HALLOWEEN ACTIVITY GROUPS As a volunteer mom, I find it works best to break the class into groups -- one for a Halloween craft, one for storytime, one for a game. Each volunteer runs her area -- the story reader picks the book (the Arthur, Little Critter, and Berenstain Bears series all have Halloween books), the craft mother picks the craft decorating Halloween cookies is always popular, and you don't have to wait for paint or glue to dry). One mom brings in little goodie bags (books, candy, pencils, etc.). For a great Bingo-type game, one mom once gave each child a piece of paper with letters on it in a grid, along with a bunch of little candies. After the letters were all called and candies were placed, it created a pumpkin shape. -- Tish
GOODIE BAGS One year I made treat bags from fast-food fries containers. I painted them to look like a pumpkin, then put wrapped candies & prizes inside & gave them out as the kids were leaving to go home. It's always fun to sing "Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Fence," and don't forget to bring a camera! -- Debi O'
CLASS GAMES
•Candy Corn Relay Line up two bowls of candy corn and two corresponding teams. Place two plastic pumpkins some paces away (depending on how much room you have; the farther the better). Give each racer a cup, and on a signal have them scoop out some candy corn, race to a plastic pumpkin, and pour the corn in. They must race back and hand off the cup for the next child. First pumpkin filled wins.
•Leaf Pickup Cut all sorts of leaf shapes out of lightweight paper. Equip each child with a drinking straw and scatter the leaves on the floor. On GO, each child must "suck up" a leaf and place it in a basket. The child with most leaves at the end of two minutes wins.
•Estimation Guess the number of candy corns in a jar.
•Bingo Play the game with candy corn as markers.
•Wrap my Mummy Have a mom volunteer to be wrapped by the kids in rolls of toilet paper. Why the kids think this is so funny I don't know, but it never fails. -- Lynn
MUD CUP TREATS In clear plastic tumbler-type cups, layer crushed Oreos on the bottom, then chocolate pudding, more crushed Oreo, gummy worms, spiders, bugs, candy rocks, and a fake flower stuck in the middle. -- RoomMom
DONUT GOBBLE As parents dangle mini donuts tied on strings, the kids, using no hands, try to be the first to eat their donut. -- Boards Mom
OLD-FASHIONED-DAY PARTY
•Make Stilts Save veggie cans for walking stilts. Punch two holes (first freeze water in the can so that you can punch a hole without denting the can) so that you can thread strong string through the holes to use as handles.
•Make Butter Put some heavy cream in a baby food jar, close the lid and start shaking. Add salt for flavor. The children never realize that butter is not naturally salty!
•Cereal Necklace String cereal on yarn and tie to make a necklace.
•Marbles or Jacks
•Hoop with a Stick
•Musical Chairs
•Horseshoes
•London Bridge
--- Debi O'
