE" to stick on candies. ***** Pumpkin Cake- Submitted by Cheryl Spread a large round cookie with frosting. Sprinkle with orange-tinted shredded coconut. Cut black licorice twist for stem & face. ***** Candy Corn Popcorn Balls- Submitted by Cheryl1/4 c (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, 1 bag (10 1/2 Ounces) miniture marshmellows, 1 pkg (4 serving size) JELL-O Brand Gelatin Dessert, any flavor, 3 Qts (12 Cups) Popped popcorn, 1 c candy corn Microwave butter and marshmallows in a large microwavable bowl on HIGH 1 1/2 to 2 mins or until marshmallows are puffed. Stir in gelatin until well mixed. Pour marshmallow mixture over popcorn & candy corn in large bowl. Mix lightly until well coated. Shape into 15 balls or other shapes with greased or wet hands.MAKES 15. ***** Banana - Pumpkin Foamy- Submitted by Cheryl Blend together 4 cups of milk, 4 sliced banana, 8 tablespoons canned pumpkin and a few dashes of cinnamon. Makes approximately 6 servings (depending on size) *****Chocolate Spiders- Submitted by Cheryl4 cups semisweet chocolate baking chips Melt chocolate chips in top of double boiler. Let stand over the water until water is cool, about 10 minutes. Place wax paper on cookie sheet. Pour chocolate into a pastry bag that is fitted with a 1/8-inch or 1/4-inch tip. Squeeze chocolate onto wax paper in the shape of spiders. If chocolate is runny it needs to be cooled longer. Chill the spiders for about 10 minutes. When hard peel off wax paper. Store in refrigerator laid flat. *****Mystic Punch- Submitted by CherylMake ice cubes with raisins in them, 4 1-pint bottles cranberry juice, 2 ½ cups peach juice, 1 cup fresh lime juice, 2 cups orange juice, Sugar to taste. In a punch bowl mix all juices. Add the ice cubes (with insects in them)! ***** Devil Dogs with Blood- Submitted by CherylHot dog buns, weiners, Ketchup Cook hot dogs as normal, either boiled or grilled. With scissors cut out little triangles in top part of bun facing outward. The bun should look like a mouth. Place weiner in bun and add ketchup for blood affect. *****Vampire Punch- Submitted by Cheryl8 cups cranberry juice, 6 cups sparkling apple juice, 6 orange slices Put all ingredients in a punch bowl. Add ice cubes before serving. ***** Popcorn Balls- Submitted by Cheryl1 1/2 quarts popped popcorn, 14-oz package light caramels, 1/4 cup light corn syrup, 2 tbsps water Keep popcorn warm in a 200 degree oven. Melt caramels in top of double boiler over simmering water. Add corn syrup and water and mix until smooth. Slowly pour over popcorn in a large bowl. Stir to mix well. With greased hands, shape into balls about the size of softballs. Let cool completely before wrapping with plastic wrap. ***** Easy Black Cat Cookies- Submitted by Cheryl1 cp creamy peanut butter, 1/3 cp water, 2 eggs, 1 pkg. chocolate cake mix, sugar, candy corn, red hots Preheat over to 350 degrees. Beat together peanut butter, water and eggs. Gradually add cake mix. Mix well. Follow same procedure of rolling into a ball, flattening etc. Bake for 10-12 minutes Remove from over and immediately add candy corn eyes and red-hot nose. Makes about 3 dozen. ***** Candied Apples- Submitted by Cheryl 12 red delicious apples, 12 wooden skewers, 4 1/2 cups sugar, 3/4 cup light corn syrup, 1 tsp red food colouring, 1 1/2 cups water, 1 cup chopped peanuts Grease a large cookie sheet and set aside. Wash and dry apples. Insert a stick through stem, leaving about two inches sticking out. In saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, corn syrup, food colouring and water. Cook, stirring constantly, until ingredients are dissolved and liquid boils. Set a candy thermometer in mixture and continue cooking, without stirring until temperature reaches 290 degrees, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile place shopped peanuts in a bowl. Remove syrup from heat and dip the apples, one by one, to coat evenly. Work quickly. As you dip each apple roll in peanuts to coat then place on prepared cookie sheet. Let apples cool for at least an hour. ***** Bobbing Apple Punch- Submitted by Cheryl1 1/2 cups orange juice, 4 cups apple cider, 1 cup pineapple juice, 2 tablespoons sugar, 4 cups ginger ale-chilled, 6 to 8 small red apples, 1 orange, sliced In punch bowl mix orange juice, apple cider, pineapple juice and sugar. Chill of a couple hours. Before serving add ginger ale, apples, orange slices and ice cubes. ***** Witches Fingers- Submitted by Cheryl1 cup butter- softened, 1 cup icing sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp almond extract, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 3/4 cup whole blanched almonds, 1 tube red decorator gel In bowl beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla; beat in flour; baking powder and salt. