It’s that scary, creepy, spooky, eerie time of year! The monsters are coming out to play, and I don’t mean your students! On Thursday, October 31st, many countries will be celebrating Halloween. Kids will get dressed up in costumes like witches, ghosts, cats, cartoon characters, etc. and go trick-or-treating. The next day, they’ll undoubtedly have tummy aches from all the candy they collected and consumed! It’s a fun time of year for kids. Teachers and parents can keep the fun going all week long with various Halloween activities, lessons, and crafts. Sprout English has some great Halloween resources that are right at your fingertips! Try some of our suggestions below to infuse your kids with the Halloween spirit. 
LESSONS:
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Halloween vocabulary lesson in the Holidays section of the Word Bank
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Halloween vocabulary/coloring worksheet in the Paper Games section of the Games Room
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Haunted House writing task in the Writing section of the Project Depot
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Halloween coloring sheets in the Halloween section of the Color Mart
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Dangerous Aliens game in the Board Games section of the Games Room
CRAFTS:
Halloween costumes: Try making costumes in your class! That way, everyone will be dressed up come Halloween. Bring in colored construction paper, glue, sparkles, and whatever else you have available. With a little guidance, kids can make their own witches hats, cat ears and tails, ghost costumes, etc. The witch’s hat pattern at www.firstpalette.com looks like a good one to try.
Halloween crafts: There are lots of ways you can get your young learners to participate in decorating your classroom. From the traditional kleenex ghosts to more complex projects, kids will have fun making crafts in class. There are good instructions for making kleenex ghosts at www.easy-crafts-for-kids.com. Also, the Crafts for Kids section, about halfway down the page at www.spoonful.com, has some great ideas for other Halloween crafts.
ACTIVITIES:
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4 Themes and 20+ Activities for Halloween by Shelly Terrell
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Draw and Describe: Monsters by Tara Benwell
Pumpkin carving: Have a class competition, with small groups designing and carving pumpkins and a secret vote to determine the winner. Or get your whole school involved! Choose the best jack-o’-lantern from each class, line them up with a number in front, and get kids to vote for their favorite one.
Note: if your students are too young to handle sharp utensils, you can change the competition into a design competition, not a carving competition. Have each student draw a design for a pumpkin on a piece of paper. Get students to vote on the one they like best, and then they can watch as you carve the pumpkin with the winning design. Make sure you let them help you scoop out the squishy innards with their bare hands—kids love that part!
Halloween party: Put on some Halloween music such as “Monster Mash”, decorate the classroom, get kids to dress up, get some candy, and have a party! During the party, try doing some of the fun activities listed in Shelly and Tara’s blog posts above.
If you teach in a country that doesn’t celebrate Halloween, why not have a Halloween party with your class anyway? Kids from all over have been exposed to Halloween one way or another, whether via books, TV shows, movies, or the Internet, so they’ll appreciate a chance to participate in this fun holiday. And what kid doesn’t like to dress up and eat candy?
Have a safe and happy Halloween!
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