PUMPKIN BELLS
Submitted by Amy
Dashing through the fields
In the brightest time of day
To each row we go
Laughing all the way HAHAHA
Harvest time is here
Making pumpkins bright
What fun it is to pick one
And sing pumpkin carols tonight
Chorus:
Oh! Pumpkin Bells
Pumpkin Bells
Ringing loud and clear
Oh! What fun a pumpkin brings
When harvest time is here
Oh! Pumpkin Bells
Pumpkin Bells
Ringing loud and clear
Oh! What fun a pumpkin brings
When harvest time is here
Oh!
ORIGINAL PUMPKIN SONG AND ACTIVITIES
Submitted by Vivian
The Fearful Pumpking. Written By Vivian Garcia
Song/Poem (Sung to The Little Tea Pot)
I'm the fearful pumpking
Look at me!
I'm going to hide
Behind a tree.
I'm orange, round
And grow on the ground
In Harvest time
I have to hide around.
I'm the fearful pumpking
That hides behind a tree.
A pumpking pie I do not want to be!
I wrote this theme for my class. Kindergarten
Activities for this theme.
Science. Tell the students that Harvest is the time
to gather the crops. Bring different fruits and vegetales. Collect
the seeds from different harvest crops, apples,etc.
Talk about pumpkings and how they grow. Show pictures of the pumpkin
grow sequence. Carve a pumpkin with the students. Make a Jack-O-
Lantern with the students for Halloween. Have the students touch the pumpkin,
smell the pulp, look at the color of the pumpkin and the pumpkin seeds. If
possible cook pumpkin in the classroom and have the students taste it. Bring
pumpkin pie to the classroom.
Plant pumpkin seeds in plastic cups. The student can observe how
the seeds grow.
S.Studies. Discuss with students the Harvest festivities and
costumes.
Ask the students if they are scared of something.
Discuss the poem The Fearful Pumpkin
Why the fearful pumpkin is hiding around?
Mathematics. Compare size of pumpkins, Big, Medium,
Small.
Count seeds of Harves vegetables. Make pattern using apples red apple,
yellow apple, red apple,etc,etc.
Reading and Writing
Make blank books with a pumpkin on the covers.
Write the poem on sentences strips. If the students need practice
with letters have them write the letter Pp.
Write a big P, ask the students to cover the letter with pumpkin seeds.
Read books related to Harvest.
Art. Pumpkins template, black green and orange paper. Collage
materials for decorate the pumpkins. Sponge (pumpkin) paint.
Music. Dramatize the poem. The Fearful pumpkin.
make
a big pumpkin with oak tag and a big tree. Ask a volunteer to be the pumpkin and
other child to be the tree.
Ask
the other students to sing the song.
PUMPKIN 3-D ART
Submitted by Peggy
First thing is to take your children on a nature walk to gather
fall things ( leaves, acorns, pinecones, etc. Then
I gave each child a miniature pumpkin, toothpicks, all the things collected
on the nature walk and pipe cleaners. (The children may need help sticking the
toothpicks into the pumpkins) They stick all the things they want to onto the
pumpkins (with the toothpicks) and even decorate with the pipe cleaners that
have been curled around a pencil. My class loved this and were thrilled to take
home their own fall table decoration !
CHILDREN'S SPELL
Submiotted by Brooke
day by day night by night
first star i see on haloween night
i wish i may i wish i might
to be a clown on haloween night!
PUMPKIN PLAYDOH
Submitted by Kelli
Need: 5 1\2 Cups Flour, 2 Cups Salt, 8 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
, 3\4 Cup Oil
1 Container (1 1\2 ounces) Pumpkin Pie Spice, Orange Food Coloring (2 parts
yellow, 1 part red) , 4 Cups Water
Mix all of the ingredients together. Cook and stir over medium heat until
all lumps appear. Knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth.
This makes plenty for a group.This is great playdough!
TISSUE PAPER PUMPKIN
these little pumpkins turn out really cute and all have their own personality.
Take a handful of poly-fil fiber and smash around in hands until
shaped like a ball. Lay a orange piece of tissue paper on the
table, put ball of fiber fill in center and pull edges up around
it. tie off with what is handy for you. Trim to a nice stem
length, take a green pipe cleaner and twist around and shape like
vines. You can also add some curling ribbon for a prettier
look. Let the children cut out jack o lanter features from
black construction paper, and glue on. It is so cute, and the
kids just adore their own jack o lantern.
PUMPKIN PUMPKIN
Pumpkin, Pumpkin sitting on a wall; (have a child sit down)
Pumpkin, Pumpkin tip and fall; (have child tip over)
Pumpkin, Pumpkin rolling down the street; (child rolls on floor)
Pumpkin, Pumpkin trick or treat.
5 PUMPKINS
Five baby pumpkins rockin' in the patch.
One rolled over and hit the thatch.
Mama called the farmer and the farmer said "Do that again and you'll
crack your head"
Four baby pumpkins rockin' in teh patch. (and so on)
Last verse: One little pumpkin rockin' in the patch. It
rolled
over and hit the thatch.
Mama called the farmer and the farmer said "It must
be time for you to go to bed"
I'M A LITTLE PUMPKIN
(Sung to the tune of "I'm A Little Teapot")
I'm a little pumpkin short and stout; (Squat down with hands on hips)
Here are my eyes and here is my mouth; (Point to each part as named)
When it's Halloween and you are out (Point to audience)
Just lift my lid and hear me shout. (Pretend to lift lid)
BOO! (Jump up and shout BOO!)
Pumpkin Roll Relay
Ripen gross motor skills with this unusual relay race. In advance,
have parents donate two small pumpkins that students can easily
roll. Then on a perfect fall day, head outside with your youngsters. Divide
your class into two teams and provide each team with a pumpkin. At the
start signal, the first child on each team rolls the pumpkin to a designated
spot. Then he/she rolls the pumpkin back to the team and tags the next
child in line. The relay continues in this manner until each child has
had a chance to roll the pumpkin.
Since preschoolers shoudn't play competitive games, you can make it
non-competitive by ...allowing the children to take turns rolling it
to a designated spot... not putting them in teams.
The Pumpkins Are Here
{Tune: Farmer in the Dell}
The pumpkins are here, the pumpkins are there.
The pumpkins, the pumpkins are everywhere.
The pumpkins are up, the pumpkins are down.
The pumpkins, the pumpkins are all around.
The pumpkin are in, the pumpkins are out.
The pumpkins, the pumpkins are all about
The pumpkins are low, the pumpkins are high.
The pumpkins, the pumpkins all say good-bye!
CUTE PUMPKIN PIE ARTS CRAFT
Cut a paper plate into fourths. Have the children paint them
with brown and
orange paint. Glue a cotton ball on the top, and sprinkle with a little
cinnamon or nutmeg and they have pumpkin pie.
BLACK PLAYDOH
Every year around Halloween I make my regular playdoh and I use Wilton's
Black Cake Paste to color it. You have to use alot of the paste
to get
a deep rich black. The kids love it and the adults always "marval" at
the unusual color. I also do spider and bat themes to tie into the
color and extend the use of the playdoh.
PUMPKIN IDEAS
Cut several pumpkins in half (vertically) and place 3 or 4 at a time
in the sensory table form the kids to explore. Have enough
halves ready so that each child gets a chance to explore a relatively
fresh one. Provide spoons, scissors, tweezers, 'dixie' cups
for collecting seeds, and plastic or rubber gloves.
