HALLOWEEN GAMES  

JACK O’LANTERN FACES This is a great activity to help your child learn to identify and distinguish between different shapes.

Cut out a large pumpkin shape from orange felt. Glue it to a large piece of cardboard. Next cut out a variety of small back felt shapes, such as triangles, circles, ovals, squares and rectangles. Encourage your child to use the shapes to create different faces on the pumpkin shape. Discuss the various faces with your child and include the names of the shapes that are used each time. Example: “Oh, I like the triangle eyes you used.”

 

COUNTING PUMPKIN SEEDS Pumpkins are great for counting fun.

Before you clean out and carve your pumpkin, have your child estimate or guess how many seeds you will find inside. As you scoop out the insides, save all your seeds. Later, wash them off and count them with your child. Who was the closest? Extension: Save the seeds and roast them for a fall snack.

RING THE PUMPKIN While shopping for a pumpkin this year, look for one with a tall straight stem.

Give your child an embroidery hoop and let him practice tossing the hoop around the stem of the pumpkin. If you don’t have an embroidery hoop, you can take a margarine lid and cut out the center of the lid, leaving a ring.

 

HALLOWEEN LOTTO This game is like Bingo, except the cards only have three rows and there are no letters at the top of the game cards. You will need: Sets of Halloween stickers (9 different stickers per set) One set of stickers per game card.

MAKING THE GAME Cut out 6" x 6" game cards from heavy paper, one for each child. Draw lines 2" apart to create 9 - 2" squares on each card. Now place the Halloween stickers on the game cards. (One set per card) Make the placement of the stickers different on each card. Make an extra game card for yourself. Cut your card into 9 squares.

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME Give each child a game card and some game markers, such as, small 1"squares of orange paper. Hold up your sticker squares and make sure that each child knows what is on each square. Place your squares in a bag and mix them up. Draw out a square and hold up the picture on the square. Have your children place an orange square on the same picture on their card, if they have it. The first child to get three pictures covered in a row, wins. You may have more than one winner. You can also make up different ways to win, each time you play like in Bingo, such as; the first one to get all corners covered wins, or the first one to cover across the top and down the middle.   FOR A YOUNGER CHILD Give him a game card and your set of picture squares. Have him lay each one of the individual squares on top of the same picture on his board.   HALLOWEEN SEQUENCE CARDS This is a learning game that children will need to take turns playing.   MAKING THE GAME Set out 4 small 3" x 5" index cards. Draw a different picture on each card. Draw a seed in the dirt in the first picture. Draw some green pumpkin leaves with some yellow pumpkin flowers on the second card. Draw a green pumpkin growing on the pumpkin vine on the third card. Draw a large fat orange pumpkin on the fourth card. Mix up the cards. PLAYING THE GAME The child places the cards in the proper sequence for "The Life of a Pumpkin". VARIATION - Make sequence cards for "Carving a Jack-o'-lantern" or "Going Trick-or-Treating".