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Working with one-quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remaining dough refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoons full of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press almond firmly into one end for nail. Squeeze in centre to create knuckle shape. Using a paring knife make slashes in several places to form knuckle. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet in 325 degree over for 20-25 minutes or until pale or golden. Let cool for three minutes. Lift up almond; squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place so gel oozes out from underneath. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool. Repeat with remaining dough. Makes about 5 doz fingers! ***** Caramel Marshmallow Apples- Submitted by Cheryl 1 package (14 oz) caramels, 1 cup miniature marshmallows, 1 tbsp water, 5 or 6 small apples, Wooden skewers Line baking sheet with buttered waxed paper; set aside. Combine caramels, marshmallows and water in medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until caramels melt. Cool slightly while preparing apples. Rinse and dry apples. Insert skewers into apples. Dip each apple in caramel mixture, coating apples. Place on prepared sheet. Refrigerate until firm. For variety roll apples in crushed peanuts or drizzle with melted chocolate. ***** Halloween Spider- Submitted by Cheryl Take two ritz (or round crackers) have the child spread peanut butter on one half. Place 8 thin pretzel sticks for legs & put on the second ritz(make a sandwich). Use raisins dipped in Peanut Butter for eyes. ***** Halloween Treat Cups- Submitted by Carol Materials For the Cat: Cup (you can use Styrofoam, plastic or a tin can), Black BioColor paint, Wiggly eyes, Black and White pipe cleaners, Pink pom pom, Black and pink construction paper, Scissors, Glue, Candies to put in the cup Materials For the Bat: Cup (you can use Styrofoam, plastic or a tin can), Black and White BioColor paint, Wiggly eyes, Black construction paper, Scissors, Glue, Candies to put in the cup Process For the Cat: 1. Paint the cup with the black BioColor paint. Let dry. 2. Cut out ears out of the construction paper. 3. Glue wiggly eyes onto the "face" of the cup. 4. Glue ears onto the top inside of the cup. 5. Glue the white pipe cleaners onto the "face" of the cup for whiskers. 6. Glue the pink pom pom on top of the whiskers for the nose. 7. Bend the black pipe cleaner to look like a cat's tail. Glue the tail to the back of the cup.· Once everything has dried, fill the insides of the cups with candies. Process For the Bat: 1. Paint the cup with the black BioColor paint. Let dry. 2. Cut out wings out of the construction paper. 3. Glue wings on the side of the cup. 4. Glue wiggly eyes onto the "face" of the cup. 5. Paint a mouth onto the bat with the white BioColor. Let dry. 6. Once everything has dried, fill the insides of the cups with candies. ***** Shrunken Apple Heads- Submitted by HollyLarge red or golden delicious apple, 1/3 cup lemon juice, 1 tbsp. salt, Whole cloves, Rice, Bottle cap Peel apple and coat with mixture of lemon juice and salt. With a potato peeler, knife, or pumpkin carver carve out eye sockets, nose, mouth and ears. Stick whole cloves where eyes should be and rice where teeth should be. Sit apple on top of bottle cap. Place on a drying rack in a warm, dry place for about 2 weeks. Shape the face as it shrinks and hardens. Once dry, insert a strong wire to form body and add clothes if desired or other accessories. *****Pumpkin Cheesecake- Submitted by Barb* Low Calorie Dessert * * Great Cooking Activity for Kids * Makes 12 servings. Ingredients: 12 gingersnaps, 2 1/2 cups part skim ricotta cheese, 1 cup canned pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup granulated brown sugar, 2 large eggs, 1/1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, 3/4 cup frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed, Place one ginger snap in bottom of cupcake papers. Beat ricotta until smooth. Add remaining ingredients, except topping and mix until well combined. Pour mixture into cups. Bake 20 minutes at 350° until lightly set; turn off heat. Let stand in oven 1 hour. Cool on rack and chill overnight. Serve with 1 tbsp topping. *****Pumpkin Patch Muffins- Submitted by Barb These moist, wholesome muffins are loaded with vitamin A. For flavored muffins, we tried chocolate chip, raisin and autumn spice. 