Create a "pumpkin patch bulletin board". Make (or have kids
make) one construction paper pumpkin for each child, plus a few extras. Instead
of drawing or cutting faces for the pumpkins, cut each child's face
from a fairly close up, portrait style photograph, and paste on the
pumpkins. Glue a little real (or yarn) straw around at the bottom,
and a moon and some clouds above. Can use thick rug yarn for
vines, and just fan/spread it a little where it attaches to each pumpkin
PUMPKIN SONG
Pumpkin Song:
(have children use hand movements to act out pushing the pumpkin up
a steep
hill and then rolling motions as it speeds down faster & faster!!)
PUSH! that pumpkin up th hill
PUSH! that pumpkin up the hill
PUSH! that pumpkin up the hill......
It's time for Halloween!
uh oh!!!!!
ROLL ! that pumpkin down the hill
ROLL! that pumpkin down the hill
ROLL! that pumpkin down the hill........
It's time for Halloween!
Repeat!
SQUISH ART PUMPKIN
Do this activity in small groups as it needs some supervision. For
each child, fold an 11"x 18" piece of white construction paper in half
widthwise (to create 9" x 11" sheet), then reopen. Guide the
children in dropping orange and yellow drops of paint, using eyedroppers
in a rough semicircle area near the fold on one half of the paper (if
it helps, you could lightly mark the area you want covered). Fold
the paper in half and rub (SQUISH IT!!). When opened it should
be a rough circle or oval. Now drop one drop of green paint near
the middle top, a drop of black for one eye, a small drop for the nose
and a few drops on one side for the mouth. Fold and squish again. Reopen
and you have made a jack-of-lantern. The kids learn about symmetry
(you don't have to use the word 'symmetry' if you don't want to), the
'half' concept, fine motor skills (using an eyedropper) and LOVE to "squish". A
class ends up with a whole variety of pumpkins to display which will
spur discussion amongst children for weeks.
5 ORANGE PUMPKIN FELT STORY
FIVE ORANGE PUMPKINS
Once there were 5 orange pumpkins growing in a pumpkin patch.There
was a GIANT pumpkin, a LARGE pumpkin, a MEDIUM pumpkin, a SMALL pumpkin
and a TINY pumpkin. (Put them on the flannelboard one by one.)
A man came by and looked at the five pumpkins. He picked up the giant
pumpkin. "This will be a fine pumpkin to put in my store window." he
said.
(Remove the GIANT pumpkin.)
Soon a woman came by and looked at the four pumpkins still growing in the pumpkin
patch. She picked up the large pumpkin. "This will be a fine
pumpkin to set on my doorstep" she said. (Remove large)
Next a teacher came by and looked at the three pumpkins still growing in the
pumpkin patch. She chose the medium pumpkin. "This will be a fine
pumpkin
for my classroom!" she said. (Remove medium)
Then a baker came by and looked at the two pumpkins still growing in the pumpkin
patch. He found the small pumpkin. "This will be just fine for
a
pumpkin pie!" he said. (Remove small).
Finally a little boy dressed in a ghost costume stopped by the pumpkin patch. He
saw the tiny pumpkin that was left. "This is just right to take
to my Halloween party!" he said. So he took the pumpkin, painted a face on
it and said "This is my best Jack-o-lantern ever!"
DINNER IN PUMPKIN
1 small to medium pumpkin
1 4-oz can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 onion, chopped
1 10-oz can cream of chicken soup
2 TBS vegetable oil
1 8-oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 1/2 to 2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
2 TBS soy sauce
2 TBS brown sugar
Cut off top of pumpkin; clean out seeds and pulp. Paint on appropriate
face on front of pumpkin with pemanent marker or acrylic paint. In
a large skillet, saute' onion in oil until tender; add meat and brown.
Drain drippings from skillet. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms
and soup; simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cooked rice
and water chestnuts. Spoon mixture into pumpkin shell. Replace pumpkin
top and place entire pumpkin, with filling, on a baking sheet. Bake
for 1 hour in 350 degree oven or until inside meat of pumpkin is tender.
Put pumpkin on a plate; remove top and serve. For your vegetable, scoop
out cooked pumpkin and serve. Serves 6 people
PUMPKIN SEED PAINTING
I cut a piece of manila or finger-paint paper to the height of a Pringles
can.
Put a small spoon of paint inside the can, pour in a few seeds, and then slide
in the paper.
Put lid on can and shake well.
The seeds make a cool design, similar to splatter painting but less messy!
Pumpkin Pancakes
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
1¾ cups milk
3 tablespoons oil or melted butter
½ cup canned pumpkin
1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and pumpkin spice
in large bowl
2. Whisk the eggs & milk in separate bowl. Whisk in the butter
or oil and
the canned pumpkin. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir, but do not
beat.
Batter may be lumpy.
3. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in griddle - cook pancakes!
MAKES ABOUT 20 PANCAKES
PUMPKIN ROLLING
We have a pumpkin rolling contest outside on the playground. Each
child takes a turn and rolls the pumpkin as hard as they can. We
measure the distance and figure out why some pumpkins rolled better/worse
than others.
FINE MOTOR SKILL PUMPKIN
I also make a pumpkin shape from felt and then I sewed on 2 buttons
for eyes 1 for the nose and 1 for the mouth, I then cut
out different shape eyes, nose and mouths for the kids to button
on to make a funny face. Good practice for those little finders
PUMPKIN ART
Another cute craft is to paint a pumpkin vine ( or use die cut) then
paint the 'fist' of the child orange between the knuckles. Print
down on the paper and it looks like a pumpkin. Add leaves.
Little Hoot Owl
(sung to the tune of "Six Little Ducks")
Who flies around in the dark of night?
Who glides on wings o'er silent night?
Who eats his dinner by late moonlight?
It's a little hoot owl with his owl eyesight!
Who-who, who-who, little hoot owl.
Who-who, who-who, little hoot owl.
Who-who, who-who, little hoot owl.
MILK CARTON PUMPKIN
Submitted by Barbara
. Take a milk jug and remove lable.Pour orange paint into jug,
put cap on. Have children turn jug upside down and all around. You
may need to add more paint. The paint will coat the inside. Remove
excess paint. Leave cover off to dry. Glue green cover on. Have black
triangles cut out, squares,and circles so children can glue them
on. I put out wiggly eyes and string to give the children a choice.
PUMPKIN BOWLING
Submitted by Julie
I did it the other day with the kids and they loved it! I used small
pumpkins for the bowling balls and apples with
popsicle sticks stuck in them for the pins
PUMPKIN SEED PRALINE
Submitted by Kathy
Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 hr.
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup hulled (green) pumpkin seeds, toasted
Preheat oven to 250°F. Lightly oil a large sheet of foil on a
baking sheet and keep warm in oven.
Cook sugar, water, and a pinch of salt in a deep 2-quart heavy saucepan over
moderately low heat, stirring slowly with a metal fork, until melted and pale
golden. Cook caramel without stirring, swirling pan, until deep golden. Immediately
stir in pumpkin seeds and quickly pour onto foil, spreading into a thin sheet
before it hardens. (If caramel hardens and is difficult to spread, put in a
400°F oven until warm enough to spread, 1 to 2 minutes.)
Cool praline on baking sheet on a rack until completely hardened, then break
into large pieces.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
PUMPKIN SUNCATCHERS
Supplies
icecream pail lid
2x2 inch squares of orange tissue
black tissue for a jack-o-lantern face, pre-cut if necessary
diluted glue, 2 parts glue to 1 part water
large paint brush
Have the children paint portions of the lid with the glue mixture
and cover them with the orange tissue squares, leaving no spaces. The
tissue can be overlapped. Lots of glue should be spread over the lid
as well as over the tissue. A face can be added, or a green top. Allow
these to dry overnight, the next day carefully peel the tissue circle
from the lid. (Usually I trim any jagged edges before displaying.)You
will have shiny, transparent pumpkins which look great on a window!
