Trick or Treat Sight Word Game

 

Halloween may be over, but I had to post this game.  It was a hit at the Halloween party and we have played it again and again at home too!
 Prep:
Cut out approx. 40 white ghosts.  I used index cards so they were sturdy.  Write 30 sight words with silly eyes on the ghosts, 5 ghosts write the word "BOO!" and 5 ghosts write "Trick or Treat!".  Shuffle up the ghosts and place them in a bag or spooky cauldron.
Ready to play:  Place all the cards in your cauldron.  Have players take turns pulling out one card.  If they can read the word,  they keep it.  If they pull the word "BOO", they have to put all their cards back in the cauldron.  If they pull the word, "Trick or Treat", all the other players give them their cards.  Keep going until all the words are gone.  The player with the most words wins.
Hint:  Keep "Boo" and "Trick or Treat" cards out of the cauldron once pulled by the players or the game will go on and on forever.  Have fun!  You can also do this with numbers or letters, depending on what skill you are working on with your little ones.
This game would be great for practicing letters or numbers, depending on what your child is focusing on.

Puffy Ghost

Another simple project for your little ones.  Cut out a ghost shape and have your child "paint" on the glue with a paint brush.  After there is enough glue, place cotton balls on top.  (My son didn't like when the cotton stuck to his fingers from the glue). Have wet wipes available.  Final step is to add the face...Boo!!!!

Be sure to check out the chocolate chip ghost post.  http://mrsodaniels.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-chocolate-chip-ghost.html?m=0

Second Annual Halloween Fun

Tonight was the night for my son's second annual spooky play date and dinner.  He had three friends over for games, a science experiment, dinner, and a spooky treasure hunt.

Thanks to our great neighbors for participating.  I had dropped off rhyming clues and small goodies at their houses earlier that day.

 Dinner consisted of mummy dogs, ghost quesadilla, grape snake, and vampire blood punch with an ice cube that contained a gummy worm inside.

 The bug slime didn't turn out like I had seen in pictures online, but the kids still LOVED it.  Their giggles and squeals were priceless.  They also had glow sticks and played a ring toss game in a dimly lit room.

Spider Web Paintings

 Another classic art project...
Supplies:
Black construction paper
White paint
Marbles or gold ball
Plastic spoon and small bowl

Place construction paper in the pan.  Pour a small amount of paint into a small bowl and drop in marbles.  Have the child spoon out the marbles

and drop on paper.  The child holds the pan and moves it back and forth to move the marble around to create a web.  Then tape a spider ring or spider cutout on the web.

This is a great project to practice fine motor skills by using the spoon to collect the marbles.

Halloween Drawings

Today I took out one of my favorite Halloween books.   Ed Emberley's Halloween Drawing Book is an easy, step-by-step drawing book using basic shapes.  This year my 6-year-old had fun making all kinds of spooky pictures and details.

HOMEMADE NO SEW HALLOWEEN COSTUMES for BOYS

The past few years I have been able to "make" my son's Halloween costumes and save a lot of money at the same time.  My favorite was the Musketeer, inspired by the Disney version of The Three Musteteers.  I used felt for the tunic and fabric glue, followed the directions for the cape from Joann's fabric, and hot glued a red feather to a foam hat I bought a Michaels.   He wore a white turtleneck and tan pants.  SUPER CUTE and easy.  Here are the direction for the cape: http://www.joann.com/on/demandware.static/Sites-JoAnn-Site/Sites-joann-project-catalog/-/images/hi-res/project/pdf/P321483_no_sew_Costumes.pdf

 Next came the Ninja.  You need black sweat pants and two long sleeve black shirts.  I glued reflective tape on the shirt and left a spot without glue to hold the sword.  We tied the other shirt on his head to make the mask.  Here are the directions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W_xveAHp_g Super EASY and COOL!

