Preschool Halloween Theme

Below you can find tons of fun and engaging Halloween Activities!
Pick and choose the activities for your lesson!
Please note: We have separate planning pages dedicated to pumpkins and spiders!

Click on a button below to view a section.
Use the yellow arrow to return to the top!

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Planning your Halloween Theme

Club members can download all of our Halloween activities for free!
Not a member? Learn More Here

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Download our Free Halloween Preschool Sample Lesson Plan

Featured Plan Activities

Below you’ll find activity ideas featured in our Halloween sample plan.

Art & Creativity
Ghost Cookie Cutter Stamping
The Ghost Stamping Activity is a hands-on activity that allows preschool students to explore their creativity and develop fine motor skills. Using a cookie cutter dipped in paint, students can stamp ghost shapes onto black paper, creating a fun and spooky artwork. This activity promotes imagination, sensory exploration, and artistic expression. Get ready for some ghostly fun!

Dramatic Play
Decorate for Halloween with Preschoolers
Add a box of assorted Halloween decor to your dramatic play space this week, and let your students decorate their housekeeping space. Provide them with pretend candy and a bowl, and they can practice answering the door and passing out candy.

Building & Small World Play
Halloween Small World Play
Construction Area: Add items to the construction space to allow the children to decorate their "Block" homes. Add Pretend houses, and play people. ​Incorporate the Halloween theme by adding different characters to represent people in costumes. ​Add material scraos for students to design costumes for their small world play figures.

Language and Literacy
Trick or Treat Bag Letter Match-up
Children select a letter card then children mark the matching letter on the mat as it is found.
Jack O Lantern Letter Hammering
Using a sharpie marker write letters all over your Jack o Lantern. Call out a letter or flip over a letter card, to have your student locate the letter, and hammer a gold tee through it.

Mathematics
Freebie: Bat Counting Mats
Children flip over the counting cards and add the correct amount of bat counters to the mat to match the number shown.
Pumpkin Number Scoop
Have a bucket of mini pumpkins labeled with numbers 1-10 and a piece of paper with spots labeled 1-10 for matching purposes. Invite the child to scoop up a pumpkin and have them match it with the correct number.

Science & Discovery
Halloween Sensory Bin
A Halloween-themed sensory bin filled with orange rice, black pasta, spooky toys, and tools for scooping, pouring, and exploring.

Physical Fine Motor
Halloween Inspired Play Dough
Engage preschoolers' creativity with our homemade Black Play Dough Recipe! Perfect for sensory play, this easy-to-make recipe will spark endless imagination and exploration. Ideal for preschool teachers looking to enhance their students' fine motor skills and color awareness.

Physical Gross Motor
Halloween Gross Motor Movement Cube
Children roll the cube and act out the movements.

Other
Practice Trick or Treating
Give children lots of practice to help them on the big night. Practice knocking/ringing a door bell, saying trick or treat, taking one piece of candy, saying thank you. You can practice waiting in line or how to handle disappointment if a house runs out of candy, etc.

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Paper Plate Witches

In the Paper Plate Witch Craft activity, children will have fun creating their own unique witches using various materials. By cutting, gluing, and decorating, children will develop fine motor skills and ignite their creativity. They will proudly showcase their witches and improve hand-eye coordination. View Member Instructions

*Skeleton Craft

Free Storytime Skeleton Craft Activity from PKPF to compliment Dem Bones by Bob Barner

Download in our shop!

Ghost Cookie Cutter Stamping

Use cookie cutters, dipped in white paint, to stamp on black paper. View Member Instructions

 Paper Plate Monsters

Give each child a paper plate, and provide different color paints, invite them to paint with their chosen color, once it's dry you can add googly eyes, and mouths to finish creating the monster. 
View the Blog Post or View Member Instructions

5 Little Pumpkins

Make popsicle stick puppets from the Fall Fingerplays printable to use as you Sing the five little pumpkins song 

Get our set of Fall Fingerplays in our shop!

                              Witches Broom Painting

The Witches Broom Painting activity allows children to explore their creativity by using a small witch's broom or a homemade broom to paint pictures. This hands-on activity helps develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and imagination.
View Member Instructions

Halloween Snack

In this activity, preschoolers will create their own Halloween-themed snack using various ingredients. Through this hands-on experience, children will develop fine motor skills, creativity, and an understanding of healthy food choices. They will also learn about Halloween traditions and develop social skills by working together in small groups. View Member Instructions

Make a Fun Halloween themed snack this week! This image was shared by our reader Julie K.

