Use it for your Fall Tree crafts. Here are a few examples out of many possibilities. Be sure to share with us how you use this printable.
Provide the children with shapes cut from various fall colored construction paper. Let them glue the shapes onto the tree for a fun way to review your shapes during the fall season.
Dip pom poms into fall colored paint, then onto the tree for a beautiful tree. I love using gold during fall. Kids love everything to do with paint.
Kids strengthen their small motor skills by tearing fall colored construction paper into small leaves. Then glue to the tree. They can use a brown crayon to color the trunk.
Simply print out several ghost templates on cardstock, one for each child playing the game. Write a number on each ghost. Tape the ghosts to the floor in a circle. Play some Halloween music while the children walk around the ghosts. When the music stops, the children step on a ghost. Pick a number. The child standing on that number gets a prize. Repeat. (Laminate your ghosts for years of use).
This game works great for older children too. Use it as a cupcake walk. Instead of writing numbers on the ghosts, write a math problem. Draw out the answer to a problem when the music stops. The children then have to figure out if the math problem they are standing on is a match to the answer drawn. If they get it right they get a cupcake. Repeat.
This is a fun math game any time of year!
Simple Preparation:
Cut out your ghosts. Write numbers or math problems on them. Laminate.
Make your calling cards with the same numbers or answers to the math problems. Place them in a basket or a box to draw from.
2 Ingredient Edible Playdough Recipe:
What you'll need:
1- 14oz jar of Wilton's Treat Filling (found on the cake decorating isle)
4 Cups of Powdered Sugar
What to do:
In a medium size bowl mix the treat filling with the powdered sugar. I used my KitchenAid mixer on a low speed. Add the powdered sugar slowly, one cup at a time. If the dough is still sticky, add a little more powdered sugar until it's not sticky.
With clean hands it's time to play!!
I split this into 14 sections that were the perfect size for each child to make a ghost. Use chocolate chips for the eyes.
Five Favorite Halloween Songs (including videos with sound and actions)
I'm A Mean Old Witch
I'm a mean old witch with a hat
And I fly on my broom with my cat
My nose is pointy, and my shoes are too
You better watch out or I'm gonna get you
BOO!
***These videos are a tool for you to hear the melody and see the actions. Please forgive the low quality. Thank you :-)
Ghosts Are Flying
Ghosts are flying
Ghosts are flying
Way up high
In the sky
Up and down the housetops
In and out of windows
Oh Oh My
Oh Oh My
5 Little Pumpkins
5 little pumpkins sitting on a gate
The first one said "Oh my it's getting late"
The second one said "There are witches in the air"
The third one said "I don't care"
The fourth one said "I'm ready for some fun"
The fifth one said "Let's run and run and run"
Then whooooo went the wind, and out went the lights
And the 5 little pumpkins, rolled out of sight
3 Little Witches
1 little 2 little 3 little witches
Flying over haystacks, flying over ditches
Slide down the moon without any hitches
Hi Ho Halloweens here
'Twas The Night of Halloween
Ooo ooo ooo ooo
Ooo ooo ooo ooo
'Twas the night of Halloween
Ooo ooo ooo ooo
Ooo ooo ooo ooo
Ghosts and goblins can be seen
Ooo ooo ooo ooo
Ooo BOO!
Another excuse to make gingerbread! Talk about nostalgia! I remember Sunday afternoons visiting Great Grandma. She would always have a frozen gingerbread man waiting for us.
Thanks to Kelli for the reminder that Gingerbread isn't just for Christmas!
Recipe for Gingerbread:
Preheat oven to 350
1 C Shortening
1 C Molasses
1 C Sugar
2 Eggs
3/4 C Sour Milk (I use buttermilk, or 1tsp. vinegar in milk)
1 1/2 tsp. Ginger
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
2 tsp. Baking Soda (heaped)
6 1/2 C Flour
Cream the Shortening, Molasses, Sugar, Eggs and Milk together. Sift the dry ingredients together. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ones until mixed well. Using 1/4th of the dough at a time use a rolling pin to flatten the dough to appx. 1/4" thick. Use cookie cutters to get your desired shape. Bake at 350 for 8-10 min. Cool on the pan then transfer to a cookie rack.
To make Halloween Mummies:
Pipe Decorator Frosting in lines across the gingerbread man. Can use chocolate chips or black candy for the eyes. Adorably delicious!!
Decorator Frosting Recipe:
2/3 C Butter (softened)
4 C Powdered (confectioners' sugar)
2 Tbsp.Milk
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and milk until light and fluffy, about 3-4 min. Beat in the vanilla. Easy!
Click on the link: Doctor Bag Printable for a free printable template. Print on cardstock then cut it out. Fold in half and staple or glue the sides together. Fill with fun items for the children to pretend to be a doctor. I used bandaids, cotton balls, craft sticks & stickers.
Check out this fabulous tool for teaching letters & letter sounds at the App Store: Endless ABC
Our preschoolers get so excited when it's Endless Alphabet time! They each get a turn matching a letter, then we mimic (& laugh) at the fun way the letters make their sounds. I've been using this App for a few years now. It's a hit! I highly recommend it for all parents & grandparents with preschool age children who love playing games on your phone.
I Am Making Cookies
Cookies, cookies, I am making cookies.
I am making cookies in my cookie shop.
The boss says (shape),
So I'm making (shape),
If I don't make (shape),
Then I won't get paid!
Use some shape sticks pictured here when singing this song. The video will help you learn the melody of the song. This video is not the entire song. Continue singing until you've made all the shape cookies. WARNING for those of you watching the video... Not a professional singer. But my audience appreciates it. Video credit to a 4 year old who did a fabulous job!
