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HALLOWEEN THEME

CRAFTS:

Edible Witch
Materials:  Fat carrots (about 20 cm long and 4 cm across at the widest point), round toothpicks, raisins, soft candies, red licorice, black construction paper, tape, paper, twig, yarn
What to Do:  Cut the bottom of the carrot to make a flat surface and trim the top to a blunt point, making the carrot about 15 cm long.  About halfway down, make a small hole on each side for the arms.  Push as many raisins as you need on the toothpick for each arm, and push the tooth picks into the arm holes.  Make a face just above arm level by cutting small holes for eyes, nose and mouth.  Make eyes from soft candy and mouth and nose from pieces of red licorice.  Cut a cone-shaped hat from black construction paper.  Fit it around the top of the carrot and tape it to size.  Set the cone on a piece of paper and trace around the bottom to make the inside of the brim.  About 1.5 cm out from the first circle, draw another one.  Cut out the larger circle and the smaller one inside it, fit the cone on the end of the carrot, slip the brim over it, and tape it into place.  Make a broom from a twig with bits of yarn stuck on one end.  Tie it to one of the witch's arms between the two outermost raisins.

Footprint Ghosts
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.

Ghost Magnet
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.

Glue Ghosts
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
Materials: Quilt batting, Narrow elastic band, 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.

"Hand"ie Halloween Treat
Easy, inexpensive and fun, this handy Halloween treat craft is fun for kids to make and give away.
What you'll need: Clear plastic gloves, Candy corn or Hot Tamales, candy , Popcorn, Orange and black ribbon, Plastic spider rings 
How to make it:Stuff a piece of candy corn in each finger of the clear plastic glove to resemble fingernails. If you wish, you can use the Hot Tamales candy instead to resemble painted fingernails. 

Halloween Mobiles
Each mobile requires black, white and orange construction paper, three cocktail straws (food dealers sell them), and kite string. Cut out Halloween shapes (pumpkins, witches, cats, bats, crescent moons) from the construction paper. Punch a hole in the top of each. Attach lengths of string, and tie the cutouts to the straws — one straw at the top and two suspended from it. Tie a piece of string in the middle of the top straw and hang the mobile from the ceiling.

Leaf Witches...
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.

Pop-Up Puppets
The the kids will need paper cups, straws, construction paper, and glue or tape. Draw goblin or monster faces on the construction paper, or cut out pictures of witches and ghosts from magazines. Make the pictures small enough to fit inside a paper cup. Glue or tape a picture to the end of a drinking straw, then, with a pencil, poke a hole through the bottom of the cup. Push the straw into the hole. To make the puppet pop up and down, move the straw sticking out from the bottom of the cup. 

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.

Paper Plate Owls
Each owl will require one large paper plate, two paper baking cups, black and orange construction paper, string, scissors and glue. Cut out a large black triangle and glue to the top of the paper plate as shown. Glue a black circle in each baking cup, and then glue them onto the plate for eyes. Glue an orange diamond-shaped beak under the eyes. Tape a loop of string on the back to hang the owl on a wall. As an alternative, turn the owl into an Halloween mask. Cut holes for the eyes, instead of using the baking cups and black circles. Punch a hole on either side of the mask and tie yarn in each hole for fastening the mask around the child’s head. 

Pumpkin Seed Masks
The masks will require dry pumpkin  seeds, paper bags painted orange, and glue. Ask your the kids to draw faces on the bags. They can glue down pumpkin seeds for decorations or to highlight facial features. Let them add small boxes for nose, ears and eyes. Cut holes for the eyes and nose. Voila! The masks are ready to wear.

Rattling Skeletons
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. 

Spooky Spider Webs
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.

Spaghetti Cobwebs
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.

Trick-or-Treat bags...
Provide large paper bags. Fold down twice, staple handle on, and let children decorate front and back. Always provide stickers for the children to use.

Tempera Paint Spider Webs
Using runny black paint, allow the children to use a straw to blow the paint across the page to make a spider's web.
 
 

GAMES & ACTIVITIES:

Beaver Soup 
The kids should stand along one wall of the pond. Leaders form a circle in the centre of the room, pretending they are stirring a giant pot. With older kids as prompter to help them ask the questions, the kids call, “What are you making?” The leaders shout back, “Beaver soup!” Then the kids ask, “What are you putting in it?” Leaders reply “Baboons”. the kids ask, “What else?” Leaders reply, “Bacon”. This continues until the leaders reply, “the Beavers!” At this point the kids race to the other side of the room and leaders try to catch them. Tagged the kids join the leaders in making the soup; play continues until all the kids are in the soup. If “B” words are the only words used, a list might be helpful. Or, use the names of any foods and catch the kids off-guard when leaders shout, “the Beavers!”