Costume Shop Dramatic Play*

Add assorted costumes, and clothing racks to your dramatic play space to create a costume shop this week
For added fun you can also add other costume accessories flashlights, and a pails. It's a great opportunity to talk about how to be safe on the sidewalk, and how to safely cross the street.

Purchase our Dramatic Play Costume Shop

Let them decorate

Add a box of assorted Halloween decor to your dramatic play space this week, and let your students decorate their housekeeping space. Provide them with pretend candy and a bowl, and they can practice answering the door and passing out candy. View Member Instructions

​Pumpkin Patch

For a less spooky dramatic play area try turning your area into a pumpkin patch.

Trick or Treating Pretend Play

Set up several "houses" in your dramatic play area. Leave out costumes and candy buckets as well as play candy. Some children can be "at home" waiting for trick or treaters while they other practice trick or treating. 
View Member Instructions

More from our Readers

Here are some fun ways our readers have transformed their spaces for Halloween:

*Victoria S. has provided a large assortment of costumes for pretend trick-or-treat play

Jen H. transformed her loft into an amazing haunted house

Amanda W. provided the children with Halloween decorations to decorate their play space

Tara N added some fun Halloween touches to her outdoor playhouse

Jen K. provided a variety of Halloween props for her children to use in their dramatic play area
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Check out this Halloween Playhouse Makeover created by member Ellie B.

Halloween Small World Play

Construction Area: Add items to the construction space to allow the children to decorate their "Block" homes. Add Pretend houses, and play people. ​Incorporate the Halloween theme by adding different characters to represent people in costumes. ​Add material scraos for students to design costumes for their small world play figures. View Member Instructions

Mary Beth F. transformed this small world play castle into a haunted house

Pam W. created this fun Halloween small world play set using Halloween images/stickers

Create Halloween Blocks

In this Halloween-themed activity, preschoolers will create their own Halloween blocks using cardboard boxes, paints, and decorative materials. They will learn about shapes and colors as they design their blocks. The objective is to enhance their creative and fine motor skills. The expected outcome is for each child to have a unique Halloween block to take home. View Member Instructions

Susan L. created these simple DIY Halloween character blocks for her space.

                           Halloween 2D Shape Castles 

Using black and orange sandpaper cut our various simple shapes for preschoolers to construct a creepy haunted house. This activity could also be done with felt, or foam shapes. View Member Instructions

Skeleton Building STEM Challenge

Give children play dough and spaghetti. Challenge them to build a skeleton that can stand up. 
View Member Instructions

Halloween Word Wall Cards*

Increase vocabulary with Halloween word wall cards from our Halloween Preschool Activity Pack. Use these cards in your writing center or with fun games. 

Get the Halloween Activity Pack in our shop!

Trick or Treat Bag Letter Match-up*

Practice matching uppercase and lowercase letters with this candy bag match up game!
​Halloween Preschool Activity Pack

Get the Halloween Activity Pack in our shop!

Halloween Letter Formation

Display letters and have the child construct the letter out a Halloween item of your choice. Some examples include: gummy pumpkins, candy corn or Halloween erasers. View Member Instructions

Candy Bucket Rhymes*

Here is a fun hands-on way to work on rhyming words! Identify the items and place the rhyming candy in the correct bucket. 
Included in our Halloween Preschool Activity Pack

Get the Halloween Activity Pack in our shop!

Spooky Syllables*

This fun game is a great way for friends to practice math skills and get moving! Also great for one-on-one play with a preschooler and their educator. 

Included in our Halloween Preschool Activity Pack

Get the Halloween Activity Pack in our shop!

Jack O Lantern Letter Hammering

Using a sharpie marker write letters all over your Jack o Lantern. Call out a letter or flip over a letter card, to have your student locate the letter, and hammer a gold tee through it. View Member Instructions

Suggested Halloween Read Aloud Activity

If you haven't read the book The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams, then speed over to our bookshop to pick up your copy or watch a read aloud on youtube. This is a super fun book that is bound to be a yearly read aloud with your kiddos (of any age).

While reading this book with your group encourage them to move along with the objects in the book. 
After this read aloud use the phrases from the book during transitions "Two hands go clap-clap while lining up to play"

Room on the Broom?