 Finally, the year of Star Wars.  My boys were Darth Vader and a Jedi.  Notice Darth Vader is using the same Ninja shirt and black sweat pants from the precious year.  I only added foam pieces to make the chest plate.  I bought Darth Vader's cape and helmet.
The jedi is wearing a tunic from brown material and a sash for the belt.

Let me know if you have any questions.  All these were super easy to make.  But don't ask me what the boys are doing this year!  I'd love to hear your ideas too!

Thanks and Happy Haunting!

Pumpkin Mosiac

 Now that it is October, it is time to have some pumpkin fun!  Today we made a mosaic pumpkin by applying glue with a paint brush on a pumpkin shape and sprinkling pieces of orange paper on the glue.  My two-year-old had more fun painting on the glue and wasn't too interested in filling up the pumpkin with the orange.

Welcome October!!!

Halloween Fun

OK...I am "that" mom.  I thought it would be fun to have a few boys over for some Halloween fun, which included apple munch, spooky dinner and a scavenger hunt.  (I realized that hanging an apple from a string is a great way to get my son to eat apples.  He has been asking for more hanging apples!)  Dinner consisted of grapes on a stick (in a pattern, of course), mummy dogs and/or ghost shaped sandwich, veggie sticks and tomatoes. The drink was red "blood" punch.  They ate outside in candlelight.  After dinner the doorbell rang and the scavenger hunt began with clues and mini lights for each of the boys.  I made up rhyming clues that had the kids go to the neighbors asking for more clues.  They had a blast!

Ninja Pose after the Hunt

I found some eyeball treats at the store and made rhyming clues to go with them.  Have fun making up your own clues.  They are silly but the boys loved it!
Here are my clues...

1.  My eyes have been watching you...Here is a little light to help find
your way tonight. (mini finger lights)  Listen closely to clue number #1 and let us begin a little fun.  I am no longer here, and away I flew to a house that has a one and a ... two.

2.  In case you get in a little trouble, I have for you an eyeball...bubble. (eyeball bubbles)
You need to use your eyes to find another prize. Carefully head next door, if you want to find out...more!

3.  We don’t want to hear any moans, when we give you a bag of...bones.(bone candy)
Now, use your feet and carefully walk across the... street.

4. You deserve something sweet.  Here is a little eyeball... treat.  (chocolate eyeballs)
For your final clue tonight, you will get one last light.
You made it my house number 7, now it’s time to head back to house #...11! (light-up bouncy balls)

The boys ran from house to house, so excited to get the next clue!

Fun Fall Songs Part 2

Here are a few more songs to enjoy this Fall with your little ones...

 

Be sure to register today for the Holiday Express Class - 2 special classes in December where we will be making ornaments and gifts to be treasured and singing Holiday favorites!

http://www.lamorindatheatreacademy.com/Mommy_and_Me.html 

The Chocolate Chip Ghost

"Something dreadful has happened!"

This was one of my favorite stories growing up and I had to make this for my Mommy and Me class and share with my own boys...I found this version online, but you can improvise when you retell the story.  I cut out one mommy ghost and 5 smaller ghosts - one side white and glued another color on the back.  When I tell the story, I flip over the ghosts.  (It is fun to enjoy some chocolate chip ghost cookies at the end!)

