Halloween has never really been my holiday—which is kind of funny because my parents were HUGE Halloween people when I was growing up. Every year, they threw a massive costume party and went all out.
I’m not nearly as enthusiastic about it now, but I do love how excited children get. When they rush in wanting to tell me about their costumes, the candy they collected, or the decorations they saw, I ask questions and get excited with them. I’m not going to put out their fire just because Halloween isn’t personally my favorite.
These activities are from a previous classroom where the children dressed up and we celebrated with a class party and themed food. I kept our classroom activities playful rather than scary—and, as always, left plenty of room for the children to decide where the play would go.
Here are three of the Halloween activities they especially loved.
Two Halloween books I still love
Books were always part of the theme too. I’m Not Afraid isn’t specifically a Halloween book, but it fits beautifully with all the talk about spooky things and being scared. What Will You Be for Halloween? lets children join in and imagine their own costumes.
Halloween Sensory Bin for Preschool
First up is the sensory bin—and this one was always a favorite. At the time, I filled it with black water beads, skeleton hands, eyeballs, Halloween confetti, and mini cauldrons. My kids LOVED water beads, so they were immediately interested.
I didn’t give them a specific job to complete or tell them how the materials were supposed to be used. Some children scooped and poured while others buried pieces, filled the cauldrons, or turned the entire bin into their own story. That is usually where the best play happens.
A quick safety update: I would not use water beads in a preschool classroom today. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission now urges childcare centers and schools to avoid them entirely. If I recreated this bin, I would use black dyed rice instead. It gives the same dark Halloween look while still allowing for all that scooping, pouring, hiding, and imaginative play. You can read the current CPSC guidance here.
For a similar sensory bin, you could add:
- Black dyed rice
- Skeleton hands
- Friendly plastic eyeballs
- Halloween confetti
- Mini cauldrons or small containers
Build-a-Halloween-Character Loose-Parts Activity
This activity was actually my backup plan. I had something completely different in mind, it didn’t work out, and I quickly made these Halloween character pages instead. Honestly, I ended up liking this activity even more than my original idea.
I printed and laminated the 12 character pages, then placed them out with loose parts. I used a Halloween button blend that was already in our fine-motor area, but you could use buttons, pom-poms, gems, scraps of paper, or whatever you already have in your classroom.
There was no example for the children to copy and no correct way for a face to look. I gave them the materials and let them take it from there. You can find the Halloween build-a-character printable in my TpT store.
Child-Led Haunted House Dramatic Play
Last up was our haunted house dramatic-play area. It sounds much scarier than it actually was! I kept it simple with a brick-wall backdrop, cute ghost printouts, and a few open-ended props. There was nothing gory or frightening about it.
I also didn’t decide what the children had to do once they entered the space. There were no assigned roles, scripts, or teacher-directed activities. I created the invitation and then stepped back. The setup provided the spark; the children decided where it went.
That is what I remember loving most about this center. It may have started as a haunted house, but the children were free to turn it into whatever their play needed it to be. You can find the haunted-house dramatic-play printable in my TpT store.
What If Your Classroom Doesn’t Celebrate Halloween?
My current classroom is part of a Christian faith-based preschool, so we don’t celebrate Halloween there. That doesn’t mean I ignore the children when they are bursting to tell me about their costumes or candy. I listen, ask questions, and let them share something they are excited about.
In the classroom, we can still enjoy the season through pumpkins, apples, leaves, bats, and other fall invitations that fit our program. If that sounds more like your classroom too, take a look at my fall preschool activities for more ideas.