Preschoolers love the book Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson. After reading this fun book to your preschoolers use our Room on the Broom Pre-K Book Companion to increase their understanding with related literacy activities and a printable sequencing activity. 

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My Halloween Book Picks

Spooky Pookie by Sandra Boynton
*The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
Moonlight the Halloween Cat by Cynthia Rylant
Click Clack Boo by Doreen Cronin
Scaredy Cat Splat by Rob Scotton
Dem Bones by Bob Barner

Preschool Halloween Math Activities

Halloween Candy Bucket Counting Cards*

Practice counting 1-10 with this set of candy counting mats, pair with the included printables or your own fun manipulatives.
​Halloween Preschool Activity Pack

Get the Halloween Activity Pack in our shop!

 Bat Counting Mats

Download this 10-frame bat counting mat​  from our Halloween Preschool Activity Pack to practice counting from 1-10.

Get the Halloween Activity Pack in our shop!

Halloween Graphing: Trick or Treat Scene*

invite your preschooler to explore a fun Halloween Trick or Treat scene, the find and graph objects in the scene for some math fun this week! This fun Halloween scene and graphing activity is included in the Halloween Measure Graph & Compare Pack

Available in our shop!

Bat Shape Clip Cards

Practice matching 2D Shapes with bat shape clip cards from the Halloween Preschool Activity Pack

Get the Halloween Activity Pack in our shop!

Candy Corn Number Word Clip Cards*

Practice counting and clipping number words with this candy corn number word match up set from our Halloween Preschool Activity Pack​

Get the Halloween Activity Pack in our shop!

Pumpkin Number Scoop

Have a bucket of mini pumpkins labeled with numbers 1-10 and a piece of paper with spots 1-10 for matching purposes. Invite the child to scoop up a pumpkin and have them match it with the correct number.

Weigh and Measure Candy Bucket Math*

Provide your students with assorted candy, and a scale to weigh and measure candy. Before the activity encourage your preschoolers to make predictions using this Candy Bucket Math page.  For added math fun you can also sort, graph, and measure the length of your students with candy.

Get the Halloween Activity Pack in our shop!

Cauldron Counting

Write Numbers 1-10 on mini cauldrons. Have students count out the correct number of Halloween themed objects and place them in the cauldron. View Member Instructions

Is there enough room on the broom?

Have your students estimate how long of a broom they would need for everyone in the class to fit on in.
After they have guessed, place a piece of masking tape on the ground. Have the students sit on the tape "broom", did they fit? Is it too long? too short? View Member Instructions

Halloween Sensory Bin

There are so many fun ways to make Halloween sensory bins! Check out some of the images our readers shared:

Reader Becky O. shared this amazing light table display

This sensory bin that reader Stacy L. shared adds just the right amount of creepy with it's black beans, rubber insects, and google eyes.

Love how easy this creepy crawly sensory bin is to create that Kathy M. shared

Naomi G. shared these Halloween inspired DIY sensory bottles

I love the contrast of these fun Halloween items against the black bean base in Holly J's sensory bin

Love the fall colors in this Halloween inspired sensory bin shared by Erica's Educare Learning Center

​Halloween Sink/Float

Engage preschoolers in exploring buoyancy with Halloween objects, predicting if they sink or float. Promotes critical thinking, scientific inquiry, and vocabulary development. View Member Instructions

Holly J. shared this easy DIY sink or float activity using a variety of Halloween items

Dyed Rice Sensory Bin

Erica's Educare Learning Center shared this dyed rice Halloween sensory bin-what a fun hands on way to learn about the color orange!

Black Bat Sensory Bin

A sensory bin with dyed rice is perfect for this theme! Find out all the details for dying rice and how we created this mini sensory bin inside a "bat cave" over on our Black Bat Sensory Bin blog post!

Try this!

Halloween Slime

Follow this easy recipe to make your own Halloween Slime! Members can find download this recipe card for free!

Try this!

Candy Corn Layers

A candy corn layer experiment is perfect for the month of October, and it allows preschoolers to explore density with materials you may already have on hand. It's fun to watch the colors separate together and naturally create a layered candy corn look!

Find all the details for this fun experiment over on our Candy Corn Layers blog post

Try this!

Halloween Gross Motor Movement Cube

Get those bodies moving with this free Halloween gross motor cube.