Mommy ghost and her 5 white ghosts

Once upon a time, there lived 5 little ghosts and a Mama ghost. As everyone knows, ghosts are white.  The only thing they can eat is vanilla ice cream and the only thing that they can drink is milk. One day when Mama ghost went to the refrigerator, there was no vanilla ice cream and no milk. So she had to go to the grocery store and before she left she said, “No matter how hungry you get, do not eat  anything or something dreadful will happen.” The first ghost became so thirsty and he looked in the refrigerator and saw a little glass of grape juice and thought, “just one teeny sip wouldn’t hurt.” So he took a one teeny sip of grape juice and what do you think happened? He turned purple! The other ghosts looked at him and said “Mama told us that something dreadful would happen and she was right.”  The second ghost became so hungry and he looked in the refrigerator and saw an orange and thought, “just one teeny bite wouldn’t hurt.” So he took a one teeny bite of the orange and what do you think happened? He turned orange! The other ghosts looked at him and said “Mama told us that something dreadful would happen and she was right.”  The third ghost became so hungry and he looked in the refrigerator and saw a banana and thought, “just one teeny bite wouldn’t hurt.” So he took a one teeny bite of spinach and what do you think happened? He turned yellow! The other ghosts looked at him and said “Mama told us that something dreadful would happen and she was right.” The fourth ghost became so hungry and he looked in the refrigerator and saw a bowl of strawberries and thought, “just one teeny bite wouldn’t hurt.” So he took a one teeny bite of a strawberry and what do you think happened? He turned red! The other ghosts looked at him and said “Mama told us that something dreadful would happen and she was right.”  The fifth ghost said, “I’m so hungry but I will not do what my brothers did.  I’ll look in the freezer and see if there is just maybe a little vanilla ice cream left.”  When he looked in the freezer there was some ice cream and it was almost vanilla – it was white with little brown pieces of chocolate in it. So the ghost said, “This shouldn’t hurt me – those pieces of  chocolate are so tiny.” So he ate one spoonful and became a chocolate chip ghost! They were all so scared of getting in trouble they hid behind the door! When Mama ghost returned, she knew something was wrong when she didn’t see her children, so she started looking for the little ghosts. When she found all of them, she said, “Little ghosts, I told you that something dreadful would happen and it did.” Whatever can we do to get you white again for Halloween? She called the ghost doctor and this is  what he told her to do. Keep all the little ghosts in bed for five days and give them nothing but vanilla  ice cream and milk and they should be ready for Halloween. So that is what she did and by Halloween night, the five little ghosts were all white again to go out haunting and spooking and shouting “BOO!” And they never again ate something they shouldn’t.

*There are so many versions of this story, you can have the ghosts go hide behind something, have a different number of ghosts or have them eating different kinds of food.

Edible Witches Hat

 Edible Witches Hats

This year we wanted to make an edible Halloween craft that would be easy, quick, fun and delicious.  Thinking we would do the spider made out of a cookie and pretzel for legs, I found this idea instead. 

Supplies:  ice cream cone, round cookie for the base, frosting, Halloween sprinkles and a gummie worm or spider, plastic knife or popsickle stick to spread the frosting, and paper plate to hold the creation. 

Then it is time to have some fun...put frosting on the cookie and press the ice cream cone onto the cookie and DECORATE! 

Note to self: Find a bigger cookie than the fudge striped cookie so there is more of a brim of the hat to decorate.  Also, use food coloring for the frosting.

Stayed tuned for the ice cream cone Christmas tree - another holiday favorite!
http://mrsodaniels.blogspot.com/2010/12/edible-christmas-trees.html

Sweet Dilemmas: Halloween Candy - Now What!

All year long we talk about the bad "sugar bugs" on our teeth and making good, healthy food choices.   Then comes Halloween!  I enjoyed researching various options on what to do with all the Halloween candy collected.  This is the first year I am actually concerned about how to deal with all the treats that will be brought home.  In the past, my son played with the candy without realizing it could be eaten!  A day or two after Halloween, the candy just disappeared and it wasn't a problem.  This year, may be a different story. He now knows that there are very delicious treats underneath the bright colored, crinkly wrappers.
Here are some fun and creative ideas I found.  I hope you will find them useful with your family.
* Immediately throw away all choking hazards.  Hard candy is the worst!*
1.  The Great Pumpkin or Sugar Fairy or The Switch Witch:  The kids pick a few pieces of candy (your discretion) and place the remaining candy on their doorstep before they go to bed and when they wake up the candy has been replaced with a present for the child and a thank you note.  Keep the gift small, Christmas is right around the corner!  This can be done a day or two after Halloween.
2.  Pick out and save candy to decorate a gingerbread house at Christmas time. (Use glue when attaching the candy so it won't be edible.)
3.  This can be a good opportunity to read the ingredients together and look for the really bad stuff: high-fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils, artificial coloring, etc...  Go to a natural food store with your child and have them pick "healthier" alternatives instead.
4.  Use it as a learning tool: counting, matching, sorting, graphing, weighing, estimating, patterning
5.  Candy Science Experiments: http://www.candyexperiments.com/
6.  Operation Shoe Box will send it to over to our troops http://www.operationshoebox.com/
7.  Local dentists will buy back candy, enter zip code to find one near you: http://www.halloweencandybuyback.com/index.html
8.  Movie Stash: Save some money at the movie theater by bringing your own candy.
I want to set a good example for my son, so the sooner the candy is out of the house, the sooner we can get back to living a healthy lifestyle. 
Do you and your family have any special traditions or ways to limit candy intake?

