Halloween at our school is pretty neutral so its a chance to harness the energy of the classroom and have some good old fashioned fun. So about this time of year I think of ways to celebrate Halloween in my class. Thank goodness for Pinterest!
Here are some things I have done, that have been a big hit!
In my 4-5th grade class, we made masks that look like this (this is not my picture, but you get the idea, we actually had feathers, sequins, puffy paint, etc.)
Link to video on full directions: Make a creepy plaster mask
Link to Rigid Wrap on Amazon: Rigid Wrap
A week before Halloween, we started them. Everyone had a partner. We cleared the classroom floor and made “pillows” or just layers of newspaper, for one of the partners to lay down on. I arranged all the pillows to be towards the middle, so everyone was laying down like spokes on a wheel, then I had the supplies in the middle. But everyone had a tray in their area with strips, water, and paper towels. I had the strips cut ahead of time, large and small and told them how many they would need. We would do one partner for a day (takes about an hour). And then they would switch the next day. After drying a couple of days, they were ready for decorating. I could have made this part of the Halloween afternoon party, but I was worried that they wouldn’t take enough time.
I will probably do caramel apples again as a party activity. It’s easy to have the caramel warm in a crock pot for kids to take turns dipping in their apples and then putting nuts/sprinkles/etc on them. Make sure they set them on a large piece of waxed paper, in case they want to wrap them up and take them home. I write their name on the popsicle stick that pokes into the apple. I also try to have healthier snacks, as they get so much candy. Here are some ideas for healthy snacks.
These games look like a lot of fun as well, Classroom Halloween Game Ideas.
Also, this year I am thinking about having my students in both classes (2-3 and 4-5) help out with the planning. So I created this Halloween Party Supply Catalog, Shopping List, and Budget Planner for them to fill out either as a class, groups, partners, or individually. I do have it available in my TPT store if you are interested.
