Halloween crafts and activities for young children

Halloween is one of the most celebrated and favored holidays by many individuals, especially young children! There are so many reasons why Halloween is such a great holiday. It’s a chance for educators and parents to interact more with children and you get to observe their skill set and interests. In addition, it’s beneficial for children because it’s an opportunity to get their creative juices flowing and build upon their self-expression with Halloween activities and costumes. You get to witness how excited they get and you also observe their cognitive and emotional development being boosted as Halloween is a great time to get creative and do some fun crafts.

Here are 5 Halloween-themed activities that preschoolers will love!

Coffee Filter Bats

All you need for this activity are some household supplies and you can showcase the children’s art at the end by hanging the bats. Children will be able to learn about bats and each child will have a unique design at the end of it.

This activity is great to do with preschoolers as it is a powerful strategy to practice cause and effect. You can also modify this craft for toddlers. This activity is beneficial as it helps develop skills by investigating what occurs when water is mixed with a coffee filter with a color marker on it. 

If you think about it, it’s almost like a science experiment and lesson. If you really want children to get engaged in this activity, you can use eye droppers to transfer the water into the coffee filter. This activity represents self-expression and independence as the children can decorate the coffee filters with whatever color marker they want as well as design them however they like. This is a chance for them to get creative!

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Paper Plate Spiders

Looking for a fun Halloween activity that incorporates spiders? A great spider activity that is ideal for toddlers is paper plate spiders. You can also modify this craft and make it more challenging for preschoolers. 

Using paper plates for crafts is easy and best of all you can incorporate this idea for other animals and different holiday themes. This activity is beneficial to showcase inside the classroom and brighten it up with a Halloween theme. You also have the versatility of being able to hang them at distinct levels which makes it more creative. 

This activity is also great as you can pair this experience with the book Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin. This activity focuses on counting and builds on children’s cognitive development. Educators can ask the children playful questions. For example, “How many legs do the spiders have?” The children will have a blast painting their plates and gluing things such googly eyes and soft pipe cleaners to make unique spooky paper plate spiders. 

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Pom Pom Ghost Craft

Boo! Now don’t let this spooky craft scare you away because it is fun and simple to do and only takes 15 minutes. 

Pom poms are a popular material to use to make crafts so why not incorporate them with ghosts? This is a creative, engaging, and fun Halloween craft that you can do with preschoolers. You can celebrate the scary Halloween season while simultaneously getting the children to practice their fine motor skills with this simple craft. Children will have the chance to create a ghost on paper, and they can make their ghosts as scary as they desire. 

If you are looking for a way to introduce and pair this activity, you can read Teeny Tiny Ghost by Rachel Matson. Lastly, this activity is great as it teaches children how different faces on the ghost will spark different emotions. For example, a smile makes a friendly ghost. The children then can model the different facial expressions of the ghost. 

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Toilet Paper Spider Roll Craft

Another craft that has to do with spiders and that is ideal for preschoolers is a toilet paper spider roll craft, and you can modify this craft for toddlers as well! This craft will build on children’s cognitive development and focus on the skill of measuring as you can introduce length to children and compare lengths. For example, you can use a ruler to measure the length when cutting the spider’s legs.

All you need for this activity is toilet paper rolls, black paint, scissors, googly eyes, and glue. This activity is a great way to reuse toilet paper rolls instead of throwing them out. Lastly, this activity allows for children to get as creative as they want when designing their spiders and educators can ask children questions such as “Why do you think a spider has 8 legs?” 

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Q-Tip Skeleton Craft

Another fun and creative craft is the Q-tip skeleton craft. The skeleton is a popular Halloween character that you will want to incorporate as a craft. Getting creative is simple when you use household items. This craft is ideal for preschoolers but you can modify it for toddlers as well. This activity builds upon the emotional developmental area and promotes the skill of autonomy as children begin to comprehend one’s sense of self. 

You can make a spooky skeleton with just simple household items such as white paint, Q tips, black paper, white glue, scissors, and a paintbrush. This craft is very beneficial as it sparks a conversation around bones as well as promoting children to eat their greens so that they can build strong bones. For example, you can teach children that the human hand has about 54 bones. Remember this activity can get messy which is what makes it fun but make sure to keep a damp cloth handy. 

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Looking for even more activities? Check our website for even more holiday activities!