1. Cursive Name Skeletons
Art teacher Michelle Osborne shares step-by-step instructions for this super cute craft here. The cost to complete this project is minimal, requiring only white paper, black paper, glue, and scissors. Please note Miss Osborne allowed her students to embellish their projects with colorful paper as well, and the finished product was pretty cool.
2. Story Telling Game
Prior to the party, write various Halloween-related words on slips of paper. Fold the papers and toss them in a plastic pumpkin. Have the students sit in a circle. Pass the pumpkin around and ask each child to choose one slip of paper. The teacher or Room Parent can start the story. An example: It was a dark and stormy night... Check out this link for 27 Halloween writing prompts for kids.
Then each student builds onto the story by adding a sentence or two, making sure to use the word on the paper they selected.
Here is a list of 25 words to get you started:
jack-o-lantern witch cauldron ghost moon
spooky boo haunt hayride apple cider
trick-or-treat candy lantern goblin scarecrow
skeleton shadows creepy frightening black cat
frightening fog eyeballs princess cowgirl
3. Write-Draw-Write
After coming across this exercise online, I decided to incorporate it the Halloween party agenda. The kids are divided into groups of four to six. While the other kids look away, the first student writes a Halloween-related sentence across the top of a sheet of paper. The paper is passed to the next student who then draws a picture to represent the sentence. Fold the paper so only the drawing is showing (hide the sentence). Pass the paper to the next student who writes a sentence about the picture. The process is repeated, and you may need more than one sheet of paper per group. Once everyone has had a chance to either write or draw, share with the rest of the class.
My fourth grader and I put this activity to the test last weekend. Of course, it works better with more participants, but we had fun. I'm sure her classmates will as well.
4. Snack
I invite you to check out my Class Parties Board on Pinterest for fun Halloween-inspired treats.
5. Downtime Fillers
In my experience, there's nothing worse than blasting through your party agenda only to glance at the clock and realize you have extra time. Some people are great at coming up with something fun on the fly, but it's not one of my gifts. So, I always make sure to have one or two extra games or activities in my back pocket just in case.
For a Halloween party, run off several copies of this Halloween Would you Rather freebie. Kids can fill out a worksheet on their own, or you can print one copy and read aloud to the class. Have the kids stand on one side of the classroom if they would, and have them cross to the other side if they would rather not.
Halloween Scattergories. Print off individual cards for each student like this one. Or have each child grab a sheet of paper and write the alphabet down the left margin. Give the class 3-5 minutes, depending on age and ability, to jot down a Halloween-related word for each letter. I would keep it easy--no points--ask the kids to come up with words for as many letters as possible. They can share their answers if time allows.
Before the party ends, remind kids to be safe and have fun! Thank you for reading.
