halloween {fine motor} treats and more

This coming week we are reading Elmer by David McKee and while I have plenty of Elmer and elephant activities about the room, I wanted to share some super easy Halloween themed activities that are also set up in my classroom that you can do at home.

finger puppets and halloween books

I have no idea where these adorable finger puppets came from. I found them in our finger puppet box and set them aside for Halloween. The books on display are Two Little Witches, Go Away Big Green Monster, and The Big Pumpkin.

halloween pasta and pipe cleaner threading

I found these crazy cute Halloween shaped pasta pieces at World Market. Not sure exactly how this is going to work but how could I not buy them?

one elephant went out to play...

This is one of our Elmer activities but I thought that the cute tiny spider web played in well with a Halloween theme. I found the web last year at either the dollar store or Michael's. I've seen them around this year as well. The wee elephants are beads that came from a jungle animal pack. I found them at Michael's. We will be learning the song One Elephant Went Out to Play (I sing it a little differently) and this little activity is for the kiddos to act it out. I have a larger set as well using a placemat and these counters from Amazon.

felt pumpkins and creepy crawly sorting

We did this last year and the kiddos loved it. I hope this year's batch adores it as well!  I think I found the pumpkins at Target last year but don't quote me on that. The critters were also a Target find and were once rings. I used scissors to snip off the bands.

halloween picks and a foam pumpkin

Here is my Halloween take on golf tees and pumpkins or foam (though we are going to have the golf tees, hammer, and pumpkin set up as well). One smallish glittered pumpkin from Target's Dollar Spot (three dollars) and two packs of cupcake picks from The Dollar Tree (the cupcake liners are at the art table with glue sticks, paper, and Halloween themed stamps.) We'll see how long the foam pumpkin lasts. I'm hoping it will survive the week.

halloween treasures and tweezers in salt

This happy assortment of critters and fun is a hodge podge of Halloween items from last year. I think I found everything at Michael's. The little jack-o-lanterns are erasers, the spiders, bats, and clear gems were from one of those Ashland home decor packs that I managed to score at 60% off. There are also googly eyes added for fun. I have some silicone pumpkin shaped ice cube trays set up next to this tray which was a wood box from a Melissa and Doug toy. I found the box at our Goodwill Outlet and picked it up for fifty cents (score!)

magnifying glasses at the nature table

Not really fine motor but we have our nature table piled high with mini pumpkins, gourds, and leaves. The children bring things in daily to add to our table. This coming week we will have a pumpkin cut open for them to explore....hence the magnifying glasses.

There you have it. An assortment of activities that can be easily adapted for home. 

Not into Halloween? 

*Set up a book basket full of items, finger puppets, and/or props from your kiddo's favorite book for them to explore. 

*Grab a box of penne pasta and some pipe cleaners for threading. 

*Pick up some themed beads that go along with a favorite song (spider rings for Itsy Bitsy Spider would be really easy to find right now). 

*Use colored beads or buttons for sorting instead of creepy crawlies. 

*Make your own picks for poking and use a real pumpkin. 

*Pick up a pack of flat backed marbles from your dollar or craft store and toss them into a tub of rice or cut up colorful straws and add them to a tub of beans and use chopsticks that are connected together with a rubber band instead of tweezers.