5 fun and spooktastic activities for October half term

Halloween is just around the corner, which means October half term has arrived.

And with Halloween being at the end of the half term, this is a perfect opportunity to make use of all the fun Halloween themed activities we’ve picked out.

From arts and crafts to science with a twist, here’s how to ensure kids can have fun this Halloween, while still keeping their brains active and learning.

1. DIY Halloween cards

Allow the children to get creative so they can design and make their very own Halloween cards to take home.

Cotton buds are great for creating spooky skeletons, while children can also be encouraged to make paper lanterns, pop-up cards and scary silhouettes.

For those looking to push the creativity levels even higher, pupils could write their own poetry or create Halloween-themed limericks around their favourite ghostly characters.

2. Write short Halloween stories

Teachers can use Halloween as a theme for getting pupils to create some spooky stories, either from a blank canvas or from a set starting point.

You may wish to provide a starting line to help get them started, such as “His eyes stared blankly into the gloom…” or “The lights came back on but she had no shadow…”

Alternatively, you could limit their word count to ensure that every word matters.

3. Spooky rock painting

Hunt around the school grounds for some smooth rocks and then leave the children to get creative – from ghosts and bones to bright orange pumpkins see what they want to design.

Once dry, the stones can then be used to decorate the classroom or for variations of classroom games or team-building activities, such as snakes and ladders.

Teachers can find a range of different Halloween-themed resources at Twinkl, with activities for a range of year groups, as well as decorative pieces for giving the classroom a spooky makeover.

4. Halloween around the world

Focus on how Halloween is marked around the world and look into why cultural differences influence it too.

From Dia delos Muertos – the Day of the Dead – in Mexico to Samhain in Ireland and the Day of Dracula in Romania, take pupils on a global tour of how Halloween is celebrated.

There are plenty of different traditions which could interest pupils and they could be tasked with creating a portfolio or picture card with all of the key information that relates to each, honing their geography and writing skills in the process.

5. Build a witch and cast a spell

Encourage your pupils to recycle and to grab a few bits of left cardboard and other items to create their own witch or witches’ cauldron.

There are plenty of printable witch templates online too which can be used in a range of games and activities.

Pupils can then create their own scientific spells, or if you’re teaching older children, you could take inspiration from Shakespeare and the opening scene of Macbeth when asking them to fashion spells of their own.

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