Boo Tickle
Equipment: Something to mark off a small area (five square feet) as a "church yard"; flashlight
How to Play: Mark off a church yard on the playing area. Choose one player to be IT and give her the flashlight. He should close his eyes and count to fifty to give the other Children a chance to hide. When IT has finished counting he should start looking for the other Children by shining a flashlight at any shadow or movement he sees. The hiding Children are trying to make it to the safety of the church yard without being caught. When It thinks he is near a player he calls out "Boo!" and any player nearby must answer "Tickle". The hidden players are allowed to disguise their voices and speak very quietly. If a hiding Child is hit by the light of the flashlight, she is caught and should sit at the side (she can keep whispering "Tickle!" to try to throw off IT! ). If, however, a Child thinks she is about to be caught, she can come out of hiding and make a dash for the church yard. IT must try to touch her before she arrives in the church yard. The last hider to be captured is It in the next game.

Black Cat Hunt 
Procedure: Hide many paper black cats around the classroom so that children do not have to move objects to find them. Have children each hold hands with a partner. Each pair of children must find as many black cats as they can without letting go of their partner's hand. After the hunt, everybody meows, and receives cat food from the teacher. (Candy corn.)

Ghost Callers/Ghost Hunt
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.

Halloween Party
Each child comes dress up in their favorite costume. Each child receives an award for various categories as funniest, silliest, cutest, prettiest, etc. You can make your awards out of construction paper. Awards maybe pumpkins cut out of orange construction paper then attached to lollipops, and each child received a lollipop with their award category.

Mummy Dress Up
Let the children wrap each other in toilet paper and pretend to be a mummy.

Old Witch and Her Black Cat Game 
Procedure: Children sit on the floor in a half circle. One child, the witch, stands a short distance away with her back to the cats. One of the children is pointed to, by the teacher and the child "meows." The witch turns around and tries to quess which child is the black cat. Continue until everyone has a turn.

Pumpkin Hunting
Hide lots of paper pumpkins around the room. Organize the kids in to groups, and give each group leader a length of string and tape or paper clips for  attaching pumpkins to it. Each group chooses a special signal for calling their leader (barking, clapping, chirping), because only the leader can pick up the pumpkins. On a signal, the kids search for the pumpkins. When they find one, they place a finger on it and signal their leader by their special call, so the leader can pick up the pumpkin and attach it to the string. 

Teach the children the following Halloween safety rules:
1. Please make sure you go with a friend, someone who'll stay with you up til the end. 2. With this rule, I can't be more graphic...When you go Trick or Treating, watch out for traffic. 3. If you're alone don't talk to a stranger, this is one way you'll stay out of danger. 4. When Trick or Treating, act just like a pro--Only go to houses of people that you know. 5. After getting treats, don't forget to say: "Thank you very much!" And then go on your way. 6. Last is a rule that can't be beat: Let your parents check your treats right before you eat.

Touch Wood
Play this tag game near wooden fences, benches, trees and picnic tables. All the kids, except the one chosen IT, stand touching something wooden. On a signal, they run from one wooden object to another while IT tries to catch them. If IT tags someone who isn’t touching wood, the two change places.

Trick or Treat 
Procedure: Place slips of paper in a brown lunch bag. On each write down a different "trick" such as "hop on one foot" or "close your eyes and touch your nose." Have each child in turn, say, "trick or treat" and draw a paper from the bag. When she performs the "trick" say "treat" and give her either a Halloween sticker or a couple pieces of candy corn.
 

SONGS:

Bat, Bat, Come Under My Hat
Bat, bat, come under my hat For here's a slice of bacon When I bake, I'll give you a cake If I am not mistaken

Five Little Goblins On A Halloween Night
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

Five Little Pumpkins
Five little pumpkins (hold up fingers for pumpkins) Sitting on a gate The first once said "Oh my! It's getting late" The second one said, "There are witches in the air" The third once said " But we don't care" The fourth once said "It's Halloween fun" Ooooooh went the wind And out when the lights (clap hands to the word "out") And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight (roll arms)

Friendly Ghost - Song - Sung to Are You Sleeping
I'm a friendly ghost; I'm a friendly ghost Watch me fly; watch may fly I can fly right through the air See how all the people stare Way up high in the sky

Hinx, Minx, The Old Witch Winks
Hinx, minx, the old witch winks The fat begins to fry Nobody's home but Jumping Joan Father, mother, and I Stick, stock, stone dead Blind men can't see Every knave will have a slave You and I must be he

I Said My Pajamas
I said my pajamas I slipped on my prayers I went up my slippers I took off my stairs I turned off the bed I jumped in the light The reason for this is You gave me a fright!