PUMPKIN SONG
Submitted by Debbie
We go on a field trip to a farm and have a pumpkin hunt/hayride each
year. This is a favorite pumpkin song the children always seem
to enjoy singing.
Way Down Yonder In The Pumpkin Patch
Where oh Where are all the children?
Where oh Where are all the children?
Where oh Where are all the children?
Way down yonder in the pumpkin patch.
Pickin' up pumpkins, put 'em in the wagon.
Pickin' up pumpkins, put 'em in the wagon.
Pickin' up pumpkins, put 'em in the wagon.
Way down yonder in the pumpkin patch.
Take them home and cut them open.
Take them home and cut them open.
Take them home and cut them open.
Way down yonder in the pumpkin patch.
Make a (silly) jack-o-lantern
Make a (silly) jack-o-lantern
Make a (silly) jack-o-lantern
Way down yonder in the pumpkin patch.
Our favorite verse is the last one. We change the kind of
jack-o-lantern we are going to make (happy, sad, spooky, sleepy etc.)
and create dramatic motions to use during the song.
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...".
Where is the Ghostie?
Have the children lay down on the floor putting their noses to the
carpet. Cover one of the children with a sheet and ask, "Who is the
ghostie?" - the cue that they can sit up. When they sit up, the sheet-covered
child will look like a ghost and the other children have to guess
who the ghost is.
THREE LITTLE PUMPKINS
Three little pumpkins
Sitting on a fence.
A witch came riding by,
Ha, Ha, Ha!
I'll take you all
And make a pumpkin pie!
WHAT TO DO WITH OLD PUMPKINS?
Submitted by Kathy
This can be done with a fresh pumpkin or a Jack-o-Lantern on November
1st. Cut the pumpkin into several pieces. Put these into Ziploc® bags.
The children may decide to add "ingredients" such as salt, water,
paint, etc. Label what has been added to the bag and tape these to
a window. Each day check these for for various types of mold growth
or other changes. Decomposition is quite a lovely process! Also,
keep one piece in the fridge and keep comparing.
Use a pumpkin as a flower vase by cutting the top off a small pumpkin.
Scoop it out and arrange colorful flowers in it.
PUMPKIN COUNTING BOOK
Make a counting book out of orange paper in the shape of a pumpkin.
One = 1 seed, two = 2 seeds and so on. Optional: glue orange yarn
around the seeds to represent the pumpkin "guts".
YARN PUMPKINS
Blow up a round balloon. Dip orange yarn into a mixture of one part
glue and one part water. wrap yarn around the balloon until completely
covered. Let dry, then pop balloon, use black craft foam to make
face.
PUMPKIN RECIPES
Pumpkin Pancakes: add pumpkin pie spice (already sweetened
and flavored usually Libby's brand) to your regular pancake recipe.
Grill and serve, they don't even need syrup!
Pumpkin Milkshakes: Use mix vanilla ice cream, milk an already sweetened
and flavored pumpkin pie spice (Libby's ® pie filling is great) blend and
serve. Delicious!
PUMPKIN SPIDERS
Paint a small pumpkin completely black. Hot glue eight black chenille
stems to the stem. Bend the stems to create joints for the legs.
Paint a face or add wiggly eyes.
RECYCLED PUMPKINS
You get (3) pumpkins each a little smaller in size such as a snowman.
Paint them with white paint, stack, and decorate for winter.
WITCH'S SPELL:
Have kids form a circle. The Witch (teacher) will stand in
the middle of the circle, spin around, then raise her hand and cast a
spell on the kids, turning them into a particular animal.
Say: "Hocus, Pocus, Ala Kazam!
Turn into dogs, if you can!"
To change all animals back into kids:
Say: "Hocus Pocus Ala Kazam!
Now turn back into you!"
Dog, cat, bird, cow, rabbit, fish, horse, sheep, ghost, witch, etc.
PRETTY COFFEE FILTER PUMPKINS
Submitted by Brenda
have the kids color on coffee filters with orange and yellow crayons. Then
fold into a wedge shape, dip the end in a bowl of water for about
3 seconds, and hold it upside down for a minute or two to let the
water soak down through the filter. The colors will bleed together
look really cool. Add a stem and leaf to make a pumpkin. For
Halloween you can decorate them to make a jack-o-lantern. They
look awesome in your windows when the light shines through them.
CONTACT PAPER PUMPKINS
First, tear tissue paper into 1-2 inch pieces, then cut a circular
shape from contact paper. I leave the backing on until we are
ready to stick the tissue paper on top. Remove the backing,
leave the sticky side up, place the tissue paper all over the paper,
I use shades of orange and some yellow. Leave a little space uncovered
around the edges. Make a top, remove backing and lay over the
first circle. I usually have to trim alittle to make the edges
even. These are very pretty hanging in the window too!
Hint: tell the children to just lay the tissue paper on gently so their fingers
don't stick. They usually get the idea after their finger sticks the
first time!LOL
PUMPKIN IDEAS
Submitted by Kim
We always grow some pumpkins in our garden. In October we take
2 to our sensory table. One is left whole. The other
is cut in half. The kids then get to play with the "goop" (seeds
and guts!) I just use a big shallow Rubbermaid container on
my table.
Pumpkin seed flowers
Use a piece of poster board or heavy construction paper.Glue the seeds
in a circle with the pointed edge out. Glue another circle of seeds
in between, with the pointed edge in. Put gold glitter in the middle
and you can paint the seeds any color you like. Or of course you
can leave them plain!
Seed Painting
I cut a piece of manila or finger-paint paper to the height of a Pringles
can.
Put a small spoon of paint inside the can, pour in a few seeds, and then slide
in the paper. Put lid on can and shake well.
The seeds make a cool design, similar to splatter painting but less messy!
PUMPKIN BELLS
Submitted by Sue
Pumpkin bells, pumpkins bells,
Ringing loud and clear.
Oh what fun we have with them,
When Halloween is near!
PUMPKIN PIES
Submitted by Lisa
I drew a pie shape on construction paper, the children brush on glue
and then are allowed to sprinkle on spices like
cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves from a shaker. They then get to glue on whole
cloves. The smell when they are
dry is wonderful!
GHOST SONGS
Submitted by Rhonda
This Old Ghost
Tune: This Old Man
This old ghost, he played one,
He played peek-a-boo on the run.
With a boo! boo! Boo! and a clap! clap! snap.
This old ghost is a friendly chap.
This old ghost, he played two.
He played peek-a-boo in a shoe.
With a boo! boo! boo! and a clap! clap! snap.
This old ghost is a friendly chap.
This old ghost, he played three.
He played peek-a-boo behind a tree.
With a boo! boo! boo! and a clap! clap! snap.
This old ghost is a friendly chap.
Six Little Ghosts That I Once Knew
Tune: 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!
Trick or Treat!
(sung to the tune of “Where Is Thumbkin?”)
Trick-or-treaters!
Point to self.
Trick-or-treaters!
Knock, knock, knock.
Pretend to knock on a door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Happy Halloween!
Pretend to hold out trick-or-treat bag.
Happy Halloween!
Walk, walk, walk.
Walk in place or around a circle.
Walk, walk, walk.
