Celebrating Halloween through dress-up parades and trick-or-treating around the neighborhood has been a long tradition at schools and local communities. While we recognize that Halloween is a fun traditional for many, it is not a holiday that is celebrated by everyone for various reasons. To make Halloween an inclusive learning experience, we have some events and activities for you to adopt in their early learning classroom. Many of these suggestions utilize readily available resources if you're on a budget (or have no budget!).
A Fall Picnic with Dress Code
Instead of a costume parade, host a fun picnic outdoors with black and orange color themes. If your classroom is not into dressing up, have students come in that day dressed in a particular dress code, such as orange and black pajamas or items with those colors. Offer fall-themed crackers (autumn leaves, green apples, pumpkin pies, etc.) or ask families to sign up for a pot-luck style picnic. This is also a great event for parent engagement if the picnic is open for family members to participate in. Recommended Resources:
Printable:
Song: "We're Going on a Picnic" (Singing to "We're Going on a Bear Hunt!")
Book: A Picnic with Kit by Sara E. Hoffmann
Trick-or-treat Circle
During snack time or circle time, present healthy food choices in themed-colored bins, plates, or containers and have children pick from the selection. Pass out "Falloween" placemats for children and have them glue the types of food they'd like to have on their trick-or-treat plate. Have some fun coloring and decorating the placemats before you start your Trick-or-treat Circle! Recommended Resources:
Printable:
Song: Apples and Bananas by Cocomelon
Video: Halloween by English Singsing
Video: A Healthy Meal by Pink Fong
Book: Trick or Treat by Robin Wells
Need food ideas? Check out 64 Non-Candy Halloween Snack Ideas.
Costume Fashion Show
Turn the music on! Set up a runway and have children create a silly catwalk strutting their stylish outfit! For those who are not dressed up for the event, they may act as audience or fashion designers. Pre-activity: show pictures of a runway or fashion show. Play a small clip of what a fashion show looks like. Assign children their role in the fashion show based on what they come to school with (dressed up or in regular clothes). Recommended Resources:
Printable:
Song: Knock Knock, Trick or Treat? by Super Simple Songs
Book: Clothing Around the World by Charles Murphy
Pumpkin Patch Scavenger Hunt
Turn the classroom into a pumpkin patch using print-outs and construction papers! Set up a spot to create your pumpkin patch or you can use the entire classroom for the scavenger hunt. Cut out different size pumpkins using color construction papers and place them on the floor, tables and chairs, and different parts where children can reach. For extra fun, you can stick some of the "enchanted pumpkins" that can fly like the bats! Recommended Resources:
Printable:
Song: Pumpkins (Are My Favorite Fruit) by Danny Weinkauf
Video: Pumpkins (Are My Favorite Fruit) by Danny Weinkauf
Video: Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch by LittleStoryBug
Book: A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch by Jenna Lee Gleisner
Book: Around Town: Pumpkin Patch by Adeline J. Zimmerman
Other Halloween Party Ideas
Alice Kuo Mom, Teacher, Coach, Founder of i-Immersion Alice Kuo is the founder of i-Immersion, a language organization specializing in early care education and provider support in the San Francisco Bay Area. Alice has a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a master's degree from Mills College. In her 15-year education management career, she has created programs of different sizes, from parent-and-me weekend classes to large-scale after school programs. She was also a program consultant for the Menlo-Atherton School District and a trainer for the California School-Age Consortium (CalSAC). Always exploring creative ways to make early education more accessible in the communities, She integrates her own personal experience of running a family childcare home in her coaching practice for providers. When she's not working, she's with her husband, Harry, daughter Isabella, and, of course, the family cats, Noodles and Bubbles.