1 cup Pumpkin Mush or canned pumpkin, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine, 2 eggs, 2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 cup all-purpose and 1 cup whole-wheat flour), 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl or bowl of an electric mixer, mix or blend the Pumpkin Mush, brown sugar, melted butter and eggs. In a separate bowl, sift the flour with the baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir or blend only until combined. Spoon the batter into a 12-cup muffin tin lined with paper liners. Bake the muffins for 20 minutes. Makes 10 to 12, depending on their size. *Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins: Stir 1/2 cup chocolate chips into the batter before scooping it into the muffin tin. *Pumpkin Raisin Muffins: Stir 1/2 cup raisins into the batter before scooping it into the muffin tin. Pumpkin Spice Muffins:Sift 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg with the flour. ***** Pumpkin Mush- Submitted by BarbUse this pureed pumpkin in all your favorite pumpkin recipes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut a medium-size pumpkin, such as a sugar pumpkin, in half. Prick the skin with a fork, and place on a cookie sheet, cut-side up. Bake for 50 minutes, or until it is very soft when poked with a fork. Let the pumpkin cool, then scoop out the seeds with a big spoon. Scoop out the pumpkin meat and compost the skin. Mash the pumpkin meat with a potato masher or puree in a food processor. Makes about 4 cups, depending on the size of the pumpkin.*****Mini Pumpkin Pies- Submitted by Barb3 eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 2 cups Pumpkin Mush (see recipe below) or canned pumpkin, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. ginger, 1/2 tsp. cloves, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 12-oz. can evaporated milk, 8 mini pie shells (available at most grocery stores) Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and the sugars. Blend in the Pumpkin Mush, the spices, salt and evaporated milk. Pour the filling into the pie shells. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 50 minutes, or until the pies set. Serves 6 to 8.*****Toast the Seeds- Submitted by Barb 1 small pumpkin, 2 tbsp. vegetable oil, Salt Use an ice-cream scoop to remove the seeds from the pumpkin and transfer them to a large bowl. Now for the tough part: Separate the seeds from the pumpkin fiber (this is a messy job that you should do outside). To make the process a little easier, fill the bowl with water and let the pumpkin seeds soak. Have a bowl of clean water nearby and a colander, too. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Toss the rinsed pumpkin seeds into a smaller bowl, drizzle with the oil, and sprinkle with salt. Spread the seeds on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until slightly brown. *****Filled "Pumpkin" Cookies- Submitted by Barb 1 c Butter, 1 c Sugar, 1 ea Large egg, 1 t Vanilla, 2 ts Baking powder, 1 tb Pumpkin pie spice, 2 3/4 c Flour, Orange food color FILLING:2 c Raisins, 3/4 c Chopped walnuts, 1/2 c Frozen orange juice, -concentrate -- thawed Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add baking powder, spice, and flour one cup at a time mixing after each addition. The dough will be very stiff; blend last flour in by hand. Do not chill dough. To tint with icing color, add small amounts until desired color is reached. Divide dough into 2 balls. On a floured surface, roll each ball into a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter. Dip Wilton "Jack-O-Lantern Cutters" in flour before each use. Place half the cookies on cookie sheets. Place 1 tablespoon filling on cookie. Cut eyes and mouth from remaining cookies. Place on top of filling. Press to seal edges. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. To make filling just mix all ingredients in a bowl. You can also use jelly. ***** Popcorn Hands- Submitted by Chris Materials: Popcorn, Orange and Black Jelly Beans, Spider Rings, Plastic Gloves(clear serving gloves, like the resturants use), Orange or Black ribbon Fill each finger with a jelly bean or two (will look like nail polish) then proceed with the popcorn until full. Use your ribbon to tie closed at palm and embellish with a spider ring(on the ring finger). You can use these as a craft for your Halloween party or for decoration during the holiday!! The kids love them! ***** Nightcrawlers Recipe- Submitted by Cheryl 12 large apples, Boysenberry jam, 4 tbsp butter, 12 gummy worms Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Core apples from stem end to 1/2 inch from bottom. Stuff each hole with 1 tsp jam and butter. Place in a pan and bake uncovered for 35-45 minutes. Remove apples let stand for 15 minutes. Set each apple in a bowl and spoon syrup from baking pan around it. Insert a gummy worm with half its body protruding. *****Halloween Make-Up- Submitted by Cheryl1 T. white shortening, 2T. cornstarch, 1 tsp. white flour, 4-5 drops food coloring, (One tablespoon shortening mixed with 2 1/2 tsp. cocoa makes great brown) ***** Jack-o-Lantern Pie- Submitted by Barb 1 c Boiling water, 1 pkG. Jell-O orange flavor gelatin- 4 serving size, 1 pt. Vanilla ice cream, softened (2 cups), 1 Prepared chocolate flavor crumb crust (6 oz), Cool Whip, thawed, Candy Corn, Black licorice, cut into 1 inch pieces Stir boiling water into gelatin in medium bowl 2 minutes or until completely dissolved. Spoon in ice cream, stirring until melted and smooth. Refrigerate 10 minutes or until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites). Spoon into crust. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Just before serving, make jack-o-lantern face on pie with whipped topping, candy corn and licorice. Store leftover pie in refrigerator. *****Crisp Rice Treat Jack-O-Lanterns- Submitted by Cheryl Ingredients:3 Tblsp. margarine, 10 oz. regular marshmallows or 4 cups mini marshmallows, 6 c. rice cereal, 1 green gum drop, 2 black gum drops, 1 piece black licorice twist, Orange food coloring, Vegetable cooking spray, Ice Cream scoop Instructions:Melt the margarine and marshmallows in a large saucepan over low heat stirring constantly until the marshmallows are completely melted. Remove from heat and add the food coloring. Stir to blend and add the rice cereal stirring until well coated. Spray the ice cream scoop with the vegetable spray and use it to form rounded scoops of the cereal treats. Shape to look like pumpkins adding the green gum drop stem and pieces of black gum drop or licorice to make the eyes and mouth of each Jack-o-lantern.Options: you can make these as small pumpkins without the faces. ***** Spider Cookies-Submitted by Cheryl Use one package of Pillsbury Peanut Butter Cookie Dough (or make your own dough from scratch). Roll into walnut sized balls. In each ball, insert 8 pretzel sticks (the small ones). Bake as directed on package, cool, and eat. My dcks had a great time with this. The older dcks also made insects using 3 smaller balls of dough and raisins for eyes.***** Jack-o-Lantern Jello- Submitted by CherylSlice the top off an orange and scoop out pulp. Cut eyes, nose and mouth in orange so that it looks like a jack-o-lantern. Fill with orange jello. ***** Jack-o-Lantern Sandwiches- Submitted by Barb Ingredients:Wheat Bread, Yellow Bread, Butter / Mayonnaise Using wheat bread, spread with butter or mayonnaise. Lay on a slice of yellow cheese. On the top slice of bread cut out a jack-o-lantern, Enjoy! ***** Ghost Toast- Submitted by Cheryl Ingredients:loaf of bread, margarine, shredded coconut, raisins Each child makes ghost toast by spreading margarine to make faces on toast then sprinkling coconut on it. Put raisins or chocolate chips for eyes and mouth. ***** Pumpkin Seeds- Submitted by Barb Ingredients: 1 tsp. butter for each cup of pumpkin seeds, salt Rinse pumpkin seeds and set on paper towel to dry. Melt butter and stir in seeds. Spread seeds on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt and bake in a 325 degree oven until light brown. (We recommend that an adult melt the butter and mix in the seeds. Cooking near a hot stove with children is not a safe activity.) *****Cheesy Pumpkins- Submitted by Barb Ingredients:Velveta Cheese, raisins, thin red licorice strands, parsley Children roll a small chunk of Velveta cheese in a ball. Raisins, licorice and parsley are added for facial features. Children can eat this treat with crackers.***** Pumpkin Ice Cream- Submitted by Sherry 1/2 cup pumpkin pie filling, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 2 cups heavy cream, 2 Large, clean coffee cans, 2 Small, clean coffee cans, Rock salt, Crushed ice, Duct tape Have the children mix all the ingredients together. Pour the ice cream mix into the small coffee cans. Tightly seal the lid with duct tape. Place the small cans into the large cans. Layer ice and rock salt in the space between the small and large cans. Tightly seal the second lid with duct tape. During circle time, have the children roll the cans to each other. After about 20 minutes, you will have ice cream! Rainy Day Fun: Kooky, Spooky Halloween Ideas ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**Howling Halloween MobilePrint, color, and create a Halloween mobile. Click Here **Halloween Pumpkin BoxPrint, cut, and assemble a cute Halloween Pumpkin Box. Click Here **Printables for Monsters Inc fans. Click Here **Foldup Paper Models-Gothic Graveyard (school-age) Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the Gothic Graveyard. Click Here Printables **Halloween Color PagesPrint masks and jack-o-lanterns. Click Here **Grover with a Pumpkin color page. Click Here **Halloween MasksPrint and create a variety of halloween mask. Could be used to decorate a bulletin board or wall in a classroom. Click Here **Halloween Decorations: SkeletonsPrint and pose the skeletons Click HereMatch the Cats Memory Gamehttp://www.cfainc.org/ezine/games/match-puzzle.htmlCool