SENSORY HAUNTED HOUSE
Submitted by Rhonda
the night before and set up cardboard boxes to create a maze in the
room. Lights were low and there was eerie music playing throughout
the room. At every turn, there were sensory activity:
-Feely bags (chicken bones, dried apricots, peeled grapes, etc.)
-Guess the smell. Plastic pumpkins (with cotton balls inside) saturated with
various smell. (vinegar, pine, lemon, peppermint, smoke)
-Optical illusions. Charts with several optical illusions printed on them.
-What's that sound? Cans filled with various objects the kids had to guess.
-Taste. At the end, of the maze, each child was given the opportunity
to
taste some "Dirt Dessert" Obviously with worms in it!
-Mini golf. Students golfed using plastic eyeballs and tried to get it into
the cup.
Halloween Goblins
Submitted by Rebecca
1 package 10 refrigerated biscuits (makes 6 goblins)
Maraschino cherries
Raisins
Sliced almonds
small tube of icing, if desired
Butter and/or jam
Heat oven to 450*. Place 6 biscuit on an ungreased cookie
sheet. Cut other 4 biscuits into quarters and use them
to make ears or hats for the goblins by pressing into the whole biscuits. Slice
maraschino cherries into pieces and use them, raisins, and almond slivers
to make goblin faces. Bake 8-10 minutes or till golden
brown. Remove from oven with potholders. Add
designs to the faces with icing, if desired. Eat with butter
and/or jam.
MONSTERS THEME
Submitted by Patricia
*Five Little Monsters
Five little monsters by the light of the moon
Stirring pudding with a wooden pudding spoon.
The first one says, "It musn't be runny."
The second one says, "That would make it taste funny."
The third one says, "It musn't be lumpy."
The fourth one says, "That would make me grumpy."
The fifth one smiles, hums a little tune,
And licks all the drippings from the wooden pudding spoon!
by
Eve Merriam, from Read Along Rhymes
*Horns and Fangs
(sing to "Head and Shoulders")
Horns and fangs,
knees and claws,
knees and claws.
Horns and fangs,
knees and claws.
Eyes and ears and tail and paws.
* You Are My Monster
(sing to (You Are My Sunshine")
You are my monster,
My only monster.
You make me happy,
When I am sad.
You never know dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take
My monster away!
* What Do Monsters Do?
What do monsters do?
They stretch and touch their toes.
What do monsters do?
They comb their purple hair.
What do monsters do?
They stick out their green tongues.
What do monsters do?
They brush their teeth with a broom.
What do monsters do?
They rub their yellow eyes.
What do monsters do?
They wiggle their orange ears.
Boy, am I glad that I'm not a monster!
Happy and Know It MOnsters Song
Make a several copies of a monster shape. Draw a face on each
one to represent an emotion. Sing the following song to the tune
of "If You're Happy And You Know It".
Happy monsters like to sing and clap their hands. (Clap hands)
Happy monsters like to sing and clap their hands. (Clap hands)
Happy monsters like to sing.
Happy monsters clap their hands.
Happy monsters like to sing and clap their hands. (Clap hands)
Additional verses:
Sad monsters sometimes frown and start to cry. (Rub eyes)
Mad monsters stop to think, then count to five.(Count to five)
Scared monsters gulp and think of something nice.(Gulp)
Proud monsters stand up tall and say, "Hurray!" ((Say, "Hurray")
If You Are a Monster (tune: If you're happy and you know it)
If you're a monster and you know it wave your arms
If you're a monster and you know it wave your arms.
If you're a monster and you know then your arms will surely show it.
If you're a monster and you know it wave your arms.
Continue with:
...show your claws
...gnash your teeth
...stomp your feet
...growl out loud
Five Little Monsters
This little monster has a big red nose
This little monster has purple toes.
This little monster plays all night.
This little monster is such a fright.
And this little monster goes:
"Tee-hee-hee"
"I'm not scary, I'm just silly me."
(Hold up hand and point to each finger)
Ten Little Monsters (10 little Indians)
One little, two little, three little monsters,
Big wild eyes and skin with fuzzy furs\
Climbing on the stairs
When no one knows they're there,
Heigh, ho monsters are here.
One little, two little, three little trolls
Playing in the woods
where fern and moss grow.
running through the trees and having lots of fun.
Heigh-ho monsters are here.
5 little monsters
5 little monsters sleeping in my bed
1 crawled out from under my spread
I called to Mama and Mama said
"no more monsters sleeping in your bed"
continue until there are no little monsters and say "no little monsters
sleeping in my bed none crawling out from under my spread I called
to Mama and Mama said "there are no more monsters, go to bed!"
We're going on a Monster Hunt
We're going on a monster hunt.
Were going to find a big one!
We're not scared, but....
What if he's under the bed? Better go over it. Squoosh, squoosh, squoosh.
What if he is in the closet. Better close it. Slam, slam, slam.
What if he is behind the curtains? Better open them. Swish, swish,
swish.
What if he's in the hallway? better tiptoe down it. Tiptoe, tiptoe.
What if he's in the garage? Better stomp through it. Stomp. stomp, stomp.
Aahh! It's a monster!
What's that you say?
You're big, but you're friendly, and you want to go to bed?
Now we're not afraid of monsters, so...
Stomp through the garage,
Walk through the hallway,
Close the curtains,
Open the closet,
Jump into bed,
And turn out the lights! Click!
If I were a Monster
If I were a happy monster, I'd go ha, ha, ha!
If I were a sad monster, I'd go boo, hoo, hoo.
If I were a mad monster, I'd go stomp, stomp, stomp!
If I were a scared monster, I'd go AAHH! AAHH! AAHH!
But I'm just me, you see, so I'll go (sound or action child's choice)
Tune: "Did You Ever See A Lassie"
If you ever see a monster,
A big ugly monster.
If you ever see a monster,
Here's what you do!
Make this face......
And this face.....
And this face.....
And this face.....
If you ever see a monster...
Be sure to shout...BOOOOO!!!!
The Monsters Are So Loud
(tune:"When Johnny Comes Marching Home")
The monsters stomp around the house,
Boom boom ,boom boom
The monsters stomp around the house,
Boom boom, boom boom
The monsters stomp around the house,
Their brothers and sisters send them out
And they stomp some more outside the house.
The monsters yell around the house,
Eeeeh! Eeeh!
The monsters yell around the house,
Eeeeh! EeeeH!
The monsters yell around the house,
Their brothers and sisters send them out
And they yell some more outside around the house. (author unknown)
Arts & Crafts:
After reading The Monster At The End Of This Book by Jon Stone (which
is great if any child has a fear of monsters) you can reinforce the
circle shape by making a Grover. Use a large blue circle for his
face, two white circles for his eyes and a pink circle for his nose.
THE BLOB (Paint a picture with a sponge)
Draw a shape on a piece of paper. Cut out the shape. Place
the Blob.
Patter on top of another piece of paper (can tape down). Use a sponge
to dab paint along the edges where the pattern and piece of paper meet. Remove
the pattern. Use crayons to draw a face on your Blob any way you like
it.
We take paper plates and let the child decorate their own monster
face. They cut out eyes, nose and mouth. They use yarn, glitter,
sequins, colored pasta, markers, crayons, tissue paper...anything we
have in the art center. Then we paper hole punch a hole on each
side, and add yarn to tie the mask on. The children all name the type
of monster they are and we all parade around the room to the tune of
the " Monster Mash".
Let Children make a monster headband, Cut a monster shape, and add
to a band for around head. Let them decorate with different collage
items, buttons, wiggly eyes, crayons, feathers, felt, tissue paper,
etc... let them decorate to be a unique monster. staple around the
head and do a Monster stomp!
