October
Arts and Crafts
Tissue Paper Jack-O-Lantern
small white paper plate
green construction paper for stems
orange and black tissue paper, cut into 2" squares
glue
Staple stem onto paper plate. Paint plate with glue. Scrunch up orange tissue squares and completely cover the plate. Scrunch up enough black squares to make eyes, nose and mouth.
Foot Ghost
small black construction paper
white paint and brush or sponge
Have each student remove one shoe and sock. Paint bottom of foot with white paint and press onto black paper. Dip bottom of unsharpened pencil into black paint and dot eyes on foot print (heel). Use small brush and make squiggly mouth with black paint also.
Shape Witch
white paper - cut into a 9" square; and circle 1 3/4"
orange paper - cut into 5" circle
black paper - triangle 6" across bottom; and triangle1 1/2" across bottom
Glue orange circle onto white paper for the moon. Large black triangle is the witch body; the white circle, the head; the small black triangle, the hat. Draw in face and hair.
Orange Surprise
Trace and cut out a large pumpkin shape on finger painting paper. Give students a scoop of yellow finger paint and a scoop of red finger paint. They will be amazed that their pumpkin turns out orange. When dry, glue on the following poem:
I took a blob of red paint,
Then I took a blob of yellow.
I squished and swished them all around,
As far as they would go.
My red and yellow began to change,
And much to my surprise,
I saw those colors turn to orange,
Right before my eyes!
Fun With Pumpkins
Cut out five pumpkins that graduate in size. Have students arrange the pumpkins from largest to smallest.
Write numbers on one pumpkin and corresponding dots on another pumpkin. Student have to match the correct number with the dots.
Write upper case letters on one, and lower case on the other for students to match.
Cut out several pumpkins, label with numbers, and laminate. Have students place appropriate number of pumpkin seeds on pumpkin.
Trace and cut out several pumpkins on orange tag board, laminate, and punch holes around edges. Let students lace with black yarn.
Trace and cut out several pumpkins on orange tag board and laminate. Trace and cut out various jack-o-lantern faces for the pumpkins on black or yellow construction paper and laminate. Students can change their jack-o-lantern face again and again.
Science
Witch's Crystal Garden
Porous bricks or charcoal briquettes
Food coloring
1 Tablespoon of ammonia
1/4 C salt
1/4 C laundry bluing
1/4 C water
Put two drops of food coloring on the brick or charcoal. Mix together remaining ingredients and slowly pour onto brick. Enough for 4-6 bricks. The garden will begin to grow into weird and wonderful shapes in a few hours.
Take a Fall Walk
Give each child a small brown paper bag. On a day when the weather is crisp, take a walk around outside. Observe the changes that are occurring all around us; the leaves on the trees, the different types of flowers, birds flying south, and the different smells in the air. Collect "fall things" in the bag to take home.
Books
Clifford's Halloween ~ Norman Bridwell
Clifford and the Halloween Parade ~ Notman Bridwell
Clifford's First Halloween ~ Norman Bridwell
The Night Before Halloween ~ Natasha Wing
Moonbear's Dream ~ Frank Asch
Molly's Monsters ~ Teddy Slater
Franklin's Halloween ~ Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark
My First Halloween ~ Tomie DePaola
Trick or Treat Little Critter ~ Gina and Mercer Mayer
It's Pumpkin Time ~ Zoe Hall
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything ~ Linda Williams
The Happy Trick-or-Treaters ~ Mary Packard
The Teeny Tiny Ghost ~ Kay Winters
Whooo's Haunting the Teeny Tiny Ghost? ~ Kay Winters
Inside a House That is Haunted ~ Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Froggy's Halloween ~ Jonathan London
The Halloween Play ~ Felicia Bond
Woo! The Not-So-Scary Ghost ~ Ana Martin Larranaga
Ten Timid Ghosts ~ Jennifer O'Connell
Two Little Witches ~ A Counting Story ~ Harriet Ziefert
Little Ghost ~ Vivian French and John Prater
The Goofy Ghost ~ Sharon Peters
How Spider Saved Halloween ~ Robert Kraus
Popcorn ~ Frank Asch
Shake dem Halloween Bones ~ W. Nikola-Lisa
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs ~ Sam McBratney
Recipes
Witch's Brew
2/3 C instant tea
14 ounces Tang (orange)
2 packages dry lemonade mix
2 C sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons powdered cloves
Mix together all ingredients. Store in air tight container. To brew; Add 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons mix to 1 cup boiling water.
Pumpkin Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2 C flour
1 C quick oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 C margarine, softened
1 C brown sugar
1 C white sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 C pumpkin
1 C chocolate chips candy corn
Combine flour, oats, soda, cinnamon, and salt. Cream margarine, gradually adding sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Alternate additions of dry ingredients and pumpkin, mixing well after each addition. Stir in morsels. For each cookie, drop 1/4 C dough onto lightly greased cookie sheet; spread into pumpkin shape, using thin spatula. Add a bit more dough to form stem. Bake 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat making a face on cookie with candy corn. Put back in oven for 1-2 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and cool. Makes 20 cookies. Taste great - even if you don't like pumpkin!