Spider Cupcakes Prep Time:10 mins.Ready In:10 mins.Skill:No Experience RequiredServes:24 24 baked cupcakes, paper liners removed 1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed Chocolate sprinkles Black licorice pieces and small candies for garnish FROST tops and sides of cupcakes with whipped topping. Decorate with chocolate sprinkles. Insert licorice pieces into tops of cupcakes to create "spider legs". Top with candies for "eyes". Art Activities Pipe Cleaner Spiders Provide the children with pipe cleaners to make spiders. Have the children twist the pipe cleaners together to form a body and legs. Discuss how many legs a spider has. Balloon Jack o Lanterns Blow up an orange balloon and let the child use a black marker, stickers, or finger paint to create facial features. Ask the child how does the jack o lantern feel? Paper Plate Jack o Lanterns Have your child paint a paper plate orange. When dry, have the child glue on pieces of black construction paper for the facial features. These pieces may be cut with scissors or torn, depending on your child's ability level. For older children, try using glue to form the facial features and sprinkle glitter, or various items (i.e. buttons, beans, noodles, pebbles) on the glue. Pumpkin Puppets Each child should cut out a pumpkin shape from orange construction paper. Then either cut out facial features, or color them on with a black crayon. Paste to the bottom of a paper lunch bag. Then add a green construction paper stem. Sponge Painted Ghosts Cut out or buy ghost shaped sponges. You will need black construction paper and white tempera paint when showing the child how to dip the sponges in the paint and press on the paper to make ghost prints. ************************************************************ Books from Amazon.com 175 Easy-To-Do Halloween Crafts http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/isbn=1563973723/chickysactivityiA/ Halloween School Parties : What Do I Do? http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/isbn=0964993988/chickysactivityiA/ ************************************************************ Spider Paper Plates Use a smaller and larger paper plate to make these spiders. Staple the smaller plate onto the larger plate, as if the smaller plate will be the spider's head. Have the child paint both sides black. Then add black streamers for legs and white construction paper for eyes. Hang them from the ceiling. Trick or Treat Bag Have your child decorate a brown paper bag. They can make a pumpkin, a black cat, or a witch. Reinforce the bottom and add handles. Tissue Ghosts Supply each child with two pieces of tissue paper and a piece of string or yarn. Have each child ball up one of the tissues, then place it in the center of the second tissue. Next, have the child, or assist the child, in tying the yarn around the second tissue to hold the balled tissue within the second tissue. The child may use a marker to make eyes. Pumpkin Seed Art Collect pumpkin seeds from inside a pumpkin. Let them air dry and have the children use the pumpkin seeds to make a collage. Pumpkin Seed Shakers You need: dried pumpkin seeds from inside your pumpkin, two paper plates (for each child) and a stapler. Have the children put some seeds on one of the paper plates (bottom side down). Next, have them place the other plate on top of the first plate (bottom side up). Help the children staple their plates together with the seeds inside. Let the children paint, use markers or crayons to decorate their shakers. Fingerprint Pumpkins Have the children make orange fingerprints on a piece of paper. Use a non-toxic orange ink pad. Show the children how to use one finger at a time. Use a green pen to draw stems on the paper and draw vines to connect some of the pumpkins. (You can do this for younger children or have older children draw the vines and stems themselves.) Fingerprint Spiders Have the children use a black non-toxic ink pad to make fingerprints on a piece of paper. Have the children draw on eight legs on their fingerprints to represent spiders. Spider Gum drops Supply the children with large black gum drops and eight toothpicks per child. Have the children push the toothpicks in the gum drops to represent the spiders legs. Witch Hat Cut out triangular shapes from black material to represent a witch hat. Let the children decorate the hats with glitter and foil. Broom Art Supply the children with a broom, a large piece of butcher paper and some paint. Tape the paper on the floor and add the paint. Have the children use the broom to paint the paper. You may want to have the children take off shoes and socks, and roll up long pants... this is REALLY MESSY!