Preschool Halloween Theme Activities
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!
Pick and choose the activities for your lesson!
Please note: We have separate planning pages dedicated to pumpkins and spiders!
Club members can download all of our Halloween activities for free!
Not a member? Find out more about our membership
Not a member? Find out more about our membership
Halloween Theme Planning Map
Do you need helping planning your Halloween theme? Use the suggested learning objectives and vocabulary ideas found on our Theme Map to help you plan your own Halloween Lessons.
Sign up below to get your own free copy of a sample plan we created using ideas found on this page!
*Skeleton Craft
Free Storytime Skeleton Craft Activity from PKPF to compliment Dem Bones by Bob Barner
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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.
5 Little PumpkinsMake popsicle stick puppets from the Fall Fingerplays printable to use as you Sing the five little pumpkins song
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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. |
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.
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.
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
Check out this Halloween Playhouse Makeover created by member Ellie B.
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
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. Mary Beth F. transformed this small world play castle into a haunted house |
Skeleton Building STEM Challenge
Give children play dough and spaghetti. Challenge them to build a skeleton that can stand up.
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.
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Trick or Treat Bag Letter Match-up*
Practice matching uppercase and lowercase letters with this candy bag match up game!
Halloween Preschool Activity Pack |
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.
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 |
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 |
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.
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"
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"
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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
*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 |
Bat Counting Mats
Download this 10-frame bat counting mat from our Halloween Preschool Activity Pack to practice counting from 1-10.
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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
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Bat Shape Clip Cards
Practice matching 2D Shapes with bat shape clip cards from the Halloween Preschool Activity Pack
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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
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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.
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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.
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?
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?
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
Black Bat Sensory BinA 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!
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Halloween Slime
Follow this easy recipe to make your own Halloween Slime! Members can find download this recipe card for free!
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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 |
Halloween Gross Motor Movement Cube
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Halloween Cutting Strips*
Work on fine motor skills with this Halloween cutting sheet found inside our Halloween Preschool Activity Pack
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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.
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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!
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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. |
Fall Fine Motor Sorting
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.
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.
Candy Bucket Throw
Set up various trick or treating candy buckets. Give children candy or bean bags and have them try to get the "candy" into the bucket.
Costume Relay Race
Lay out different costumes and see how fast the children can put them on
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.
Halloween Candy Vote
Create a bar graph with different candy, and take a vote to determine what the class favorite is.
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.
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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
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.
Halloween Treat Bag ToppersThese 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. |
Halloween Theme Sign-inWelcome your students to class with this engaging name recognition activity.
Includes a variety of themes and available in the shop! |
Reward Positive BehaviorLet your kids know you recognized their hard work this week with these fun themed Positive Student Notes!
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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!