Boo-tiful Ghosts Again!

I had to re-post this project because this is one that you can do year after year, especially if you've had any new additions to the family.  This year I will be doing this activity with my son's preschool class.  The kids will be painting these ghosts on trick-or-treat bags.  On another day, the parents will be passing out non-sweet treats to the kids at the end of class so the kids can practice saying "trick-or-treat" and "thank you!"
http://mrsodaniels.blogspot.com/2010/10/adorable-ghosts.html  or you can read more at http://www.lamorindaweb.com/articles/family-parenting/1673-boo-tiful-ghosts-worth-treasuring

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Everyone loves the song, The Itsy Bitsy Spider so here is a simple craft you can do with your child that also teaches shapes and colors.  Pre-cut a square, triangle, rectangle and circle.  The kids glue down the shapes to create the house.   Add rain and grass with crayon.  Then put a spider ring on a straw and tape it to the house for the "water spout".  Have fun singing the song and moving the spider up and down the water spout.

The itsy-bitsy spider
Climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain
And the itsy-bitsy spider
Climbed up the spout again.

Adorable Ghosts

This is one of my favorite Halloween crafts.  You can make cards to send to grandma or  trick or treat bags using your hands or feet.  All you need is white washable paint and a paint brush. Paint your child's hand or foot and place on your paper. (Make sure you have your handy wipes near by!)  When the paint dries you can add detail using a black permanent pen.  I have done this every year with my son.  It is fun to see how much he has grown each year!

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkins, pumpkins

It seems like everywhere you go, there are pumpkins.  We already have 3, one small, one medium and one that is two toned.  It is only the beginning of October!  I love seeing the variety of pumpkins.  I don't remember so many to choose from when I was a little girl.
We are painting and singing about pumpkins.  Today I cut out a white pumpkin shape and my son painted it using a piece of sponge clipped onto a clothes pin.  He dabbed the pumpkin with orange paint.  When he finished, we added a green stem and used some green curling ribbon for the vine.

Here are a few of our favorite pumpkin songs poems.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Faces (poem)  
Kids love making the faces. Try saying this in front of a mirror.
This is pumpkin happy.  This is pumpkin sad.
This is pumpkin sleepy.  This is pumpkin mad.
Cut them up is pieces small, in pumpkin pie they are best of all!
*extension activity:  cut out 4 pumpkins and have your child decorate the faces to match the emotion.

Five Little Pumpkins (poem)
5 little pumpkins sitting on a gate
The first one said, "Oh my, it is getting late."
The second one said, "There are witches in the air.
The third one said, "Oh pooh, I don't care."
The fourth one said, "We'd better run, run, run!"
The fifth one said, "Isn't Halloween fun!"
Then Wooooooo went the wind
And OUT (clap) went the lights
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Ten Little Pumpkins
One little, two little, three little pumpkins,
Four little, five little, six little pumpkins,
Seven little, eight little, nine little pumpkins,
Ten little pumpkins all shout, BOOOOOO!
Sing again counting backwards from ten to one.  The last pumpkin will whisper, "Boo!"
*extension activity:  cut out ten pumpkins and write the numbers on them.  Have your child put them in order.