Group activity
Tape a large sheet of bulletin board paper on the tabletop. Draw
an outline of a monster and provide the children with various collage
materials and art equipment. Let them create their own friendly
monster. Cut out and display!
Literature
Read the book Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
Children may make their own "wild things" using paper bags, buttons,
yarn, etc... They may be used as puppets and the children can
retell the story.
Make juice can puppet monsters: One clean frozen juice can per puppet
Construction paper or fabric for body Glue Felt or paper strips for arms and
legs Buttons, feathers, fabric, glitter, paper, and other assorted decorations.
Cover the juice can by gluing on construction paper or fabric, then place the
can upright on a table (with the opening at the bottom). Glue felt "arm" strips
midway down both sides of the can and "leg" strips to the front of the lower
edge. Set out the rest of your decorations and watch as your children create
some interesting characters.
Monster Madness
A great idea for monster madness is to get a paper bag (large enough
to fit over a child's head) Cut an oval shape around where their
eyes are (this shape makes it easier for them to see) Collect recycled
material and let the children create their own monsters.
Beautiful Beasts
You will need: tissue paper, glue, jumbo rickrack, Styrofoam balls
and luncheon size paper plates.
Scrunch up and glue tissue paper squares to the back of a paper plate.Cover
the whole plate. Allow for drying time. Cut a Styrofoam ball in half. Using
black permanent marker, color a pupil on each ball half. Then glue the halves
to the tissue paper for eyes. Also glue rickrack to the tissue paper for a
mouth. You can also add a tissue paper mane or beard, ears, or accessories.
Display on a black bulletin board background.
SNACK
Pudding Monsters
Fill small bowls with prepared instant pudding Use foods such
as orange slices, bananas, grape halves, candy sprinkles, marshmallows,
etc, to create monstrous facial features.
Monster Munch
You will need:
Sunflower Seeds (Rat Toes)
Raisins (Bug Eyes)
Chocolate Puff Cereal (Ant Eggs)
Chow-Mein Noodles (Dried Worms)
Spoon
Paper Cup
Mix one spoon of ant eggs and rat toes.
Add one spoon of bug eyes.
Add one spoon of dried worms.
Mix together and eat!
Title: WITCH HUNT
Submitted by Jan
Similar to Going on a Bear Hunt
I'm going on a witch hunt.
Do you want to go?
All right let's go!! (slap things as in a tramping motion.)
Oh look! There's a brook.
Can't go around it.
Can't go over it.
Gotta go through it.
All right.
Let's go. (swimming motion)
Oh look! There's a bridge.
Can't go around it...
.Let's go. (pound chest)
Oh look! There's a tree.
Can't go around it…
Let's go. (climbing motion)
Oh look! There's a swamp.
Can't go around it…
Let's go.(inflate cheeks, punch in with index fingers)
Title:Halloween Patterning
Submitted by Kim
Materials:
sentence strip (one per student); die-cut or pictures of a - (you'll
need a couple of each); ghost, black cat, pumpkin, jack-o-lantern,
bat; glue sticks
Idea:
- Let students pick two different objects to pattern. (ie- pumpkin
and bat)
- Allow the students time pattern on their own
- After a pattern has been determined, the students can glue pattern on
to the sentence strip.
- The last object in the pattern will be hidden by folding the sentence
strip in about 3inches at the end to hide the last object.
- The sentence strips can be binded with a ring and made into a class
book. The students read the pattern and try to figure out "What comes next..." as
they turn each strip to a new pattern.
My kindergarteners loved this project last year. Please adapt to your
class.
Following cross curricular activities submitted by Betty
Title: This Old Ghost
( to the tune of "This Old Man")
This old ghost, he played one,
He played peek-a-boo , what fun!
With a boo, boo, boo, and a clap, clap, snap,
This Old Ghost is a fine ol chap!
two - "with you"
three - "with me" or "in a tree"
four - "at the door"
five - " in a hive" ( we always add buzzing sounds to this one)
six - "with sticks"
seven - "in heaven"
eight - "on a gate"
nine - "in line"
ten - "with a hen" or "once again"
GHOST FEET- Art project
Try painting the children's feet with white paint and have them step
on black paper! Turn them upside down and put 2 sets of wiggly
eyes on them. Then write a group story ... "One scarey Halloween
night, two ghosts went walking and.............."
Title: There was an Old Witch
Submitted by Allison
Here's acute song that my preschoolers love to act out:
There was an old witch, believe it if you can,
she ran through the windows and she ran, ran, ran,
she ran helter skelter with her toes in the air,
and cob webs flying from the old witches hair.
Shoosh, went the wind, Meow, went the cat,
Plop went the hot toads sitting on her hat,
We chuckled out "what fun, what fun'"
on Halloween night when the witches run!!!!!!!
Title: Pumpkin centerpiece- Art
Submitted by Marilyn
This is a cute center piece for a halloween party.
Purchase a large round pumpkin and make it into a jack-o-lantern.
Then stick lollipops all around the top of the pumpkin. It
really is attractive and the children know that they will each be
getting an extra treat when then go home.
Title: PUMPKIN LESSON PLAN
Following cross-curricular ideas submitted by Peg
Sequencing Pumpkin Song
tune: Picked a Peanut
Pick a pumpkin, pick a pumpkin,
Pick a pumpkin just now
I just now picked a pumpkin
Picked a pumpkin just now
Cut the top off, cut the top off
Cut the top off just now
I just now cut the top off,
Cut the top off just now
Scooooop the seeds, out, scoooop the seeds out,
Scoooop the seeds out just now
I just now scoooped the seeds out
Scooooped the seeds out just now
Carved a face in it, carved a face in it
Carved a face in it just now
I just now carved a face in it
Carved a faci in it just now
Stick a candle in it, stick a candle in it
Stick a candle in it now
I just now stuck a candle in it
Stuck a candle in it just now
I made a jack-o-latern, I made a jack-o-latern
Made a jck-o-latern just now
I just now made a jack-ol-lantern
Made a jack-o-latern just now!
(Use appropriate hand motions or use as flannel board)
Math:
Sort different shaped pumpkins.
Pattern pumpkinseeds right side up, right side down, right side up,
right side down, etc.
Science and Fine Motor:
Get real pumpkin and cut open while singing above song
Smell inside pumpkin.
Reach in and 'scoop' the seeds out.
Taste raw pumpkin. Talk about the way it feels, smells and tastes.
Fine Motor:Use real pumpkin and hammer golf tees into it.
Art: Blend with fingers colors yellow and red to make orange.
Art:
Get small fresh pumpkins and cut in half. Let the children dip the pumpkin
halves in paint to make prints.
Snack:
Roast pumpkinseeds.
Pumpkin Faces
English muffins (can be toasted)
Orange spreadable cheese
Raisins
Let the children spread the cheese on their English muffin. Then decorate using
the raisins for eyes, nose, and mouth.
Finally, eat and enjoy!
Title: HALLOWEEN FLANNEL BOARD STORIES
Following submitted by Jan
Title: THREE LITTLE PUMPKINS
Materials: three pumpkins, and witch
Three little pumpkins,
Sitting on a fence.
A witch came riding by,
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, she said.
I'll take you all aand make a pumpkin pie.
Title: LITTLE GHOSTS
Materials: Five ghosts
The first little ghost floated by the store.
The second little ghost stood outside the door.
The third little ghost tried her best to hide.
The fourth little ghost stood by my side.
The fifth little ghost near the window sill,
Gave everybody a great big thrill.