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Games, Science and Math Spider Webbing Provide children with a chair and some yarn or string. Ask them to create a spiders web by wrapping the string aroung the legs of the chair. Witch Match You may be able to find witch stickers or halloween stickers. Make sure that you have at least two identical sheets. Place two identical stickers on one index card. One on the left side and one on the right. Then cut the card in half in a funny shape. Follow with all the stickers. Then set out the cards and ask the child to pick out one, then find it's match. Next, place the cards together. My son loves this one!!! Spider Legs Draw eight different spiders on index cards. The spiders should be drawn with 1 to 8 legs. Ask your child to arrange the spiders according to how many legs the spiders have. Spider Walk Have the children do a spider walk, by placing their hands and feet on the floor and lifting their bottom off the floor. Spider Walk Race Have the children race each other while walking like a spider. Or try a relay race. Pumpkin Science What is inside a pumpkin? Let the children explore the insides of a pumpkin. It's a great sensory experience. Pumpkin Seeds Save the pumpkin seeds from a pumpkin. Boil 2 cups seeds in 1 quart water with 2 tbls salt for 10 minutes. Drain the seeds and toss them in 1 tblsp of butter. Spead the seeds on a baking pan, and bake for 30 minutes. Stir frequently. Pumpkin Faces Provide the children with many different pumpkin faces. Ask the children which pumpkin is happy? How does this pumpkin feel? How does that pumpkin make you feel? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dramatic Play Pretend to be a Spider Have the children pretend to be a spider. Pretend to be a Witch 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. Halloween Dress Up 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. Go Trick or Treating 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group Time Halloween Safety Talk with the children about halloween safety rules. Ask your local police for a list of safety rules that you can send home to the parents. Spider Watch Place some real spiders in a clear container for the children to watch. Be sure to return them to their natural habitat. Songs: 5 little pumpkins finger play Five little Pumpkins sitting on a gate The First one said "Oh, my it's getting late!" The Second one said "There are witches in the air!" The Third one said "Well, we don't care!" The Forth one said "We will run and run and run!" The Fivth one said "We are ready for some fun!" Whoooo oooo went the wind And out went the light and the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight! Variation of song above by chicky-ma-ma Five little witches stirring a Halloween brew The First one said "There is nothing to do!" The Second one said "Let's go out and have some fun!" The Third one said "Halloween has begun!" The Forth one said "Let's go out and "trick or treat"!" The Fivth one said "We will get a lot of candy to eat!" Whoooo oooo went the wind And out went the light and the five little witches flew out of sight! Pumpkin Song by chicky-ma-ma sung to Have you ever seen a lassie? If I could be a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin, If I could be a pumpkin, Which face would I have? Sad or Happy frightened or scary If I could be a pumpkin, I would scare you now. Itsy Bitsy Spider for the words to this song click here There's a Spider on the Floor by Raffi Spider song by chicky-ma-ma Sung to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Spider, Spider In the sky Weaving your webs way up high Catching bugs, and insects too What a chore it is for you Spider, Spider In the sky Weaving your webs way up high 10 little Witches by chicky-ma-ma sung to 10 little indians 1 little, 2 little, 3 little witches, 4 little, 5 little, 6 little witches, 7 little, 8 little, 9 little witches, 10 little witches in the sky! 10 little pumpkins by chicky-ma-ma sung to 10 little indians 1 little, 2 little, 3 little pumpkins, 4 little, 5 little, 6 little pumpkins, 7 little, 8 little, 9 little pumpkins, 10 little pumpkins for Halloween! Where is pumpkin? by chicky-ma-ma Where is Pumpkin? Where is Pumpkin? Here it is! Here it is! This one has a happy face, This one has a scary face! Roll away, Roll away! You can provide the children with pumpkin puppets (see art project) or let them use their own that they made. Have each child say what kind of face their pumpkin has. Pumpkin Man by chicky-ma-ma (sung to Yes I am the muffin man) Yes I am the Pumpkin man, the pumpkin man, the pumpkin man, Yes I am the pumpkin man, Who has a silly face. Little Witch by chicky-ma-ma Sung to "I'm a little teapot" I'm a little witch All dressed in black Here is my broom, Here is my cat Halloween is my favorite night I can dress up as a ghost in white A Parent Letter For those of you who are in the child care field... I believe that safety is very important. It is a great idea to send home a letter to the parents about Halloween safety. Also find out where parents can get their children's candy checked... a lot of police stations or volunteer groups do it for free. Remind the parent to make sure their children wear reflective clothing, and know that they should never enter someone's home. Happy Halloween!!"