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Cut off pumpkin top and scoop out pulp and seeds, Separate seeds from pulp and place seeds in colander. Rinse seeds under cold water and pat dry. Spread seeds on cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Stir seeds frequently. Put warm seeds in a bowl and toss with melted butter and salt.
Popcorn Balls
(October is National Popcorn Month!)
6 C popcorn
6 Tablespoons margarine
3 C miniature marshmallows
3 Tablespoons orange Jello
Melt margarine in electric skillet. Add marshmallows and stir until melted. Blend in Jello. Pour over popcorn and mix well. Butter hands and form into balls.
Charoses
1 C chopped apples
1/4 C chopped walnuts or pecans
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-2 teaspoons grape juice
Add raisins if you want
Mix all ingredients together and serve.
Spider Cookies
chocolate covered marshmallow cookies
pretzel sticks
1 tube cake frosting (your choice of color)
Use the cookie as the spider body. Push four pretzel sticks on each side for legs. Two dots of frosting are added for eyes.
Songs and Fingerplays
The Pumpkin Face Song (Round the Mulberry Bush)
I saw a pumpkin face so glad,
Face so glad, face so glad,
I saw a pumpkin face so glad,
It's Halloween in October.
I saw a pumpkin face so (mad, sad, glad)
I'm an Orange Pumpkin (I'm a Little Teapot)
I'm an orange pumpkin, fat and round
Growing in a cornfield on the ground.
I'll be jack-o'-lantern with two big eyes
Or maybe I'll be baked into two fat pies!
Three Little Witches (Ten Little Indians)
One little, two little, three little witches
Flying over hay stacks, flying over ditches
Slid down the moon without any hitches
Hi, ho, Halloween's here.
Stand on your head with a lopsided wiggle
Tickle your black cats till they giggle
Swish through the air with a higgle piggle
Hi, ho Halloween's here.
Five Little Pumpkins
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate
The first one said, "Oh my, it's getting late."
The second one said, "I hear a noise."
The third one said, "It's just a lot of boys."
The fourth one said, "Come on let's run."
The fifth one said, "Isn't Halloween fun."
Then o-o-o-h went the wind, and out (clap) went the lights
And the five little pumpkins rolled fast out of sight!
The Teeny Tiny Ghostie
The teeny tiny ghostie in a teeny tiny sheet
Came tottering to my doorway on his teeny tiny feet.
Said the teeny tiny ghostie in a baby voice so sweet;
"I'm a little ghostie and I love to twick or tweet."
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!
The Old Witch Had a Cat (The Farmer in the Dell)
The old witch had a cat.
The old witch had a cat.
Hi, ho for Halloween,
The old witch had a cat.
The cat meet a ghost.....
The ghost will catch you.....
Scarecrow (Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Turn Around)
Scarecrow, scarecrow, turn around.
Scarecrow, scarecrow, jump up and down.
Scarecrow, scarecrow, arms up high.
Scarecrow, scarecrow, wink one eye.
Scarecrow, scarecrow, bend your knee.
Scarecrow, scarecrow, flap in the breeze.
Scarecrow, scarecrow, climb into bed.
Scarecrow, scarecrow, rest your head.
Heigh-Ho For Halloween (The Farmer in the Dell)
The pumpkin in the patch, the pumpkin in the patch,
Hi-Ho for Halloween, the pumpkin in the patch!
The pumpkin takes a witch....
The witch takes a cat....
The cat takes a bat....
The bat takes a spider....
The spider takes a skeleton....
The skeleton takes a ghost....
The ghost scares us all....
We all scare the ghost....
(Everyone says BOO! to the ghost)
It is Halloween! (Mary Had a Little Lamb)
Jack-o'-lantern smiling bright,
Smiling bright, smiling bright,
Witches flying in the night,
It is Halloween!
Ghosts and goblins, cats and bats,
Cats and bats, cats and bats,
Witches with their funny hats,
It is Halloween!
POPCORN IN THE POT ( I'm a Little Teapot)
I'm a little popcorn in a pot
Heat me up and watch me pop.
When I get all puffed up, then I'm done.
Popping corn is lots of fun.
POP, POP, POP MY CORN (Row, Row, Row Your Boat)
Pop, pop, pop, my corn,
Pop it big and white.
Popping, popping, popping, popping
'Til it is just right.
(October is National Popcorn Month!)
Parent-Child Time
~ Discuss different feelings with your child
~ Tell him/her it is all right it feel mad, sad, etc.
~ Play imagination games with your child
~ Talk about clothing while child gets dressed for school
~ Discuss Halloween activities. Explain that Halloween is a fun time, not a scary time
~ Have a Halloween party for you child
~ Go to the library and check out books about Halloween
~ Tell children what to expect when they go trick or treating. Make sure your child wears reflective
clothing. Discuss street safety and check your child's treats. A lot of hospitals will x-ray treats free
of charge.
Calendars
CLASSROOM CALENDARS
Monday-Wednesday-Friday AM
Tuesday-Thursday AM
Tuesday-Thursday PM
Many of the monthly suggestions have been collected over the years I have been
teaching. It is not my intention to take credit for someone else's original idea.
Please see Resource Materials for a listing of books and publications I have and
the Links page.
