3 Spooky Halloween Activities for Child Care Providers

Want to give the children you look after a spooky time this Halloween? While activities like pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating are off the cards, there's still plenty you can do. From easy crafts to scary party games, there's something for every child in your care, no matter how old they are or what they enjoy. Read on for three of the best Halloween activities for child care providers, along with details on exactly how to set them up.

Spooky sensory game

This is a fun, sensory game that works well with kids of all ages. Before the kids arrive, fill several containers with items designed to feel like spooky body parts. You could use peeled grapes for eyes, strawberry laces for hair, cold spaghetti for brains, and a peeled tomato as a heart. When it's time for the activity to start, make all the kids put on blindfolds and begin telling a spooky monster story. As you get to the relevant part of the story, pass around the boxes. For example, say, "The witch needed three fresh eyeballs for her potion," then pass around the grapes. Super spooky and loads of fun for kids - you could even let them taste the items afterwards!

Decorating Pumpkin Biscuits 

While carving pumpkins is way too dangerous for kids, you can still have some spooky pumpkin fun. Bake cookies using a pumpkin shaped cutter, then provide lots of squeezy icing in Halloween colours, like orange, purple and black. Older kids can learn about cooking by helping you bake the cookies, and younger kids can have fun going crazy with the icing. Try giving prizes like, 'Spookiest cookie', 'Prettiest cookie', and 'Neatest icing work.' This is a great way to encourage kids to get creative with different designs and improve their dexterity by icing carefully.

Wrapping Each Other up Like Mummies

This activity is a lot of fun with multiple kids, or with children who aren't keen on crafts and prefer more active games. Get hold of some rolls of cheap toilet paper, divide children into pairs, and let one child wrap the other up to look just like a mummy. Play Halloween music while they work, and add a time limit if you want to make it more competitive. Once the time is up, you can choose a winner based on how well-wrapped they are and how much paper was used. For younger kids, leave out the competitive element and just have fun.

Looking after children on Halloween? Make sure they have fun with these spooky activities.