halloween Archives - Teacher's Brain

5 Fun and Simple Halloween Party Ideas for Your Elementary Classroom

October 12, 2024 teachersbrain Fall & Halloween, Halloween

Fall is such a magical time in the classroom! The changing leaves, the cool crisp air, and of course, the excitement of Halloween can create the perfect setting for some fun and engaging activities with your students. If you’re looking for Halloween party ideas, you’re in the right place!

Whether you’re planning a classroom Halloween party or just looking for ways to bring the fall festivities into your classroom, these five activities or classroom Halloween party ideas are easy to set up, budget-friendly, and most importantly, fun for your students!

How do you throw a fun Halloween party for kids?

Here are some of my top Halloween activities for kids that you can do for your classroom party or even your fall party in the classroom! These ideas are simple, fun, and you can do them with any elementary classroom!

1. Pumpkin Bowling

Transform your classroom into a mini bowling alley with a fall twist! All you need is a small pumpkin (or a few) and some bowling pins or empty bottles. Students can take turns rolling their pumpkins to knock down the “pins.” You can even have fun prizes for different categories like “Best Strike” or “Most Creative Roll.” It’s a great way to burn off some energy and get students laughing!

2. Scarecrow Dress-Up Relay

This team activity is a crowd favorite! Divide your class into teams, and provide them with old clothes, straw, and other accessories. You can find super inexpensive items at thrift stores or by asking for parent donations. Each team works together to dress one of their members as a scarecrow. Once their “scarecrow” is ready, the team races to a finish line! It’s a hilarious and engaging way to encourage teamwork and creativity. Plus, you’ll get some fantastic photos of your students in their makeshift costumes!

3. Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin

A classic party game with a seasonal twist! Create a large pumpkin poster and cut out orange “noses” for students to pin onto it. Blindfold the students, spin them around, and let them try to stick the nose in the right spot. The sillier, the better! You could even give out small prizes for the closest or funniest placement.

4. Leaf Art Creations

Fall wouldn’t be complete without a little nature exploration. Take your students on a leaf hunt around the school, and then let them use the leaves they collect to create beautiful fall art. They can glue them to paper, make patterns, or even create leaf rubbings with crayons. It’s a simple way to combine art and nature while celebrating the season.

5. Monster Freeze Dance

Turn on some fun Halloween tunes and have a dance party! Every time the music stops, students have to freeze in their silliest monster poses. It’s an easy way to keep the energy high while adding a Halloween spin to a classic favorite. For an added challenge, you could change the pose theme every round: witches, ghosts, or even scarecrows!

These simple activities are sure to make your fall or Halloween classroom party one your students will remember! And if you’re looking to save time and effort in planning your party, I’ve got the perfect solution. Check out my Halloween Party Digital and Print Activities Bundle! This bundle includes everything you need to make your party stress-free and fun, with both print and digital options. From engaging games to interactive activities, it’s all ready to go—just download and print!

Here’s what’s included:

Design a Haunted House for Sale Writing Activity

Make a Jack-o-Lantern Writing Activity

Bat Digital Escape Room

Build a Monster.

Get the Halloween Party Bundle Here!

I hope these ideas make your party planning a breeze so that you can enjoy the spooky season with your students!

What are your favorite things to do for your Halloween parties with your students? Let me know in the comments!

Want more spooky fun?! Check out these five fun Halloween activities for your classroom!

3 Reasons To Use Holiday Escape Rooms

October 28, 2023 teachersbrain Fall & Halloween, Halloween, St. Patrick's Day Ideas, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Winter

Let’s talk about escape rooms!

If you know me, you know that I’m a huge fan of this incredibly engaging and exciting way to teach little learners various concepts. It feels like a game and it’s just, well, fun for teachers and students! What’s not to love?!

If you’re looking for the perfect classroom escape room kit or even a fun digital escape room to use in your classroom, you’re in the right place! But first, let’s discuss some of the many benefits of escape rooms for students.

What skills do escape rooms build? What does an escape room teach?

It Boosts Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving

Escape rooms are like a real-life puzzle that our young learners get to solve together. As they work their way through the challenges and riddles, they’re not just having a blast; they’re also honing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It’s like a sneak-attack on those important cognitive abilities!

It Fosters Teamwork and Collaboration

Escape rooms are all about teamwork. Our students have to communicate, share ideas, and assign tasks to successfully complete their mission. This experience helps them learn the value of working together and teaches them essential skills for life. Plus, it’s a whole lot of fun in the process!

It Makes Learning an Exciting Adventure

The best part is that escape rooms can sneakily incorporate educational content. Think math, science, history, and language—all cleverly disguised in the form of puzzles and challenges. By turning learning into an adventure, we can keep our students engaged, curious, and excited about learning. It’s like a magic potion for knowledge retention!

With the holidays around the corner, it’s the perfect time to bring in some engaging holiday themed escape rooms to your students! Whether it’s Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, or anything in between, it can be celebrated with a classroom escape room.

Luckily, I have the perfect resource for you! I created an all inclusive Holiday Escape Room bundle that will have you covered for all holidays!

Use these holiday themed Escape Rooms to guarantee student engagement while they learn and solve a classroom mystery. With little prep, your students will work as a team to break into a box, which breaks them out of the classroom as they beat the clock!

