Halloween means candy, pumpkins and a lot of fun for preschool-aged kids.
Since a lot of the things commonly associated with the holiday — ghosts, jack-o’-lanterns and spiders — are simple geometric shapes, there are several craft projects easy enough for a preschooler to make.
Remember, Halloween can be fun, not frightful, so when choosing crafts, stick with the silly instead of the scary so that nobody gets upset!
Egg Carton Spiders
Even the smallest preschooler will be able to help make a little spider from the cup of an egg carton. Cut a carton into individual cups, give the child some magic markers or crayons, and let him decorate the egg cup as he wishes. Punch eight small holes around the bottom edge of the egg cup, and slide four pipe cleaners all the way through, to give the spider eight legs. If you want to, create a web for the spiders by stretching out a large ball of cotton or other fiber and hanging it in the corner.
[Read “Sweet Spider Craft Project”]
Pillowcase Ghost
Make one or more ghosts from white pillowcases to hang from the ceiling or on your front porch. Have the child stuff the pillowcase one-third full with polyfill or other stuffing. Shape the stuffing into a ball, and tie an elastic or ribbon around the pillowcase just under the stuffing to hold it in place. Have the child draw a face on the stuffed part of the pillowcase or decorate the rest of the ghost however she wants. Push a piece of embroidery floss through a needle and thread through the top of the ghost’s head, tying the floss into a loop to hang the ghost from.
Painted Pumpkins
Preschool-aged children probably can’t help you carve a jack-o’-lantern just yet, but they can paint or decorate a pumpkin in other ways. Lay out a supply of craft items, such as poster paints, glitter, sequins, feathers and glue, and have a family pumpkin-decorating night. You may want to sketch a face or other pattern on the pumpkin and have your preschooler fill it in with paint, or you can let him design the pumpkin himself.
[Read “How to Paint a Pumpkin”]
Paper Plate Masks
Turn a plain white paper plate into a silly mask for a child. Before you begin decorating the plates, hold one up to your child’s face and mark where her eyes and mouth are. Take the plate away from her face, and cut out the mouth and eye holes. If you are making jack-o’-lantern masks, cut triangular-shaped holes. Color the plates with markers or crayons, and embellish with glitter or pipe cleaners. Poke a hole on two sides of the plate, and thread a piece of ribbon through the holes.