Get this Freebie!

Frozen Mummy Hands-Fine Motor

Holly J. created these creepy ice hands by filling up plastic gloves and adding items to chip away! This is a great fine motor workout. 
View Member Instructions

Halloween Cutting Strips*

Work on fine motor skills with this Halloween cutting sheet found inside our Halloween Preschool Activity Pack

Get the Halloween Activity Pack in our shop!

Halloween Cut and Paste*

Color, Cut, and Paste activities are a favorite of many preschoolers! This Halloween House is included in my Color, Cut, and Paste activity pack. This pack has a variety of pages to add to any theme throughout the year. 

Get this set in our shop!

Halloween Inspired Play Dough  Mats*

Make some Halloween inspired play dough and add some fall fun to your dough center this month with these Fall Dough Mats. These mats work great with many different fall themes including Halloween! Make a spooky spider or add pumpkins to a pumpkin patch! 

Fall Dough Mats in our shop!

Halloween Trick or Treat Game*

This Trick-or-Treat game  (included in our Halloween Activity Pack) is a great game to play with your preschoolers this week!
While playing this game children will practice turn taking and moving their bodies in a variety of ways. ​

Get the Halloween Activity Pack in our shop!

Fall Fine Motor Sorting 

Place an acorn in each cup of a muffin tin, using tweezers invite the child to practice removing the acorns. You can do this same activity with candy corn for a Halloween twist. 
View Member Instructions

Halloween Freeze Dance

Freeze dance is always a great way to get the kids moving, try using Halloween themed music for the kids to dance to. View Member Instructions

Feed the Ghost

Create a ghost with an open mouth, you can use a plastic egg, an empty water bottle or even a cup with a hole cut out. Using pompoms and tongs have the children feed the ghost. View Member Instructions

Candy Bucket Throw

The Candy Bucket Throw activity aims to enhance hand-eye coordination and gross motor skills in preschoolers. With colorful buckets for trick or treating, children enjoy tossing candy or bean bags into the buckets. This fun-filled activity promotes concentration, teamwork, and excitement among preschoolers. 
View Member Instructions

Costume Relay Race

Lay out different costumes and see how fast the children can put them on. 
View Member Instructions

Halloween Around The World

Research how Halloween is celebrated around the world, and talk about different traditions your children may have with their family and friends. View Member Instructions

Halloween Candy Vote

The Preschool Halloween Candy Vote Activity is a fun and engaging way for preschool students to practice voting and graphing skills. Students will have the opportunity to taste different types of candy, and then vote for their favorite. By creating a bar graph, students will be able to visually see which candy is the class favorite. This activity promotes critical thinking, decision making, and mathematical skills while allowing students to enjoy the festive Halloween season.
View Member Instructions

Halloween Safety Parade

Go on a parade around the block to practice Halloween safety! Bring along flashlights (even if it's daylight) and other safety gear. Read the On Halloween Night​ book from the Halloween Preschool Activity Pack before heading out to guide this activity. 

Get the Halloween Activity Pack in our shop!

Talk About Being Scared

Halloween is the perfect time to talk about what it means to be scared. You can have children identify people who look scared. You can talk about what makes them scared and what they can do if they are feeling scared to help them feel better.
View Member Instructions

Practice Trick or Treating

Give children lots of practice to help them on the big night. Practice knocking/ringing a door bell, saying trick or treat, taking one piece of candy, saying thank you. You can practice waiting in line or how to handle disappointment if a house runs out of candy, etc.
View Member Instructions

Halloween Treat Bag Toppers

These adorable treat bag toppers are a fun addition to your preschool treat bags!

These are a members only product. Members: click here to visit the shop listing to download for free. 

Members: Get these in our shop!

Halloween Theme Sign-in

Welcome your students to class with this engaging name recognition activity. 
Includes a variety of themes and available in the shop!

Reward Positive Behavior

Let your kids know you recognized their hard work this week with these fun themed Positive Student Notes!

Pre-K Printables Club Members can download this resources for free using the special member links in the shop listings or from inside the member download area. Not a member? Learn more about our membership!

Halloween Preschool Activity Pack

$7.00

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Fall Rhymes and Fingerplays

$4.00

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Halloween Costume Shop Dramatic Play

$5.00

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Fall Calendar Display and Calendar Games

$4.00

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