3 last minute Halloween crafts and games for preschoolers

Halloween is my favorite time of the year. Scratch that. October 1- December 31 is my favorite time of the year.

It's not hard to make it extra special with parties, events and foods. But I also strive to keep things educational around here. And I am so fortunate to have my mama. She is a retired kindergarten teacher. We are working to develop a PreK curriculum and book. So stay tuned for more about that.

But today I wanted to share three PreK activities that she did with my Ryals recently. Ryals will soon be four (cue the sobs) and these were a big hit.

1. Candy Corn Pumpkin Patterns

Patterns are a definite foundation for math. and this simple AB pattern is both fun and delicious.

We start by giving Ryals an equal number of candy corns and pumpkins. Then Ryals will line them up in an AB pattern of candy corn/pumpkin/candy corn/pumpkin until they are all used up. Some times he will make an AAB pattern of candy corn/candy corn/pumpkin when I ask him to.

It took him a few tries to be able to do the patterns without specific directions each time. But now he asks "can I do some patterns now." And he has even come up with his own repeating patterns.

2. Sticker bingo

This is so simple to put together and you could do it for any season. Mama just put six stickers on black construction paper. Then she made cards using the same stickers. I ran the stickers through my laminating machine.

I will hold the cards up and Ryals will see if his bingo card matches the card I am holding up. We use candy pumpkins or buttons as our bingo markers.

In the past, while teaching Kindergarten, Mama would spray paint lima beans orange and use those for her markers. Her students really were blessed to have such a fun teacher.

This game teaches Ryals to focus, look, listen and follow directions. He is also matching and finding the differences between the stickers.

3. Marshmallow Painting

This one is just pure fun, but Ryals loved it. For this craft all you need is construction paper, some old magazines, paint, a glue stick and a marshmallow.

Mama cut the paper into the shape of a pumpkin and the magazine into the shape of eyes, a nose and a mouth. Apply using a glue stick.

Then we let Ryals paint the pumpkin with orange craft paint using a marshmallow. Then, when the paint was almost dry, we peeled off the glued on portions to reveal a Jack-o-Lantern.

Ryals was just thrilled with the novelty of painting with a marshmallow and I am thrilled to report that he never tried to eat it.

So what fun Halloween activities are you doing at your house? Tell me about it in the comments below!

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