What’s inside this download?

6 escape rooms all meeting 1st and 2nd Grade Standards to use for the holidays. Several can be used with 3rd or Kindergarten too!

These escape rooms are focusing on Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Veterans Day, Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day.

What does an escape room look like for primary students?

You will have to spend about 40 minutes to prep your materials. Students will be separated into two groups. First students watch the YouTube video as a hook. Then, students are handed or find a mystery envelope with a clue. The clue might have them find letters to build sentences, solve puzzles, or solve a riddle. (Each escape room is different.)

Each time they complete a challenge, they get another mystery envelope. There are 3 to 4 clues in each activity. Eventually, they will discover keys that will open a box. (The keys are paper. The box can be an old paper box filled with a treat or homework pass that you will open together once each group has their key.)

Once the box is open, the student can escape the room to recess or the library.

Certificates are provided for students who are Master Mystery Problem Solvers. The activity takes about 45-60 minutes to complete!

Check it out here!

Have you tried escape rooms in your classroom? How did it go? Let me know in the comments! For more escape room fun, check out my post here!

Must Do HALLOWEEN Lessons

October 1, 2021 teachersbrain Fall & Halloween

October is here and that means it is time to bring out the Halloween lessons and activities! This time of year is fun for both teachers and students.

Pumpkins, candy, and all things spooky.

What’s not to love?!

In honor of Halloween season beginning, I am sharing some of my absolute favorite lessons for this time of year. These lessons are especially perfect this year because they can easily be used for online or distance learning or in the classroom.

Here are my three favorite Halloween activities for elementary

Whether you are in person or virtual learning, letting students design a Haunted House for sale is a huge HIT! You can print these out or let students use the virtual Google Slides shapes to design their very own haunted house!

After their design is perfectly spooky, now it is time to sell it! Let their imaginations run wild as they write a story and explain why their house is for sale.

This resource is versatile enough to be used for any grade in elementary. It is so much fun to see what they design and the creative stories they come up with when they write about it!

Here’s a review of this Halloween activity

“This is a wonderful resource for many reasons. My kids were able to pick their backgrounds and design their own haunted house. Then they got to review and work on a variety of writing prompts. My students loved designing their houses on Google Slides. This activity makes students believe they are not working.”

Check it out here!

The next activity I want to share is another one that is always a hit with students, no matter what.

It’s my Halloween Mystery Escape Room!

This activity is ideal for K-2 students and is a great way to get them engaged and thinking critically as they solve the mystery. With a little prep, your students will work as a team to break into a box, which breaks them out of the classroom as they beat the clock!

The best part? It’s simple to set up! Just add a pumpkin for students to find.

Here’s a review for this Halloween escape room:

“I used this during our Halloween party and the kids had such a blast figuring out the clues to escape the classroom! Will definitely be doing this activity again next year.”

Check it out here!

Are you looking for something that is perfect for this time of year but is not actually “Halloween” themed? This virtual Bats Escape Room is perfect!

During the escape, students will be tasked with solving 4 lock clues in order to escape the bizarre bats buzzing around their building.

It is super simple and never fails to get kiddos excited.

Here’s a review for this bat themed escape room

“During our virtual meeting the next day, student could not wait to share with me what they learned about bats. I love that they used critical thinking skills to solve problems while learning. Excellent resource!”

Check it out here!

Bonus! Looking for free activities? Check out this Halloween Sticker Story resource!

Let each student pick a Halloween Sticker out, add a spooky background and write a story using these fun printables. Sticker stories are a great way to get kids motivated to write creatively!

These activities are perfect for Halloween parties, individual work, or group activities. They are guaranteed to get student engagement!

Facts About Bats For Kids

October 9, 2020 teachersbrain Distance Learning, education, Science

There are so many things to love about fall besides the pumpkin spice and fall scented candles, it is also so fun to bring fall and Halloween themes into the classroom. Integrating seasons and holidays gets your students excited to learn, and what teacher doesn’t love that?

One topic that my students love to learn about is bats! They only come out at night, they’re spooky, and might just share some qualities with vampires. They make a great science topic for fall or Halloween! Teaching facts about bats to your kiddos is exciting and will help increase engagement and retention.

Here are some bat facts to include in your lessons:

Bats are flying mammals
There are over 1000 different species of bat
They are nocturnal or active at night
They feed on insects, fruit, fish, and some even on blood

To help you take your bats unit up to the next level, I created a special Bat Facts Escape Room! This game is so fun, your students will be learning without even realizing it.

Check out my Bats Escape Room Video Tutorial here

This escape room requires no prep and is super easy to use. It is great for in person learning or distance learning.

During the escape, students will be tasked with solving 4 lock clues in order to escape the bizarre bats buzzing around their building. There is a pdf included in this download with directions, the link to the site, an answer key and an optional note taking worksheet for students. This activity takes about 20 to 30 minutes to complete.

Students will:

Listen to short audio directions and a YouTube video
Solve 5 Comprehension Questions
Solve a Jigsaw Puzzle
Count BATS
Work on problem solving as a group or individually
Learn about echolocation, colonies, different types of bats, vampire bats, and nocturnal animals

Do you have any tips for teaching students about these nocturnal animals? Let me know in the comments!

Want more Halloween fun? Check out my Halloween Escape Room here!