what to do with all that candy. Halloween is an enchanting time for children and adults alike: here’s how to enjoy it with style, spirit, and not too many cavities!
Make a Plastic Cup Monster!
Learning about how plants grow is a building block in the preschool curriculum. Put a spine-tingling twist on this science concept with these fun cup monsters. They also make great homemade Halloween decor.
Find Out Why Leaves Change Color
Want to give your child a peek into the science behind a tree's changing leaves? With this hands-on activity, you'll show how those colors stay hidden in the leaf all year long!
Make a Halloween Candle Holder
Nothing says Halloween like candlelight! For a ghostly arts and crafts activity that will give your child an introduction to the art of stained glass, give these candleholders a try. Your house will end up looking ripe for Halloween!
Concoct a Spicy Witch's Brew
Want to make a genuine, and delicious, witch's brew this Halloween? Here's a spicy hot cider recipe that should do just the trick.
Make a Crazy Pumpkin Character
Here's a silly activity that's a less dangerous version of pumpkin carving: using a small pumpkin and some fun materials, kids can bring their pumpkins to life!
Write a Spooky Story
Want to build your fourth grader's literary repertoire with tools like foreshadowing and description? Try a spooky Halloween story!
The Perfect Pumpkin Soup
Nothing says October like pumpkin soup, but in addition to tradition, it's also really good for you, with high amounts of fiber, iron, zinc and free radical busting antioxidants.
Make Halloween Shape Sticks
Here's a salt dough recipe that can be used to make ghostly character sticks for fun Halloween decor. They're easy to create, fun to decorate, and for once, provides a Halloween activity that doesn't involve sugar!
Sweet Sorting: A Fun Activity to Practice Categorizing
Delay your child's sugar overload, and develop his critical thinking skills, by doing some "sweet sorting" of his Halloween treasures!
No-Bake Clay
This clay can be rolled, kneaded, and shaped into whatever sculpture strikes your kid's fancy, and it doesn't need to go into the oven. Brew up a batch, shape it, and dry overnight. By morning, it's ready for painting!
Make a Halloween Tissue Ghost
Now that October's here, with days getting chillier and afternoons more cozy, it's a great time for family crafts. Here's a ghost Halloween decoration you and your child can make together.
Get Halloween Math Practice with Candy Calories
Have you ever wondered which Halloween candy has the most calories per gram? By tracking nutritional information from candy wrappers, your teen can use statistics to find which treats offer the fewest tricks.
Write a Cliffhanger
Even the most reluctant beginning writers love to experiment with the "cliffhanger," and Halloween provides the perfect excuse to put pen to paper. The thought that you can "tease" your readers (without getting in trouble for it!) gets every child excited about writing.
Make Pumpkin Nut Bread
Want a fun, and delicious, activity to do with your child in the kitchen this Fall? Here's a pumpkin nut bread recipe that makes for a wonderful project on a crisp autumn afternoon.
Wickedly Good Articles
- Staying Safe on Halloween
- Trick or Treat: Dare to Skip Candy
- A Safe and Spooktacular Halloween
- Jack O'Lanterns: The Inside Scoop
- Tips for Safe and Healthy Trick or Treating
- Halloween Candy: How to Avoid a Meltdown
- Healthy Halloween Habits: Tips from Parents
- Dehorrifying Halloween
- Halloween Safety Tips
- The Hidden History of Halloween
Ghoulishly Good Reads
In this preschool page-turner written by Lauren Thompson, mouse is out exploring on Halloween night and he hears all sorts of strange noises. What could they be? Your child will delight in guessing. See more books
Go for an optical “trick” this Halloween with another installment in the I Spy series from photographer Walter Wick. Look for spooky objects beneath a full moon, on an eerily desrted hill, and in the tower of a castle haunted by a ghost! See more books
Author Neil Gaiman knows scary. Bod (short for Nobody because he’s like nobody else) is an orphan boy who has been raised by ghosts in his graveyard home. This gothic rif on Kipling’s The Jungle Book makes for a perfect Halloween spook-fest. See more books See more books