!^v^v^!"!Click here: Pumpkins,Pumpkins Everywhere! Mrs. Bee's Busy Classroom Goofy Spooks Halloween CakeThis is a GREAT recipe to make with your kids.A fun way to spend time with your family. :)PHOTO of this cake available here:http://www.thefamilycorner.com/family/kids/recipes/cake_halloween.shtmlYou don't have to be a master chef to create a fun and festiveHalloween cake that your kids will love. Try this easy recipe forsuccess!Cake decorations:1 box chocolate or yellow cake mix (ingredients needed will varyper brand, usually eggs, oil, and water)cinnamon red hotsCherry Heads (or other round red candies)miniature marshmallowslicorice vines; cut into two inch lengthsminiature chocolate chipsgum dropsorange jellied candieslarge marshmallowsraisinsFrosting:6 tbsp butter or margarine3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder2 2/3 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted1 tsp vanilla1/3 cup milkInstructions:Prepare cake as package directs. While cake is baking, preparefrosting and decorations (below).Frosting:Cream butter and vanilla in a small bowl with mixer andmedium-low speed. Mix until completely creamed together.Alternating, add cocoa and confectioner's sugar, beating atmedium speed until creamy. Add some of the milk with theremaining sugar and cocoa until you reach desired consistency.You will use all the cocoa and sugar, but may not use all themilk, depending on your desired consistency. Set aside.Decorating the Cake:When cake is completely cooled, pour the frosting on top andspread evenly. Carefully place your critter decorations (below)on top of the frosting and press down gently to set. Get readyfor some happy faces!Preparing the Decorations:The key here is to use your imagination. We have given you a fewexamples, but create whatever critters you like!INCH WORMSUsing 5 gumdrops and two cinnamon hots per worm, line up thegumdrops, one in front of the other. Use a toothpick to createindentations in the leading gumdrop. Insert cinnamon hots foreyes.ANGRY EYESPlace two large marshmallows next to each other, on end. Place acinnamon hot in the center of each marshmallow for eyeball. Usingtwo 2-inch long licorice vines, create angry eyebrows over thecinnamon hots.SPYING EYESUse miniature marshmallows for the eyes and miniature chocolatechips for the eyeballs. Use a toothpick to create a little holein each marshmallow top, then insert the pointed side of thechocolate chip into the marshmallow.CREEPY CRAWLIESUsing a toothpick, poke three holes completely through the sidesof an orange jellied candy. Insert licorice vines for legs,poking through the other side and pulling them through. Usetoothpick to create small holes in "head" and insert twominiature chocolate chips as eyes.GOOFY EYESStand two large marshmallows on end, top with cinnamon hots orraisins for eyeballs, in cross-eyed fashion.MARSHMALLOW SPIDERPlace large marshmallow on it's side. Use a toothpicks to pokethree holes on each side of marshmallow to insert legs. Uselicorice vines for legs, gently press into the holes. Use twominiature chocolate chips for eyes.BUG EYESStand two large marshmallows on end, top with Cherry Heads foreyeballs.SKULLUsing a pair of kitchen shears, cut a large marshmallow in halflengthwise. Cut triangular slits out of sides to create jawboneeffect. Use toothpick to insert holes for eyes, use miniaturechocolate chips. Cut a small piece off of a licorice vine forstraight mouth, and a tiny piece for nose. Use a miniaturemarshmallow for the neck.MUMMY IN A COFFINUsing a pair of kitchen shears, cut a large marshmallow in halflengthwise, but not completely. Unfold the marshmallow and lay itdown, open side up to create the coffin. Use a miniaturemarshmallow for the head, and body. Cut up a miniaturemarshmallow for the arms and legs. Use small pieces of licoricevine for the mouth and eyes.Serve!Did you enjoy this article? RATE IT!http://www.thefamilycorner.com/cgi-bin/dir/rate.cgi?ID=4295___________________________________CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER COATED APPLESA new, delicious twist on the traditional caramel apple!These are ideal for fall when you have an overabundanceof apples, but don't discount them for other holidays andoccassions! Simply change the color of the sprinkles orother decorations to fit the season or event.http://www.thefamilycorner.