Fall! It’s my favorite season of the year! One of my favorite things to do in the fall is go pumpkin-picking with my family. We have an amazing local farm and they have the BEST pumpkin pie, apple cider donuts, sweet corn…. so yummy!
Another thing I love about the fall is Halloween! Throughout the month, I have Halloween center activities that are fun, meaningful, and easy-to-prep!
AND, most of them are absolutely free! I have provided templates for you to use in your classroom with supplies you already have, but a few require some extra materials.
STORYTELLING CENTER
Before I show you the activities pictured, I have a NEW freebie for you! One of my favorite books to read aloud this month is Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson.
This Story Sequencing and Retelling freebie is perfect for a whole-group or center activity after reading the book together!
FALL CENTERS
- Fall leaf rubbings– Kids simply place the veined side of a leaf face-up under a sheet of paper, then rub a paperless crayon on its side over the page. See the veins and leaf shapes come to life! Try with different fall colors too!
- Leaf sorting– Go on a leaf hunt, then have students sort the leaves by colors, shapes, , edges, sizes, or any other attribute they can think of!
- Leaf art– Have kids glue a leaf onto a piece of paper, then draw around it to turn it into an object!
WRITING CENTERS
- Halloween Word Wall– I have some picture word walls in my store (and I have included one with writing stationery in this post’s freebie), but you can also create one with your students to make it even more effective! Have them brainstorm words while you write on large chart paper. It takes some time afterwards to add pictures (either drawn or from the web), but I highly recommend this step to help those who need extra support. I do have a Halloween-themed word wall large enough to display in my October Writing Journals pack.
Once displayed, you can use the word wall for various centers: write about your Halloween, write a riddle about your costume, or…
- Sticker Story– in FREEBIE– get some themed stickers from the Dollar Tree and provide stationery. Ask students to take up to 5 stickers to make a scene, then complete by drawing, labeling, and writing their story.
- Stamp-a-Story– Same as above, but with themed stamps.
- Halloween card– IN FREEBIE- Simply fill out for a ghoulfriend or boofriend!
WORD WORK CENTERS
- Making Words- HALLOWEEN– in FREEBIE– two options- Place the letters that spell HALLOWEEN on a cookie sheet or magnetic file cabinet. Have kids manipulate the letters to build words, then write in a notebook. OR, if you don’t have enough letters, or want to use this whole-group, use the enclosed slips and have kids cut apart the letters before using them to build words. They can glue the top of the slip into their notebooks and list their words. Extension: use some to write sentences.
- Bingo– IN FREEBIE- Use the blank template enclosed and have kids complete it by writing words from your fall/ Halloween Word Wall (see above) in random boxes (make sure to tell them not to write the words in order). Write the words on slips of paper and place into a bag. Pull out a word at a time and kids can use counters, torn paper, or candy corn as bingo markers!
ART AND MORE CENTERS
- Photo booth– You can buy props, OR you can have students make their own- fun! Have them draw big mouths, eyes, horns, and speech bubbles with monster sayings, cut and glue to popsicle sticks, then pose with them!
- Standing Jack-o-lantern– Students cut out 3 pumpkins, color and add a green stem to each, then glue back to back
- Decorate-a-Cupcake– If you don’t have allergies and your school allows it, kids just LOVE to decorate cookies and cupcakes. Bake or buy plain cupcakes, provide icing, toppings, plastic knives, and plenty of wipes and napkins!
- Mask and Monster Mash– Have students create a mask, glue onto a large popsicle stick and parade around the room to the song Monster Mash!
- “Book and Bite” Kid favorite! Read a book (I usually have a parent volunteer at this center) and have students take a bite of their cookie every time the FUN word is said. The student with the largest piece of cookie left at the end of the book is the winner! I use There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Bat, or There Was an Old Lady who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything, and the fun word is BAT. It’s so cute to watch them to take tiny nibbles for fear they won’t have any left at the end of the book. Here is the 2nd book on youtube: YOUTUBE video of There Was an Old Lady who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything
- Buddy Reading! Simply place themed books in a basket and have them read along with a friend!
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