Great Halloween School Party Activities

Halloween is just around the corner, and in many schools, kids in grades kindergarten through the 6^th grade have a Halloween school party. If you are a room parent or simply want to volunteer to help with the party, you can also contribute these great Halloween school party activities, crafts, and ideas to the event.

Ghost Bingo: Ghost Bingo is a variation on regular Bingo suggested by an author at About. For the game, you will need: orange posterboard, a black marker, an inexpensive Bingo game, candy corn, ruler, scissors, and small prizes. Create Ghost Bingo cards by cutting out the number of playing cards you will need from the orange posterboard. You can measure the size of a regular Bingo card and use it as a guide for cutting out the Ghost Bingo cards. Next, use the black marker and ruler to draw the grids on the cards. Instead of writing "BINGO" on the top of the card, write, "GHOST." Then, put numbers in the spaces on the cards, using the cards from the regular Bingo game as a guide. In the free space, draw a pumpkin.

When you play the game, give each child a Ghost Bingo card and some candy corn, which he or she can use as markers. Use the Bingo chips from the regular Bingo game to call out the numbers, but remember to use the GHOST letters instead of the BINGO ones. When a child fills up a row, he or she should call out, "Boo!" Reward each winner with a small prize. Don't forget to throw away all of the candy corn used as markers after the game is over.

Mix and Match Pumpkin Patch Game: The Mix and Match Pumpkin Patch Game is another one of the great Halloween school party ideas you may want to consider doing at this year's party. For this game, you'll need: construction paper in several different colors, including orange, scissors, sticky tack or tape, and a glue stick. Before the party, cut out six or seven pumpkins out of the orange construction paper. You can find a pumpkin pattern here. Additionally, cut out different jack-o-lantern features of varying sizes and colors, including jack-o-lantern eyes, noses, and mouths.

During the party, tack or tape the pumpkins to the classroom chalkboard or bulletin board. Put all of the jack-o-lantern features into a bag and have each child take turns picking out a feature - on at a time. Have the child put some glue stick onto the feature and place it onto the pumpkin of his or her choice. Allow each child to take turns picking out and placing features until all of the features are gone and all of the pumpkins are decorated.

Tissue Paper Black Cats: One Halloween activity you may want to do with kids at a Halloween school party is to make tissue paper black cats. For this project, you will need the black cat pattern, black and yellow tissue paper, scissors, and heavy paper. First, print out the black cat printable, which may be found here. Make copies of the printable - one for each child in the class as well as a few additional copies in case someone messes up and wants to start over. Before the party, you may also want to cut up many 2-inch squares of yellow and black tissue paper. Yellow tissue paper will be used for the eyes, so you won't need as many squares of this color.

Have each child cut out the black cat pattern. Help the child if he or she needs assistance. Next, have the children roll up the 2 inch squares of tissue paper into tight balls, put glue on them, and place them onto the black cat pattern. You may want to instruct the children to do the smaller areas of the cat first, such as the feet and ears, in order to keep their definition. Allow the glue to dry before hanging around the classroom or allowing the children to take them home to give to their parents.

Egg Carton Spiders: Egg Carton Spiders are another great Halloween craft you can do at a Halloween school party. For this activity, you'll need empty egg cartons, washable black paint, paintbrushes, scrap newspaper, scissors, paper clips, black pipe cleaners, white glue, and googly eyes. Before the party, you may want to cut apart the egg cartons into individual egg cups. Ensure there are enough egg cups for each student in the class to have one.

Allow the kids to paint the egg cups black both inside and out. Place onto the scrap newspaper and allow to dry before you continue with the craft. When the egg cups are dry, unbend part of the paper clips and allow the children to poke four holes in either side of the egg cups, for a total of eight holes. Next, have the kids cut the black pipe cleaners into seven-inch sections. Each child will need four seven-inch black pipe cleaners. Have the kids thread the pipe cleaners through one hole on one side of the cup and out through the second hole in the other side of the cup. When all four pipe cleaners have been threaded through the holes, have the kids bend the pipe cleaners up at the base of the egg and then downward so that the egg spider appears to have knees and feet. Finally, paste the googly eyes onto the spider and allow to dry.

Halloween Word Twist: Halloween Word Twist is another great game for a Halloween school party. For this game, you will need some paper and pens or pencils. Write a Halloween phrase, such as, "Happy Halloween," or, "pumpkin patch," on the chalkboard and have each child write the phrase on the top of his or her paper. Give the children a time limit to come up with as many words as they can using the letters from the phrase you have chosen. Reward the person who comes up with the most words as well as kids who come up with words no one else did, and the kid who comes up with the longest word. Because of the challenging nature of this game, it is a particularly good game for older children.

If you are planning on helping with a Halloween school party, you may want to consider using some of these Halloween school party activities and Halloween crafts during the event. The kids are sure to have fun when you incorporate any of these Halloween school party ideas into the celebration!

Sources:

Coolest Party Ideas: Halloween Word Twist:

http://www.coolest-party-ideas.com/Halloween-Word-Twist.html

Holiday Arts and Crafts: Great Project: Egg Carton Spiders:

http://crafts.holidays.net/view_craft.php?id=307

Free Kids Crafts: Tissue Paper Black Cat:

http://www.freekidscrafts.com/tissue_paper_black_cat-e511.html

Free Kids Crafts: Black Cat Pattern:

http://www.freekidscrafts.com/index.php?option=com_events&task=view_patterns&id=511

Family Fun: Mix and Match Pumpkin Patch Game:

http://familyfun.go.com/games/indoor-outdoor-games/game/famfgam_pumpknpatch/

Family Fun: Pumpkin Noses and Mouths:

http://familyfun.go.com/Resources/game_pumpkin_pieces2.pdf

Family Fun: Pumpkin Eye Pieces:

http://familyfun.go.com/Resources/game_pumpkin_pieces.pdf

Family Fun: Pumpkin Templates:

http://familyfun.go.com/Resources/game_pumpkin.pdf

About: Halloween Party Games for Kids:

http://childparenting.about.com/od/halloweenparties/ss/halloweengames_9.htm