The five little ghosts were all my friends,
And that is the way that this story ends.
Title: HALLOWEEN NIGHT
Materials:
moon, broom, witch, cat, owl, and ghost
This is the moon that shone in the sky on Halloween night.
This is the broom that sailed across the moon,
that shone in the sky on Halloween night.
This is the witch who rode the broom,
that sailed across the moon,that shone in the sky on Halloween night.
This is the cat that belonged to the witch,
who rode the broom,that sailed across the moon,that shone in the sky
on Halloween night.
This is the owl who woke the cat,
that belonged to the witch,who rode the broom, that sailed across the moon,that
shone in the sky on Halloween night.
This is the jack-o-lantern that startled the owl,
who woke the cat,that belonged to the witch,who rode the broom, that sailed
across the moon,that shone in the sky on
Halloween night.
This is the ghost that carved the jack-o-lantern,
that startled the owl,who woke the cat,that belonged to the witch,who rode
the broom,that sailed across the moon,that shone in the sky on Halloween night.
Title: DID YOU EVER SEE A PUMPKIN?
Tune: Did You Ever See a Lassie?
Materials: large orange pumpkin, black eyes, nose, mouth, teeth
Did you ever see a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin
Did you ever seen a pumpkin with no face at all?
With no eyes(point) and no nose (point) and no mouth
(point) and no teeth (point)
Did you ever see a pumpkin with no face at all?
So I made a Jack-o-lantern, a Jack-o-lantern, a Jack-o-lantern.
So I made a Jack-o-lantern with a big, funny face.
With big eyes and big nose and big mouth and big teeth.
So I made a Jack-o-lanern with a big funny face.
Title: PUMPKIN UNIT
The following cross-curriculum ideas submitted by Jan
Title: FIVE ORANGE PUMPKINS
Five orange pumpkins rolling down a hill,
Once they started rolling, they couldn't keep still.
One hit a rock and couldn't roll any more,
How many pumpkins left? Now there are four.
Four orange pumpkins a-rolling and a-bumping,
I hear them clumping, I hear them thumping.
One fell into a hole next to a tree,
How many pumpkins left? Now there are three.
Three orange pumpkins rolling on the grass,
Watch them tumble and roll so fast.
One rolled until it bumped right against my shoe,
How many pumpkins left? Now there are two.
Two orange pumpkins still rolling very fast,
Will they ever slow down and stop at last?
One pumpkin hit a tree, its rolling now is done,
How many pumpkins left? Now there is one.
One last orange pumpkin rolling toward me,
Now it's stopped rolling, look and see.
Now how many pumpkins are rolling in the sun?
Did you guess zero? You're right, there are none.
Title: THERE WAS A PUMPKIN
There once was a pumpkin short and fat,
Alone in the garden, there it sat.
A little girl picked it from the vine,
Took it home and said, "It's mine!"
She carved a face with a great big smile,
Put in a candle, and after a while,
It wasn't a pumpkin short and fat.
It was a jack-o-lantern-just like that!
Title: THREE LITTLE PUMPKINS
Three little pumpkins sitting very still
In a pumpkin patch high up on a hill.
The first one said, "I'm very green,
But I'll be orange by Halloween."
The second one said, "I'm on my way
To becoming a jack-o-lantern someday."
The third one said, "Oh, me, oh my,
Tomorrow I'll be a pumpkin pie!"
Title: THE HALLOWEEN SURPRISE
Dad and I shopped for a pumpkin
To carve for Halloween.
The one we bought was round and fat,
The best we'd ever seen.
We took it home, and carefully
My dad cut off the top.
We scooped the gloppy seeds all out
Onto paper--plop, plop, plop!
Next, Dad cut out the eyes and mouth,
Then he cut out the nose.
He winked at me and then he said,
"He'll be bald, I suppose."
I laughed and said, "Oh, Daddy,
Jack-o-lanterns' heads are bare.
I've never seen a single one
That had a head of hair!"
Then we took our pumpkin outside
With a candle for its light.
Our jolly jack-o-lantern glowed
So brightly in the night.
Long after I had gone to bed,
Snowflakes began to fall.
They covered up the bushes
And the garden and the wall.
In the morning I ran out to see
If my pumpkin was still there.
I found him sitting on the porch -
But now he had white hair!
Title: Individual Pumpkin Pies - Cooking Activity
We make individual pumpkin pies. Use the prepared tart shells
and pumpkin from the can or use a real pumpkin. The children
can mix, pour, and fill the tart shells.
Title: Banana-Pumpkin Foamy
Blend l cup milk, l sliced banana, 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin and
a dash of cinnamon together for a foamy pumpkin drink. Makes
2 servings.
Title: LITTLE PUMPKIN
Following submitted by Jan
I'm a little pumpkin orange and round,(form circle with arms)
When I'm sad, my face wears a frown.(frown)
But when I am happy and all aglow,(smile)
Watch my smile just grow and grow!(smile even wider)
>From l00l Rhymes & Fingerplays
Title: Pumpkin, Pumpkin - A Flannel Activity:
Cut different colored pumpkins and matching sterms out of felt.
Put the pumpkins on the felt board. Pass out the stems to the
children. Point to one child holding a stem. He should walk up
the felt board as the children say the following rhyme using the child's
name and the color of the stem he will put on the pumpkin.
Pumpkin, pumpkin, without a stem,
Laying in the pumpkin patch,
Here comes (child's name) to look for you
With a stem of (color) to match.
Title: Pumpkin Collage - ART
Cut out an orange pumpkin shapes and lots of black triangles. Let
the children glue on the black triangles. This is an open
ended activity as young 3's to 5's can do this activty and every one
is different.
Title: Squeeze Bottle Painting on Paper Plates
Use orange paint made of equal parts of flour and salt. Mix till
it will squirt out of the bottle. Let sit for a few days and
then let the children add eyes and stem.
Title: Pumpkin Unit
Submitted by Carol
I send out a pumpkin pict. with each child and as a family project
it has to be decorated. Any materials at all can be used. As
the children return them, they are put up on the wall for all to
admire. The children love seeing their "family project" on
the wall. I also make felt pumpkins in different sizes and
the children put them in size order. We also play tape the
nose on the jack-o-lantern. The children love this. I
love listening to them laugh as they put the nose in the wrong place. They
are just so darn cute. As we finish the unit on pumpkins we
go to the pumpkin patch. Each child is allowed to pick a small
pumpkin. (We go on a hayride to the patch.) When we get
back to school each child is allowed to cut (with help of course)
their own pumpkin and clean it out. We save the seeds
and cook them. After the pumpkin is cleaned the children
then give it a face. (They have help for this too) Everyone
loves the pumpkin theme. (We have many parents that go with
us to the pumpkin patch. They are the ones to help the
children carve the pumpkins. It is not only a class field day
but many make it a family day as well.)
Title: PUMPKIN EXPERIENCE
The following cross curriculum ideas were submitted by Anita
Pumpkin Seed Collage
Wash and dry pumpkin seeds and place them in the art area with glue
and paper. The children cam make pumpkin seed collages.
Paper bag pumpkin:
Stuff small lunch bag with paper (good for fine motor),twist top & paint
top green, bottom orange.
Title: CIRCLE TIME GAME
Mr. Pumpkin's Nose
Cut a large pumpkin shape out of orange bulletin board paper. Draw
only the eyes and mouth on the pumpkin, you can add a stem and lines
if needed.Laminate the piece. Attach it to the wall at the child's
level. Give each child a triangle cut out of black construction paper,
and label with the child's name. Attach a piece of rolled up tape to
the back. Have each child close his/her eyes and place the nose on
the pumpkin. You can give awards such as stickers for the one who was
the closest, making sure each child gets a sticker. Optional: You can
also make a body and laminate and attach it to the head, making sure
that it can be at the child's level.
