Your Teacher's Aide: Halloween Classroom Party Ideas

While I absolutely adored lesson planning and grading spelling tests each week (can you hear the sarcasm?), one of my favorite things about being a teacher was planning the parties and other fun moments that happened throughout the year.

Right around now, the stress that always came with the beginning of the year was (almost) starting to fade and I felt like I had time to start focusing on those fun 'extras'... like our Halloween party!

Since I don't have a class full of kids to plan a party for right now, I thought I'd plan a little virtual party here and hopefully give you all some ideas to help make your class party fun and stress-free.

(After all, if I'm being completely honest here, that's what this blog is really all about: my getting to live my teacher-dreams vicariously through all of you while I am a stay-at-home mom.) ;)

So.... are you ready to Par-TAY?! Here's some ideas I thought would be super fun to include in your classroom festivities this year:

Decorations:

I loved this idea for your classroom door. The red one looks super simple: streamers, floor tape (or painter's tape), and plastic plates... couldn't be easier or cuter! {Just one more reason for me to lurve floor tape.} If you wanted a different color, you could use banner paper or wrapping paper to cover the door first.

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This candy corn banner looks easy (and cheap) to make too. You could even make this a fun little classroom craft the week before Halloween.

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Games:

Who doesn't like a freebie? Here's a fun one: Halloween Charades! Take it one step further and bring in a box of dress up clothes and props for kids to use as they are acting out the different pictures.

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What? Ya want another fun freebie. Ohhh-kaaaay. ;)
This Halloween BINGO card would be good for any grade since it uses pictures instead of words. You could even use candy corn for the BINGO pieces (but be prepared to replace the ones that go 'missing' in little mouths!)

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Here's a way to incorporate some math into your Pumpkin Fun. You could also practice graphing by having the kids create a chart of the number of times they rolled each number. Click here to print your own copy.

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Is science more your thing? Amaze your kids by making this ghost come alive... and slip a little scientific process practice in.

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Treats:

You can't have a Halloween party without those ever-present piles of candy... but we can always try to slip in a few slightly healthier options. And as these next few pictures show, all you have to do to up the fun factor is add a silly face :)

For a snack that's super quick to put together, check out this string cheese ghost:

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Aren't these little green grape monsters just the best?! They remind me of the Veggie Tales movies that I loved watching when I was ~~in middle and high school~~ really young. ;)

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Not necessarily the healthiest option, but you KNOW I had to include some cutie-patootie owl treats. I seem to be lovin' the owls lately :)

{If you're feeling the owl love too, check out these ideas for an owl classroom theme.}

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Fun Classroom Moments:

Another Freebie Alert! These joke cards were designed to go in your child's lunch box... but how fun would they be to use throughout the day with your class? You could create a joke jar and place the card in it. Randomly pull out a card and tell the joke as a reward for your class exhibiting good behavior.

Or maybe give each student a card as they walk into the cafeteria to spark some fun Halloween-inspired conversations over lunch.

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You can never go wrong with glow sticks- kids go crazy for them! These glow stick bracelets would make the perfect take-home treat. I buy glow sticks in bulk every year on Amazon for the family shows we do at church- they are pretty cheap and will last from year to year if you have leftovers.