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump.cgi?ID=7423I teach at a Christian Preschool and here are a couple of things I do with my kids. -- ReneeWe take a pumpkin shape and glue on two yellow star eyes, one red cross nose, and one green Christian fish shaped mouth. Then glue the poem on the back.I am a Jack O’ Lantern My lights will shine so bright For I’m a Christian pumpkin My symbols tell what’s right. My nose is like the cross On which our Savior died To set us free from sin We need no longer hide. My mouth is like a fish The whole wide world to showThat Christians live in this house And love their Savior so! The story starts at Christmas My eyes are like the star That shone on Baby Jesus And wise men saw from far. My color, it is orange Just like the big bright sun That rose on Easter Day Along with God’s own Son. And so on Halloween Let’s set our pumpkins out And tell the trick or treaters What God’s love is all about! I tell this story to my kiddies while we are carving our class pumpkin.THE PETER PUMPKIN STORY Theme: When the light of Jesus, shinging through flickers and goes out because of sin in our life, Jesus’ death can restore that light.Materials:One pumpkin, ready to carve, sharp knife, candle for inside of pumpkin, matchesProcedure:Have children offer their suggestions on how to carve a face in the pumpkin. Proceed to carve a mouth, nose, and two eyes. Insert the candle and light. (I cut stars for eyes, cross for nose, and Christian fish for mouth - to go with Christian Pumpkin poem).Story:"Now let’s pretend that this pumpkin is one of our friends. Let’s name him Peter Pumpkin. Peter Pumpkin is in (pick a grade or class that matches your group) like us."Peter woke up one morning bright and happy and ready for the day. His light was shining and he felt good. Let’s see what happens during Peter’s day."Oh, Peter!" cried his mother, "Did you remember to brush your teeth this morning?" "Yes, Mother," Peter lied. He really hadn’t brushed his teeth, but if he stopped to do it now, he’d be late for school! So Peter lied. Peter’s mouth wasn’t shining quite so brightly any more. (Put the mouth piece from the pumpkin back in the mouth hole.)So Peter went on his way to school. He felt kind of bad lying to his mother, but he wasn’t going to let it spoil his day. When he got to school, some of his friends were playing with the toys already. Peter went over, too, but they had already started using the ones he wanted. (You can adopt this to be art supplies or whatever matches your group). Peter wanted the toys too. When one of the boys left to go to talk to his teacher, Peter took the toy. Oops, there goes part of Peter’s happy face. (Insert eye piece).Continue with similar stories for the remaining parts of the pumpkin face, each time, inserting another piece until the whole face is back in place. Watch what happens to the light."Peter’s light has gone out. His face is all dark and sad now." (Relate this to sin in our lives.)"There is a way for Peter’s face to get bright and happy again. It’s the same way that our sin can get taken care of. Do you know who helps our sin?"With the answer of "Jesus" – carve a cross into the other side of the pumpkin. Pop out the face pieces again, and light the candle."With Jesus in your life, your light will never go out. The Bible tells us that Jesus is our light and that when He shines through us, our sins are forgiven and His love shines through instead!"Relate how we may still sin (at this point put the pieces back into the face, except the cross) but with Jesus, the light will not go out – He is with us always!Use your "Christian Jack-o-Lantern" at home and shine the cross out the window on October 31st. A witness for all passers-by!Originally from Karen Schuster, Redeemer Lutheran, Flint, MI Here are the files associated with this theme.

Bat Headband	Halloween Bingo	Boo-Tiful Haunted Houses P.1
Boo-Tiful Haunted Houses P.2	Candy Cookies	Candy Corn Cookies
Caramel Apple Cookies	Cat Mask Pattern	Cookie Cutter Templates
Cookie Filled Witches Hat	Ghostly Treats	Clip Art
Halloween Match	Hidden Ghosts	5 Pumpkins
Halloween Hunt	Count The Pumpkins	Word Puzzle	Spooky Critters	Halloween Patterns	Clip Art 2
Clip Art 3	Clip Art 4	Clip Art 5
Clip Art 6	Clip Art 7	Bat
Coloring Sheet	Finger Puppets	Finger Puppets 2
Flannel Board 1	Flannel Board 2	host
Pumpkin	Bat Pattern	3 Pumpkins
Monster Craft 1	Monster Craft 2	Spider Web
Spider & Web	Spiders	Spider
Witch	Skeleton Ideas	Witch Craft 1
Witch Craft 2	Halloween Pic	Halloween Flight
Jack O'Lantern Surprise	Jack Sack	Jack O'Lantern Cookies
Large Ghost Pattern	Pumpkin Spice bars	Rattle Me Bones
Spooky bat Witches	Sweet Spider Webs	Trick Or Treat Cookies
Bear Mask	Cat Mask 2	Pooh Halloween
Ghost Art	Jack O Lantern	Jack O lantern (color)
Masks patterns	Owl Mask	Big Pumpkin