Title: SCIENCE
What's Inside A Pumpkin?
Materials you will need-Pumpkin, large carving knife, smaller paring
knives, large mixing bowl, smaller mixing bowls
Place the pumpkin on the display table. Encourage the children to try to lift
it to see how heavy it is, but keep it over the table. Touch it & feel
how cool it is, how smooth the skin is & how bumpy it is in places. Cut
a large circle around the stem and remove the stem. Let the children examine
the cap closely, touching the rough end of the stem, the sticky side of the
inside of the pumpkin.
Lift the seeds and membranes out of the center of the pumpkin and place in
the large mixing bowl. Let the children touch the seeds and separate them from
the membranes, placing the seeds in smaller mixing bowls. Either carve the
pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern or cut large wedges from the pumpkin for the
children to look at more closely.
Let the children cut off small slivers of pumpkin with the paring knife & taste
the raw pumpkin. This experience is planned as a science activity forthe children
to learn about pumpkins, but you can also use the pumpkin meat & seeds
for cooking as well. Take the meat from the center of the pumpkin and boil
it until it is soft, add pumpkin pie seasonings & use for the fillings
in the pumpkin pies served for snack. You can also toast the pumpkin seeds.
Wash them, then place on a cookie sheet in a hot oven to toast.
Title: GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
Pumpkin Hopscotch
Make an indoor game for a rainy day. Allow children to use their
gross motor skills and number recognition by playing Pumpkin Hopscotch.
Use 10 pieces of heavy cardboard, or posterboard. Number the cards
1-10, drawing the corresponding number of pumpkins. Arrange on the
floor in the traditional hopscotch pattern. Tape the cards to the
floor. Allow the child two or three turns.
The Little Orange House
Submitted by Tammy
This is one of my favorite stories during Halloween. To do
this you will need the story, a pair of scissors, and a sheet of
orange construction paper.
Once upon a time a very small witch was walking in the woods. The cold
wind was blowing the dry leaves all around her. The little witch was
frantically searching for a house for the winter. She could not find
one. Suddently a piece of Orange paper, blowne by the wind landed at
her feet. She picked it up.
The little witch looked closely at the paper and then she said, "I shall make
myself a little house from this piece of orange paper."
She folded the paper in half. Then she took her scissors (she always
carried a pair in her pocket) and cut off the two corners to make a roof. (Cut
the construction paper as the story indicates).
"This will do just fine," she said as she looked at her new house. "But
I will need a door." With her scissors she cut a door. Since witches
always wear pointed hats, she cut a special door. (Cut a rectangle shape
with one end pointed up more towards the bottom of the folded edge.)
The little witch walked through the door into the little orangs house. It
was very dark inside. She quickly hurried back out. "I will need
to make windows to let in the light," said the little witch. She cut
a front and back window. (Cut a square shape in the top middle of the
paper opposite end of the paper than the door. Cut through both sides
of the paper.)
Oh, it was a very fine looking house. Her very own little house with a roof,
a door, and windows was all finished. But just as the little witch started
to go inside for the winter, she saw a tiny ghost floating down the windswept
path. As the tiny ghost came to a stop near the little house, the little
witch saw that she was crying.
"Why are you crying?"acked the little witch.
The tiny ghost stopped crying and answered, "It is cold and windy. It
is getting dark. And I have no Place to spend the winter."
"You may spend the winter with me in my new house," said the kind little witch.
"Oh, thank you, " the happy tiny ghost said as she peeked in through the window. "This
is a very nice house."
"First," said the witch, "I will need to make you a little door of your very
own." She took her scissors again and began to cut. She cut a very
tiny door. (Cut a triangle on the folded edge of the paper between the
big door and the window. Make the longer part of the triangle point up)
The two happy new friends went inside. The tiny ghost went in the very
litttle door, and the little witch went through her own special door. All
winter long they lived happily together inside the little orange house.
If you want to see inside their little orange house, just open your piece
of paper and Surprise!
The orange paper is cut into a jack o lantern. The big door
is the mouth, the tiny door is the nose, and the windows are the eyes. The
cut roof gives the paper an octagon shape, making it more like a pumpkin. I
know it may be hard visualizing the directions of where you need to
cut each piece while you read the story but hopefully you will understand
once you know what the finished project is supposed to look like. The
kids really love to see that the house is really a jack o lantern. Good
luck
Title:SONGS
Pumpkin Man (tune: The Muffin Man)
Have you seen the pumpkin man,
The pumpkin man, the pumpkin man,
Have you seen the pumpkin man,
Who lives in pumpkin patch?
Three Little Pumpkins (tune: Ten Little Indians)
One little, 2 little, 3 little pumpkins
Rolled down the lane like funny bumpkins
Had their faces carved & thought they were somethin's
Funny Halloween jack-o-lanterns!
The Great Pumpkin (tune: Did You Ever See a Lassie?)
I am the great pumpkin, great pumpkin, great pumpkin.
I am the great pumpkin. Come dance with me.
For you friends are my friends & my friends are your friends.
I am the great pumpkin. Come dance with me.
Thanks Anita for all those great ideas!
Title: Five Little Pumpkins Chant
Submitted by Elise
There are five 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, "But we don't care."
The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run."
The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun."
Oooooooh went the wind and out (clap hands on "out") went the light,
And the 5 little pumpkins rolled out of sight.
Then we finger paint with orange paint. I let them squish in
it for awhile - they LOVE this part! Then they are instructed
to draw five pumpkins in the paint with the tips of their fingers. We
let the pictures dry overnight, then we fill it in with decorations. They
are given construction paper, scissors and spangles or glitter. They
have to put gates under the pumpkins - this is the only direction I
give. Then they can add what they like. Some add black
cats, the sun, a witch - anything Halloween-ish. The are really
cute when they are done and they are all different because they all
embellish it differ
Halloween Math Activities
Submitted by Stella
Materials:
giant lima beans (spray one side orange and the other side white
- I purchased the spray paint for $.98 at Wal-Mart)
black permanent marker ( decorate the orange side (pumpkin) with jack-o-lantern
faces and decorate the white side with ghost faces) dice
Activities:
Patterning
1. Prepare a work mat with a black fence running along the length of
it.
2. The children make patterns with the beans on the fence. ex. pumpkin,
pumpkin, ghost, pumpkin, pumpkin, ghost.....
1:1 Correspondence
1. On a file folder, glue either cut outs or pictures of children, haunted
houses, black cats, or even ghosts.
2. Have children put one pumpkin beside each haunted house or have the
children put one ghost on each house...
3. You can have several file folders with different numbers of things
for the children to match
Counting
1. Prepare either a haunted house for the ghosts or a pumpkin patch for
the pumpkins or a fence for the jack-o-lanterns
2. To reinforce counting a specific number, make several copies of a
haunted house and mount it on a piece of tag board.
3. Have your student count a specific number of ghosts on each haunted
house.
Addition
1. Use the same haunted house mat from above.
2. Roll dice. Put that many jack-o-lanterns on the haunted house.
3. Roll dice again. Put that many ghosts on the haunted house.
4. Then they count how many things there are in the haunted house.
Probability
1. Put, for example, 5 jack-o-lantern beans in a sack or bag and put
just two ghost beans. Have the children count with you as you put
the seeds in the bag
2. You wonder aloud to the children and ask, " If I pick 3 beans from
this bag, I wonder how many of them would be jack-o-lanterns or ghosts....
