Halloween Bingo: A Game for Early Readers

As school Halloween parties begin to be planned, games often are one of the hardest parts of a party. Halloween Bingo is an idea that worked for countless early elementary parties for my kids and other classes as well. You will be making your own Halloween Bingo for kids who are either pre-readers or early readers, so this is a nice game they can play with confidence even if they aren't the best of readers.

Materials needed:

Poster board...several sheets

scissors

markers

stickers or make your own

blank stickers for the computer

prizes (for winners and losers alike)

imagination....

kids to help! :-)

First:, cut posterboard or cardstock to the size BINGO cards you wish to use with the proper lines already marked by an adult. Make about 30-35 of these so each kid has a choice in cards...that way there are no tears when someone is left with the LAST card in the stack and it also gives leeway in case some are lost in the future. (placing the extra stickers in an envelope to put with the game is also nice in case additional cards need to be added sometime in the future.)

Instead of numbers, you will be using stickers that are Halloween themed... you can find many stickers at Hallmark, Walgreens, or even Hobby Lobby. Or you can even get crafty and print your own if you are so inspired. We found it was cheaper to buy sticker printer sheets and make our own...that way we had enough variety and actually it was faster to use clip art on the stickers than to try to find all the combinations...plus, you can also "tweak" the colors here too...and add basic shapes such as square, circle, triangle and such to finish out the stickers needed.

Any stickers or small pictures can be used on these cards....the sky is the limit as to "spooky fun!"

I used:

black bats

orange pumpkins

green spooky faces (like

Frankenstein)

yellow moons

blue witches hats

(so 2 black items didn't confuse

the kids)

purple candy "BOO" letters

hot pink candy pieces

pale green stars (glow in the dark

if you can find it is coo!)

grey cats

white ghosts

skeletons or skulls

Haunted houses

(there are some great stickers out from Monster House in stores now)

a clock with hands pointing to midnight

tombstone or spooky tree

colorful candy corn

and any additional Halloween

theme stickers you can dream up!

(one note...I tried to use colors only once to keep confusion at a minimum and I didn't really check to see if the kids won or not...the focus is on fun not on the competition! )

.....place the stickers randomly on each card making sure you don't make any two cards the same. This is where your child can help...any mixture of stickers will work, using the traditional topper BINGO you will need about 25 stickers or pictures for each card. Don't forget the "FREE" space in the middle of each card...this is fun for the kids to outline in marker if you really want them to get involved.

Make a card for the "caller" to use with each of the stickers on it. This is what you will be drawing from so make sure there is one card with each sticker available.

Now, using Starburst candies (wrapped) as markers (this way they can eat them when they are through...a double treat) begin the game. The first one who wins must sit out a game so others get a chance but they can help you call the game so it's fun for them too! I also let the kids that won be the ones to take the prize to the next winner and so forth...play it by ear...it's supposed to be fun!

In a bucket with handle (not so easy to drop!) have an assortment of small wrapped candies or stickers for the winners to choose from and make sure each child gets a piece of "winning" candy afterwards as well. That way everyone feels like they were winners! And when the party is over, present the bucket to the teacher with several bags of healthy snacks she can use as treats throughout the school year. She will appreciate the treat as well!

This is a great game, it keeps them in their seats and relatively quiet and if you like, you can give the game to the teacher to use next year after the party. The prep is easy, the prices cheap and the fun can go on as long as you want....have fun and remember, it's all about the kids enjoying themselves...so don't sweat the small stuff and laugh along with the kids! They will remember the fun but the teacher will remember your work and will appreciate all you did!