By Hays Nichols, PTA, and Chelsea Bise, PTA
With Halloween lurking around the corner, here are some fun ideas for parties, therapy sessions, and functional décor! Not all children can participate in all activities, so this list encompasses fun for a range of skill sets.
Seated games and activities
Not everyone can stand for long periods of time during intensive games, so try planning one of these seated activities to get into the Halloween mood:
Painting in the Pumpkin Patch
Have a bag of tiny pumpkins so that children can pick their own pumpkin. Then, let the kiddos paint spooky faces on their pumpkins! For extra fun, try puff paint.
Matching Ghosts
For this activity, you'll need white paper plates. Draw ghost outlines on one side of each plate and a scary face on the other side. Make sure you have a pair of each kind of face you draw. Then, place the plates face-down on the table and play a memory matching game. You can also use pumpkin outlines and jack-o-lantern faces.
Catch the Monster
Make a monster themed ring toss game! Reuse soda bottles for this game by weighing them down with uncooked rice inside and painting monsters on the outside. Use rings to "catch" the monsters. For your rings, you can use pool rings, inflatable rings, or even glow stick rings.
Fly Free
Use a hula hoop and masking tape to create a giant creepy-crawly spider's web! Hang your web, then take turns throwing cotton balls (your "flies") through the web. The aim of the game is to get the most flies through the holes in the web so that they land safely on the other side.
Bag o' Guts
Fill a zipper plastic bag with the inside of a pumpkin, including the seeds. Zip the bag up tight and let your kiddos push on the bag with their hands or step on it with their feet. For extra fun, have your kiddos try to count the seeds!
Mobile games
These Halloween themed activities can be played either standing or sitting on a mobile surface, such as a wheelchair:
Ghost Bowling
Tape or paint a picture of a ghost on a toilet paper roll. Place the rolls in a triangle shape like bowling pins and have your kiddo roll or kick a ball to knock down the ghost.
Pumpkin Sweep
Place green tape down in a large square on the floor. Blow up orange balloons for your "pumpkins" and get a small broom to sweep up the balloons, returning the "pumpkins" to their "pumpkin patch."
More active games
For more active games and sports, we put together a list of our favorites that can be easily assembled and provide hours of amusement and fun:
Spider Crawl
Using masking tape, make a complicated spider's web on the floor, and let your kiddos walk across the webbing. For extra difficulty, try bear crawling.
Halloween Hopscotch
Use pictures of ghosts, witches, pumpkins, mummies, zombies, and other monsters to create a hopscotch pattern on the ground that can be jumped across.
Monster Step
Use green paint on individual pieces of paper to create giant monster footprints (you can use your own feet or freestyle paint). Tape your footprints to the floor in a trail. Have your kiddos take big steps to get to each footprint - like a monster!
Now that you have a list of fun ideas, you can relax with your decorated pumpkins, hula hoop spider webs, and monster tracks and enjoy the season without being haunted by a lack of activities come All Hallows' Eve. Happy Halloween!