Halloween is right around the corner and our neighborhood is definitely in the spirit. As we take our morning walk each day, Penelope asks when we can decorate our house. Well, I guess its time to jump on board and put up some decorations!
I love having Penelope make decorations, so I had to think fast about a fun and kid friendly activity we could do to decorate our house. I remembered a great craft I learned from a mom, whose daughter I taught many years ago. While I was teaching I invited parents to come join in on the celebrations in class. However, I needed to keep things organized and calm- sounds impossible, doesn't it? I encouraged the parents in my class to come up with four different crafts or activity ideas and we would use my reading center rotation to rotate the groups through each activity. This kept the kids engaged, the groups small, and the parents excited to help! I learned some great ideas during these parties and used one to help decorate the house for Halloween!
Craft Idea: Halloween Ghosts!
First I had to get all of the supplies together.
-White trash bags. Cut them in small squares (I think I got 8 squares out of each bag)
-Scissors
-Newspaper (The mom used Styrofoam balls, but I did not have the time or want to spend the money going to get them)
-Sharpe Markers
-String
-Hole Punch (I brought this out to put the holes in the top of each ghost, but ended up just sticking a pen through the top to create a hole)
-Picture of "The Scream" by Edvard Munch
Step 1
Cut out small squares in your trash bag. I had to do this myself, but with older children it might be a great cutting activity for them to do.
Step 2
Crumble a sheet of newspaper into a ball. I have read, time and time again, that this is a great fine motor activity for kids, so thats a plus!
Step 3
Place that newspaper ball in the middle of one square of trash bag.
Step 4
The newspaper ball is the head of the ghost, so take a small piece of string (I did not precut the string because Penelope loves to cut and as long as I could hold the string for her, she would cut the pieces for me) Tie the string around for a neck- tie it at the base of the newspaper ball after you cover the ball with the trash bag square.
Step 5
Time for eyes and mouth! I know not everyone feels comfortable with their children using Sharpe markers, so you can do it or use washable markers. It is what you are comfortable with doing!
Step 6
Put string through the top of the ghost head and tie it together in a knot so that you can hang it from a tree or bush!
Step 7
Start decorating!
Connecting this to Edvard Munch
With Penelope, I couldn't do a writing project- but I certainly could expose her to the painting and see where it took us. I showed her the painting and told her the title of it. She asked me why the person was screaming. "Well, I'm not sure. Why do you think the person is screaming?" This opened up a really neat discussion about things that might have scared the person in the painting. This is exactly what you end up having older children brainstorm and write about, but with a little one, you are just having a brainstorm.
What I think is really neat about this idea is that you learn so much about your child. What does she think is scary? What does she worry about? She went in many directions. She told me ideas that she connected to friends of hers and what they are afraid of and then she mentioned things I know she feels a little uneasy about. It wasn't a long talk, but a very important one.
Maybe with children slightly older than Penelope (she is just 3 1/2) you could have them draw out their ideas- even make it part of the painting by printing the painting out and attaching your child's picture to the Edvard Munch painting. Not only are you having a great discussion, a fun activity, and possibly another art moment, you are exposing your child to a classic painting that they will never forget!
Happy Halloween! :)
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