Jack-O-Lantern
I am a pumpkin, big and round (use arms to show size of pumpkin) Once upon the time I grew on the ground (point to the ground) Now I have a mouth, two eyes, a nose (point to features on your face) What are they there for, do you suppose? (Right forefinger to forehead, thinking gesture) When I have a candle inside (hold up right forefinger) Shining bright I'll be a Jack-O-Lantern on Halloween night! (Thumbs in armpits-bragging gesture)

Late On A Dark And Stormy Night
Late on a dark and stormy night Three witches stirred with all their might Two little ghosts said, "How do you do?" The Wizard went tiptoe, tiptoe Booooo!

Old Roger Is Dead
Old Roger is dead and he lies in his grave Lies in his grave, lies in his grave Old Roger is dead and he lies in his grave Heigh ho, lies in his grave
They planted an Apple tree over his hand The apples grew ripe and they all tumbled down There came and old woman a-picking them up Old Roger got up and he gave her a knock This made the old woman go hippity-hop

On A Dark, Dark Night
On a dark, dark, night In a dark, dark wood In a dark, dark house In a dark, dark room In a dark, dark cupboard On a dark, dark shelf In a dark, dark box There was a GHOST!

Poor Willy The Witch
Poor Willy The Witch Not too rich Had a big itch Fell in a ditch Poor Willy The Witch

Pumpkin, Pumpkin
Pumpkin, pumpkin Sitting on a wall (have children sit down) Pumpkin, pumpkin Tip and fall (have children tip over) Pumpkin, pumpkin Rolling down the street (child rolls on floor) Pumpkin, pumpkin Trick or treat!!!!

The Haunted House (Tune of "Wheels on the Bus")
The ghost in the house goes "Boo! Boo! Boo!" "Boo! Boo! Boo!, Boo! Boo! Boo!" The ghost in the house goes "Boo! Boo! Boo!" On Halloween.
The steps in the house goes "Creek, creek, creek..." The cats in the house go "Meow, meow, meow..." The mice in the house go "Squeak, squeak, squeak.." The people in the house go "Eek, eek, eek...".

Three Little Witches
One little, 2 little, 3 little witches (Hold up fingers one by one)
Ride through the sky on a broom (Hold hands as if riding a broom)
One little, two little, three little witches (Repeat action for the first line)
Wink their eyes at the moon! (Wink one eye and make a circle with arms)

STORIES:

A Funny Ghost Story
When I was in Europe on a holiday, I went to visit a friend who lived in a castle.  I found a note pinned to the door.  "Away for a couple of days," the note said.  "Walk right in and make yourself at home."  So I did.  It was kind of hard to feel at home in a castle, but finally I found a nice cozy bedroom and went straight to sleep.  Suddenly I woke up with a start.  I heard big heavy footsteps coming along the hall to my room.  My door creaked open and a big hollow voice said, "Tomorrow it is 100 years ago!"  The door closed and the footsteps moved away.  I was so scared I couldn't sleep anymore that night.  When the sun came up in the morning, I couldn't wait to get out of that room.  But I got more and more curious.  I decided I just had to know what happened a 100 years ago.  So, that night I slept in the same room again.  Just like the night before, I was awakened by heavy footsteps and the door creaked open.  The big hollow voice boomed, "Tonight it is 100 years ago since I last washed my feet!"

Going on a Witch Hunt
This participation style of story allows lots of scope for scary sound effects and exaggerated gestures. The story-teller should sit in front of the colony and begin like this:
“Would you like to go on a witch hunt? Okay let’s go. Watch me and do all
the things I do and repeat after me all the things I say. Ready? Here we go!”
“We’re..... going on a witch hunt. Everyone tiptoe. (Tiptoe fingers across
hand.)
“Shhhhhh!” (Finger across mouth.)
“I can see a house....... a haunted house. We can’t go around it (stretch
around). We can’t go under it (crouch down). We can’t go over it (stretch up). I
guess we’ll have to go in it!” (Pretend to open a very creaky door.)
“Shhhhhh!” (Finger across mouth.)
“I see the stairs...... long, dark, steep stairs. We can’t go around them
(stretch around). We can’t go under them (crouch down). We can’t go over
them (stretch up). I guess we’ll have to climb them!” (Pretend to climb stairs;
shade eyes and look around; continue tiptoeing.)
“I see a cobweb...... a great, big, slimy, cobweb (yechy noises). We can’t go
around it (stretch around). We can’t go under it (crouch down). We can’t go
over it (stretch up). I guess we’ll have to go through it!” (Wave hands to get
through the cobweb; make faces and yechy noises; continue tiptoeing.)
“I see a room...... a huge, dark room. We can’t go around it (stretch
around). We can’t go under it (crouch down). We can’t go over it (stretch up). I
guess we’ll have to go through it!” (Open very, very creaky door; feel in front to find the way in the dark.)
“Whheww! It sure is dark in here. I feel something! (Go through the
motions of feeling.) It’s big! It has a crooked nose! It has a pointed hat! It has
stringy hair! I think it’s a witch!!!”
“It IS a witch!!”
“Lets get out of here fast! (Slap knees to make a running sound.) Open
door (creaky sound); through the cobweb (wave hands); down the stairs (slap
knees); out of the house.” (Continue to slap knees.)
“Whhhew!” (Wipe brow)
“Did everyone get home?”
“Want to go again?”