This would be an introduction to probability....by the end of the year, after
many experiences with probability games, the children will understand the concept
Comparison - More or less
1. Have child roll the dice.
2. Have them put that many ghosts on one haunted house.
3. Roll again and do the same on another house.
4. Ask: "Which house has more ghosts?" or "Which house has fewer or less
ghosts?"
Do same with pumpkins or jack-o-lanterns....
Orange brew for Halloween
Submitted by Marilyn
Although we do not celebrate any holidays in my program, we do use
the colors of the season. When it gets closer to Halloween
we make an Orange Brew
2 6oz. cans of frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup water
2 cups whole milk
6 teaspoons of vanilla extract
20 ice cubes
orange food coloring
Mix this all together in the blender. It tastes like a creamcicle. You
can make it even better if you use vanilla ice cream and whole milk.
Halloween Bulletin Boards
Submitted by Joyce
Two cute ideas I've seen for bulletin boards:
1. Ghosts = White tempera paint footprints on black
paper. Cut out, leaving a bit of black to make an outline. Use
the circle shaped notebook paper reinforcements for eyes.
2. Jack-o'-lanterns = Cut bookmark size strips of orange
construction paper, squares (3 inch) of green construction paper, black
triangles (about 2 inches tall), small circles of black, halved. Arrange
the orange strips into a teepee shape and top with the green square for
a stem. Make the face older 4's.
Take a block of styrofoam (about 6 x 4 inches) and have the child paint it
green. This will be your base. Then have them paint walnuts orange
(this will be the pumpkins) have them paint popsicle sticks white (this
will be the pickets in a fence). Also, take a tootsie roll pop and cover
it with a white tissue. Tie around the base of the ball of the lollipop
to make it look like a ghost figure. Draw a face on the rounded end of
the lollipop. Now assemble the parts. Stick the popsicle sticks
into the block of green styrofoam in a row. Place the tootsie roll pop
ghost into the styrofoam and then glue on the orange walnuts. Purchase
small, plastic black cats to stick into the styrofoam. You now have a
little, holiday centerpiece for each child.
The older the child, the more involved you can make it. I also did this
with 6 and 7 year old brownie troop and they LOVED it!
Halloween Snack
Submitted by Shelley
We always have the children make snack themselves once a month.
For October we are going to try witches hats. You take a cookie
and use it for the base, then take a sugar cone and fell it up with
candy inside. You put the cone on top of the cookie and cover
with melted chocolate. I t should turn out to look like a black witch's
hat.
FLANNEL BOARD STORIES
Submitted by Shelley
Three Naughty Ghosts
You will need a mother ghost and three white ghosts,a red, green
and yellow ghost
Three naughty ghosts were home all alone. Their mama told them, "You
leave the food alone!" (moma ghost flies away)
"My tummy is hungry," the first ghost said. He ate a juicy apple and turned
bright red. (add red ghost)
The second ghost said, "I want a banana. He slurped down the banana and
turned yellow (add yellow ghost)
The third ghost whined "I'm running out of steam. He ate some peas and
turned bright green. (add green ghost)
In through the window, mama flew home. "I thought I told you to leave
the food alone!"
She sent them to their bedrooms for the rest of the night. They each
drank a glass of milk and turned creamy white (bring back white ghosts)
Halloween Night
You will need a moon, broom, witch, cat,owl, jack-o-lantern,ghost
This is the moon that shone in the sky on Halloween night
This is the broom that sailed across the moon, that shone in the sky
on Halloween night.
This is the witch who rode the broom, that sailed across the moon, that shone
in the sky on Halloween night.
This is the cat that belonged to the witch who rode the broom, that sailed
across the moon that shone in the sky on Halloween night
This is the owl who woke the cat, that belonged to the witch, who rode the
broom, that sailed across the moon, that shone in the sky on Halloween night
This is the jack-o-lantern that startled the owl, who woke the cat that belonged
to the witch, who rode the broom, that sailed across the moon, that shone in
the sky on Halloween night.
This is the ghost that carved the jack-o-lantern that startled the owl, who
woke the cat, that belonged to the witch, who rode the broom, that sailed across
the moon, that shone in the sky on Halloween night.
PUMPKIN ACTIVITIES
Submitted by Teri
This is one of my favorite stories during Halloween. To do this you
will need the story, a pair of scissors, and a sheet of orange construction
paper.
The Little Orange House
Once upon a time a very small witch was walking in the woods. The cold wind
was blowing the dry leaves all around her. The little witch was frantically
searching for a house for the winter. She could not find one. Suddenly a piece
of Orange paper, blown by the wind landed at her feet. She picked it up. The
little witch looked closely at the paper and then she said, "I shall make myself
a little house from this piece of orange paper." She folded the paper in half.
Then she took her scissors (she always carried a pair in her pocket) and cut
off the two corners to make a roof. (Cut the construction paper as the story
indicates). "This will do just fine," she said as she looked at her new house. "But
I will need a door." With her scissors she cut a door. Since witches always
wear pointed hats, she cut a special door. (Cut a rectangle shape with one
end pointed up more towards the bottom of the folded edge.) The little witch
walked through the door into the little orange house. It was very dark inside.
She quickly hurried back out. "I will need to make windows to let in the light," said
the little witch. She cut a front and back window. (Cut a square shape
in the top middle of the paper opposite end of the paper than the door. Cut
through both sides of the paper.) Oh, it was a very fine looking house. Her
very own little house with a roof, a door, and windows was all finished. But
just as the little witch started to go inside for the winter, she saw a tiny
ghost floating down the wind swept path. As the tiny ghost came to a stop near
the little house, the little witch saw that she was crying. "Why are you crying?" asked
the little witch. The tiny ghost stopped crying and answered, "It is cold and
windy. It is getting dark. And I have no place to spend the winter." "You may
spend the winter with me in my new house," said the kind little witch. "Oh,
thank you, " the happy tiny ghost said as she peeked in through the window. "This
is a very nice house." "First," said the witch, "I will need to make you a
little door of your very own." She took her scissors again and began to cut.
She cut a very tiny door. (Cut a triangle on the folded edge of the paper between
the big door and the window. Make the longer part of the triangle point up)
The two happy new friends went inside. The tiny ghost went in the very little
door, and the little witch went through her own special door. All winter long
they lived happily together inside the little orange house. If you want to
see inside their little orange house, just open your piece o paper and Surprise!
The orange paper is cut into a jack o lantern. The big door is the mouth, the
tiny door is the nose, and the windows are the eyes. The cut roof gives the
paper an octagon shape, making it more like a pumpkin. I know it may be hard
visualizing the directions of where you need to cut each piece while you read
the story but hopefully you will understand once you know what the finished
project is supposed to look like. The kids really love to see that the house
is really a jack o lantern. Good luck
Shaving Fun
Spray shaving cream on your carved pumpkin. Take turns shaving the
pumpkin with safety razors that have the blades removed.
Pumpkin Bread
THIS IS DELICIOUS AND VERY SIMPLE
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp ground cloves
1 cup fresh or canned pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1 cup flour
2 tsps ground cinnamon
cup raisins
2 1/3 cups bisquick
pinch of ground nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x5-inch loaf pan. Mix all ingredients
together with wooden spoon. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes.
Test with knife, if the knife comes out clean the bread is done. If
it is not done put back in oven for 10 minutes. Cool before removing
from pan.Store in plastic bag.
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