You have the responsibility of planning the Halloween party for your child’s classroom. Don’t worry, though. Planning a school party may be easier than planning a party at your home. For one thing, you are limited to choosing activities that can be done at the school. For another, you won’t be on your own supervising the children and in bringing in the snacks and goodies.
Costume Parade
School-aged children generally like to dress up for Halloween; many wear their costumes to school. Gather up the children in the class and have them parade through the hallways or around the sidewalk just outside the school in their costumes. The students will be glad to have the chance to wander around and to show off their costumes, especially if the costumes are something they have spent a lot of time on. A few weeks before the Halloween party, ask around to other classrooms to see if they also want to participate in the parade.
Get the Classroom in the Spirit
After school the day before the party, enlist the help of your child and some of her friends to decorate the classroom. Even a school party can feel festive if you take the take to fill the classroom with jack-o’-lanterns, balloons and crepe paper streamers. The students will be all the more excited for the party when they walk into a decorated room the next day. Make sure you clear any decorations with the teacher, first. He may actually plan on teaching before the party, and you don’t want the decor to distract the students.
Spooky Games
Clear a space in the classroom for group games by pushing the desks to the side. Choose games that have Halloween themes, but ones that are not too scary or elaborate. For instance, pair the students up and give each pair a roll of toilet paper. Have one partner wrap the other in the paper, like a mummy. Whichever pair finishes wrapping first can win a prize. You can also play the game so that the students have to wrap the teacher up like a mummy.
Trick or Treat
Candy may be the most important part of Halloween. If your child’s grade consists of multiple classes, suggest a simple class-wide trick or treat. Have each class switch rooms, getting one piece of candy per student in each new classroom. If you want to add an educational angle to the game, have the teachers prepare a quick, Halloween-themed lesson before each class receives its candy.
Educational Party Ideas
Help the children remember that they are in school by incorporating educational games into the Halloween party. Have a Halloween-themed spelling bee in an older elementary classroom. You can also distributed pumpkin or ghost-shaped pieces of paper and have the students write quick Halloween poems on the paper. Get the entire classroom together to brainstorm a spooky ghost story. Halloween parties are also a great time to try out some science experiments. Have the students attempt to make slime or other potions.
Photo Credit
- Halloween Train image by fotodewan from Fotolia.com