Teach preschoolers the colors black & white with this scary skeleton craft.
Cut 3 q-tips in half for the ribs. Use 4 full length for the arms and legs. Use 1/4 size for the collar bones. Dip the ends in glue and set on black cardstock or construction paper in the shape of a skeleton. Use a circle of white cardstock for the skull.
Cat Mask
Here's a puurrrfect craft to teach the color black. Great to make at Halloween time!
I like to use craft sticks for the masks we make instead of tying yarn.
When I searched for the link I originally used a few years ago to print this mask, I couldn't find it. But I did find another cute cat mask to print that I will use in future years. Click here for a printable cat mask coloring page.
Some days just call for easy. This is the perfect craft for a day like that, that falls around Halloween.
Just give the kids a pumpkin cut from orange construction paper (pumpkin template), some shapes cut from black construction paper, & a glue stick. Super Easy! And ADORABLE!
There's something special about painting pumpkins. The kids absolutely LOVE it!
I like to use the small pumpkins for painting. I bought mine at Wal-Mart. They came in a bag of 5 pumpkins.
Use acrylic paints (unfortunately the washable paints crack and flake off). I use large shirts to protect the kids' clothes.
Pumpkin Crayon Melting:
I've used the crayon melting technique before when making mother's day gifts. It's so much fun!! The kids think its great using the blow dryer to melt the crayons.
My pumpkins didn't turn out as cute as the one I got the idea from. I think they must have used large pumpkins and full sized crayons.
I used the small pumpkins for this craft. Hot glue 1/4 sized crayons all around the stem. Use a hair dryer to melt the crayons. Be careful!! The melted crayon splatters all over! Protect your working area.
Games(Each Child is given a take home bag to collect their prizes) Halloween Bingo--DLTK-Kids Make these cards prior to the party. Laminate them to use for your Halloween party every year. Use candy corn for markers. Give out fun Halloween prizes if they get a BINGO!
Musical Ghost Game--Crafts For Kids' Minds. Click here for game directions and free ghost template printable.
Spider Ring--Fantastic Fun and Learning I'll be making these ahead of time to give as prizes during the Musical Ghost Game.
Here is a tip for Daycare/Preschool teachers: Follow your normal structured day to prevent chaos. For an example, this is my normal schedule & the (substituted party activities). Children come dressed in costume on Halloween.
9:00am: Normal play time (add Halloween toys to the mix)
9:30am: Clean up then story time (read a Halloween story)
9:45am: Circle time/Singing Time (Play Halloween Bingo on the circle time rug)
10:00am: Snack time (Eat Frozen Chocolate Bananas)
10:15am: Play outside
10:45am: Art (Make Beaded Ghost Necklaces)
11:00am: Music & Movement (Play Musical Ghosts)
Our party will be finished by 11:30am. However, since the children I care for stay all day, I thought it would be fun to throw in the Halloween Spaghetti for lunch.
Same schedule, with fun party activities included in the mix. And the kids just thought they were having a party! They didn't even realize how much they were learning! Make learning FUN!!
Cut a ghost out of white cardstock, white felt, or whit foam.
After punching a hole in each arm... lace some black string through them. This is the back view.
Draw a face & the letter Gg on the front with a permanent marker. Let the children lace beads onto each side of the ghost using Halloween colored beads. Tie the string together to make an adorable necklace.
Tie some yarn so there are two sides. One for the string of the kite & one to lace with. Make sure the lacing side is long enough to go around the outside of the diamond.
You can buy lacing strings that come with a plastic edge, or, you can try my shortcut and wrap some tape around it.
First the children lace the kite, then they decorate.
The kids loved this art project!
Hearts & More Hearts
A trick to make this craft as painless as possible. Fold your streamer in half over and over to get something like this.
Cut out half a heart on the smooth edge and get a plethora of hearts.
Cut a large heart out of cardstock.
For this project I spread the glue all over the heart, & the children do the rest.
First-School is the BEST place to print premade handwriting worksheets! I've been using this site for the 6+ years I've taught preschool.
With all the fun craft making that comes with the holidays, teaching moments sometimes get put on a backburner. Three great questions to ask your preschooler during the crafting times are:
What color is this?
What letter does _____ start with?
What shape is this?
Along with any other questions you can come up with that will keep them thinking and learning.
"If I had my way, every fingerprint made today would be framed for eternity, if I had my way.
Every child who graced my door would remain forever more like a fingerprint pressed against the glass ever to remain in my heart. If I had my way, they'd stay." --Nonie Sorensen, Portrait of a Prophet
However, those perfect little people in our lives grow so fast. The fingerprints will all be washed away someday.
These two crafts are a fun way to preserve & remember the smallness for years to come.
I love little tricks that make life easier!
And I love, love handprint crafts! I also love, love easy! With an average of 14 crafts each day that my husband and I organize, my opinion is, the easier the better. I have found that I can cut through 4 pieces of construction or regular paper, or 2 pieces of cardstock at a time! Now that's a trick that makes my life easier!
With one traced hand & 4 layers of black construction paper you get 4 handprints. Which is how many you'll need for these two projects. If you want to make one craft one day and save the other for another day, cut out all the hands now to save time in the future. Can you even imagine cutting 56 handprints?!? 14 is enough!
With two of the hands, a cut out of a bat's head, and some wiggle eyes, you get this adorable bat. If you have a laminator or want to make a trip to your library. Laminate the hands and head so this craft can be a Halloween decoration for years to come. Hang from the ceiling, put on the wall, or even glue a magnet on the back for a darling refrigerator decoration.
The other two hands (minus the thumbs) make a scary spider! I used glitter glue to make 8 eyes. Spiders are a great way to teach the number 8 during the Halloween season.
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