Halloween, Friday, October 27

We'll be trick 'r treating throughout the library, so wear your superduds or tails & horns! We'll supply the books, the songs, the treats & the treat bags.  I'll be wearing my witch hat. 

Last year, I used the spinner and had the kids spin and then do the actions in each slot: howl like a werewolf, walk like a zombie, laugh like a witch. It was so much fun we'll probably do it again.

I always admire the costumes first.

Books

Pop-Up by David Carter

"I think I'll start with a really SCARY book."









Great sound effects, simple text. I do skip a few pages.











Susan Hood's Just Say Boo does a nice job of walking kids through the Trick or Treat experience. Audience participation:  Make sure they all say BOO with you, but get them ready for the Trick or Treat at the end.

Don't forget to use a tiny ridiculous voice for Bill.

As always when reading these, start slow and then read faster and faster to amaze your audience.  Special note: wobblin' works better with goblin than "started to spin".









Next Year: Ghosts in the House.  Try making the ghosts w. rubber bands and gauze and then just snipping them and hanging them on puppet theater as curtains.

Plays

• We used the spinner to pick our scary creatures to act out. I carried the spinner around so each child had a turn. (The werewolf is my favorite, which is lucky because he came up three times.)

Pumpkin fists: Make tight fists in the air and wave them around.
Ghost hands: Wave hands around, flutter fingers, and go Boo!
Spiders: Tap fingers along the floor, table, and innocent bystanders.
Witches: Rub your hands together and cackle.
Monsters: Claws and roar.
Vampire: Good EVEning.
Black cat: Raised shoulders and HISS.
Werewolf: Elbows at side, left head, and howl.
Owl: Whoooo
Bat: EEEEK and swoop.

• Witch's house cut 'n' tell below.  Practice this on scrap paper!  I did it wrong at first, but luckily had a backup.

Songs

• Wheels on the Halloween Bus
• Mrs. Witchie had a farm (halloween animals in bag)
• 5 Little Pumpkins (I do this with 5 pumpkins on the ledge of my puppet theater, and roll them off at the end. The drama is appreciated.)

Five little pumpkins sitting on the gate.
The first one said, "Oh, my it's getting late.
The second one said, "There are witches in the air."
The third one said, "But we don't care!"
The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run."
The fifth one said, "We are ready for some fun!"
Then OOOhh OOOhh went the wind
And out went the lights
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Games

• Trick or treat through the library. Have a snack. Take a lot of pictures! 
• Play Halloween Bingo.  I was surprised at how well the kids did. (Their parents stood by their shoulders and helped at the beginning.) But even the twos were able to match the Halloween characters to their shapes.  It helps if you start with the easier ones, like the spiders and the monsters. NOTE: The Halloween Bingo game is stored with all the other bingo games I've made up in a black notebook by the front desk.
• Dance to Dem Bones w. CD by Bob Barner
• Freeze tag to the Monster Mash, only kids should try to "freeze" into scary faces.

• Once upon a time a tiny witch was walking on the beach when it began to rain very hard, and lightning too.  “I don’t want to get struck by lightning,” she thought. “Where can I go?”

  
  

  Just then a big piece of orange paper blew across the sand.  “I’ll make myself a house out of this,” she said. Folding it in half, she took out the scissors she always had, and said, “I’ll start with the roof.  I like triangles, they remind me of my hat, so I’ll cut some of those.” NOT AT THE FOLD LINE.  So she cut triangles off either end.

  
  

  “But I’ll need a door to GET INTO my house. I’ll want my cape to get through, so I’ll cut a cape shape, and she did.  She went in but came out right away. 

  
  

  “It’s so dark!” I need a window!” So she cut that.

  
  

  Just then a little ghost came flying along the beach toward her. He was crying and he almost bumped into her. “What’s the matter, little ghost?” “I’m afraid of the lightning, and I might melt in the rain!”

  
  

  “Well, come stay in my house with me,” said the witch.  “I’ll even make you your own door.” So she cut a little door, just for him. And she went into her door, and he went into his, and this is what the house looked like inside. 

• THE LITTLE ORANGE HOUSE

  deceptivelysimple.com
  
  Once upon a time a very small witch was walking in the woods. The cold wind was blowing the dry leaves all around her. The little witch was frantically searching for a house for the winter. She could not find one. Suddenly a piece of orange paper blown by the wind landed at her feet. (make the paper fly through the air to your feet as you are telling the story).

  She picked it up. The little witch looked closely at the paper and then she said, “I shall make myself a house from this piece of orange paper.” She folded the paper in half (fold the paper) and took her scissors (she always has a pair in her pocket) and cut off the two corners to make a roof (cut the two corners at the top of the paper.. not at the fold line).

  

  “This will do just fine” she said as she looked at her new house. “But I will need a door.” She always wears pointed hats so she cut a special door that looked just like this (a few inches in – cut a rectangle with a half triangle at the top for the hat).

  

  The little witch walked through the door and into the little orange house. It was very dark inside. She quickly hurried back out. “I will need to make windows to let in the light,” said the little witch. She cut a front and a back window that looked just like this (cut a rectangle in the middle of the paper)

  

  Oh, it was a fine looking house. Her very own little house with a roof, a door, and windows was all finished. But just as the little witch started to go inside for the winter, she saw a tiny ghost floating down the windswept path. As the tiny ghost came to a stop near the little house, the little witch saw that she was crying.

  “Why are you crying?” asked the little witch.

  The tiny ghost stopped crying and answered. “It is cold and windy. It is getting dark. And I have no place to spend the winter.”

  “You may spend the winter with me in my new house,” said the kind little witch.

  “Oh thank you,” said the happy tiny ghost as she peeked through the window. “This is a very nice house.”

  “First”, said the little witch, “I will need to make you a little door of your very own. She took her scissors again and began to cut. She cut a very tiny door. It looked like this. (cut the tiny door as a triangle shape in the fold between the other door and window).

  

  The two happy new friends went inside. The tiny ghost went in the very little door. The little witch went through her own special door. All winter long they lived happily together inside the little orange house.

  If you want to see the inside of their house, unfold the paper.

   

  Because everyone cuts each part a little different, it’s so fun at the end of the story to see how everyone’s pumpkins turned out!