Spooky Story
Dim the lights to tell this funny, spooky story. Other adults or older kids can make the sound effects for the footsteps, the creaking door, and the ghost’s voice (booming it out through a long paper tube makes a loud, hollow sound). The silly ending will release any fears the atmosphere and sound effects might build.
When I was in Europe on a holiday, I went to visit a friend who lived in a
castle. I found a note pinned to the door. “Away for a couple of days”, the note
said. “Walk right in and make yourself at home.” So I did. It was kind of hard to feel at home in a castle, but finally I found a nice cosy bedroom and went
straight to sleep.
Suddenly I woke up with a start. I heard big heavy footsteps coming along
the hall towards my room. My door creaked open and a big hollow voice said, “Tomorrow it is 100 years ago!” The door closed and the footsteps moved away.
I was so scared I couldn’t sleep any more that night. When the sun came
up in the morning, I couldn’t wait to get out of that room. But I got more and
more curious. I decided I just had to know what happened 100 years ago, and so, that night, I slept in the same room again.
Just like the night before, I was awakened by heavy footsteps, and the
door creaked open. The big hollow voice boomed, “Tonight, it is 100 years ago since I last washed my feet!”
 

FOOD SUGGESTIONS:

Baked Pumpkin
This was eaten by Ojibway families who grew pumpkins and harvested maple syrup on their land.
Ingredients: small pumpkin1/3 cup melted sugar1/3 cup maple syrup1/3 cup apple cider1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
What to do: Place the washed pumpkin on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for about 2 hours.  Take the pumpkin out of the oven and let it cool. (Leave the oven on.) Cut a Jack-o-Lantern hole in the top of the pumpkin, and clean out the inside of the pumpkin, putting the seeds aside and the pulp in a large bowl. Mix the rest of the ingredients into the pulp and mix well. Pour the pulp back into the pumpkin, replace the lid, and bake for another 30 minutes. When the pumpkin cools, it can be cut into pieces to be eaten. Native people also pumpkin baked seeds on their own, after salting them.

Eyes of Newt
Ingredients: 1 can of extra large, pitted black olives1/4 cup orange cheddar cheese finely grated1 tsp. mayonnaise What to do: drain the olives and dump them out on a double layer of paper towel to absorb the liquid. In a small bowl, mash together the cheese and mayonnaise, mixing until it is fairly smooth. Now, pick up a little bit of the cheesy mixture with your fingers and squish it into the empty socket of the olive, pushing in as much as you can, until the olive is full. Wipe away any messy overflow, and place the eyeball on a plate. Great for any creepy feast!

Haunted Cupcakes
Ingredients:1/4 cup cream cheese, softened 3 tbsp. Sugar, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extrac,t 2/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, 1/2 cup milk white or chocolate frosting 
What to do: In a small bowl, mash together the cream cheese, 3 tbsp. of sugar, and the first 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract. Be careful - this is your basic ectoplasm. Set it aside. In another bowl, stir together flour, cocoa and baking powder. Then whisk together (in a separate bowl) the oil, 1/2 cup of sugar, egg and the remaining 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract. Stir in the milk.    Add the oil mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until the batter is smooth. Place about 10 muffin cups into your muffin pan. Put about 1 tbsp. of the chocolate batter into each cup, and then add 1 tsp. of the cream cheese mixture to each. Last, add 1 tbsp. of the chocolate batter on top to completely cover the ghost.    Bake the haunted cupcakes at 375 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick poked in the middle of one comes out pretty clean. Remove and let cool. Ice and decorate with spooky, Halloween-coloured candies!
 

TIPS/NOTES: