- Oct 20, 2023

last minute Halloween fun with our Littles!

Friday, October 20, 2023

Today we’re kicking things off

with some Halloween giggles for you and your Little to share!

Mid October often brings a yearly autumn break from school for our Littles!

To help their families out, many Grands are taking care of their Littles

when this happens!

It’s also a great time of year for a Grand sleepover with the Littles!

With these possibilities in mind, we're sharing our quick and easy

Activities, Crafts and More

to celebrate this spooky time of year with our Littles!

So scroll on down and see what catches your eye!

Today’s post highlights some fun ways to connect with your Littles!

Whether they live nearby or miles separate us

we love nothing more than spending special moments with our grandkids,

our precious Littles!

Check out these fun ideas and our suggestions for each!

Many of these activities are ones we’ve done with our toddler Littles!

However, many ideas listed would be equally fun for preschool Littles

and older ones, too!

STACKING GHOSTS!

Our Littles love to stack objects and this simple adaptation makes for a fun Halloween version!

You’ll need 10 or more white paper/plastic/styrofoam cups and a black permanent marker. Turn the cups upside down and draw a ghost face on each of the 10 cups. Then let your Littles have fun building towers OR stacking the cups.

MORE ACTIVITIES TO TRY! Your Littles can also use the cups to go bowling (you’ll also need a lightweight ball to roll) OR you could play a memory game using three ghost cups and a favorite Halloween object that would fit underneath one of them. With your Little watching you, put the object under one of the cups and then line all three cups up on a counter or table. Move the three cups around as you say, “Where, oh where is my Halloween friend?” two to three times and then stop. See if your Little can figure out where his/her friend is hiding by lifting a cup, one at a time, to see if it’s there!

SPIDER TREE!

Are you looking for an easy fine motor activity you can do with your Littles? Try this spooky threading activity!

Gather 5-6 pipe cleaners together. Fold them in half but don’t bend all the way. Twist one side of the folded pipe cleaners, starting at the middle and twisting down (this will be the trunk of your tree). Leave about 1” of the pipe cleaners untwisted at the bottom. Spread these out to make the roots of your tree. Then twist, bend and spread the upper half of the pipe cleaners to make branches. .OPTIONAL: Tape the base of the tree to the table to prevent it from tipping over.

Once your spooky tree is made, let your Little(s) thread spider rings onto the tree ENJOY! NOTE: Spider rings are readily available at dollar stores during the fall season. You could also use cheerios!

PLAYDOUGH MONSTERS!

We love activities that are easy to prep with minimal cost involved! This activity kept Little L busy while we were making dinner for the family and, as a bonus, it provided more fine motor practice, too!!

We pulled out 2-3 colors of playdough and some toothpicks. Little L quickly got busy sticking toothpicks into the playdough balls - we said we were adding hair to each monster! Little L then added googly eyes - one, two or three to each monster!

NOTE: For older Littles, feel free to decorate your monsters with whatever items you may have in your craft box - buttons, rick rack, gems, dried pasta, confetti and more! Let your Littles' imaginations soar!

SPIDER WEB MAZE!

For this engaging activity, you’ll need some string or yarn (we used white but any color will do), a container with “holes” in it (a laundry basket works, too) and some play spiders/spider rings. We had a collection from our teaching days (of course we did… our poor hubbies!! 😉) but these can be found at most dollar stores OR you can use whatever small items you have lying around the house and simply call them spiders! Our Littles have such wonderful imaginations!

This activity reminds us of the board game, Operation! Do you remember playing that one as a kid? You’ll string the yarn back and forth, haphazardly through the holes on the basket. It will look a bit like a spider web! Add the spiders/spider rings to the bottom of the basket. You can use a smaller basket with your younger Littles and they can reach in with fingers to grab each spider. Older Littles will enjoy a larger basket (laundry basket), with more yarn criss-crossing and they'll love the challenge of grabbing things with a set of tongs! You could even play a listening game, giving directions to follow… Find a BIG spider or find 3 spiders and so on!

A Grand Tip!

This small version of the Spider Web Maze (as shown in photos) travels well by car!

Laura plans to bring it when she visits Little L later this month!

HANDPRINT BAT!

Here is a fun Halloween keepsake to make with your Little.

Make 2 of your Little’s handprints on white paper. When dry, cut around them. Draw or cut out a body for your bat. Add the handprints as wings, and make a fun face (we added googly eyes and fangs) NOTE: If your Little will be giving his/her bat to someone special, add the phrase, “I am BATTY for you!”

A FRIENDLY GHOST!

This cotton ball craft is simple to make and you only need a few supplies on hand to make one!

You’ll need white and/or black construction paper, cotton balls, glue and scissors! Cut a ghost shape from the construction paper (black or white) and lay it on an area covered with newspaper or paper towels for added protection. Show your Little how to add an area of glue to the ghost and then cover it with cotton balls. Depending on the age of your Little, he/she can then follow steps to make the ghost OR you can add glue to small sections at a time for your toddler Little and let him/her fill in the glued area with cotton balls. Younger Littles will use the entire cotton ball and glue each down. Older Littles may stretch the cotton balls out or break them apart to make more of an eerie appearance!

Once the ghost shape is filled in with cotton, your Little can glue on black eyes and a mouth (older Littles can get creative and cut out their own while you can cut out these shapes for younger Littles to glue on.) Invite your Little to name his/her ghost, too! ❤

A Grand Tip!

You may want to have a damp paper towel nearby…

we speak from experience!

Little L did not want fuzzy fingers!

GOLF BALL PUMPKIN!

This is just like marble painting but the larger golf ball makes it go faster for younger Littles!

Place a pumpkin template in a box lid, add some paint and let your Little roll away! Show your Little how to tip the box lid back and forth, up and down, to make the golf ball cover the area of the pumpkin.

A Grand Tip!

Use red and yellow paint to mix the colors!

MASKING TAPE MUMMY!

Ready for a super easy, NO MESS Halloween craft? There’s nothing better than a roll of masking tape to hold a Little’s attention!

Use regular masking tape, white or black construction paper and two googly eyes for your mummies! To make a mummy, your Little(s) can randomly cover a white paper rectangle with strips of masking tape. (It’s okay if the edges of the tape extend beyond the edge of the paper… you can simply turn your project over and tape the ends down to the back side of the mummy.) When your Little has finished adding pieces of tape, add a pair of big googly eyes (or black construction paper ones) to complete your project!

A Grand Tip!

Your Little can have loads of fun playing

Hide and Go Seek with the mummy!

HALLOWEEN PUPPETS!

We love our Dollar Tree finds!

Look at this fun set of window clings we found recently! We stuck them to construction paper, cut them out and taped a craft stick to the bottom of each. To help them stand up, we cut slits in the top of small paper cups and stuck the popsicle sticks inside.

Little L could then move the puppets all around as we told stories and sang songs together! She also did a wonderful job of showing Gramma different puppets when asked… Where’s the ghost? Where’s the jack-o-lantern? and more!

A Grand Tip!

If you are a distant grandparent,

this would be a fun activity to make and then send to your Littles!

Your Little will know you are thinking about them

and during FaceTime calls you can sing songs, tell stories and play games together, too!

WHERE’S BOO?

This game is similar to a holiday one you may be familiar with… The Elf on the Shelf, and it’s a fun activity that you can play with Littles who are nearby or far away!

Make a ghost out of a piece of paper or a paper plate. If your Littles live far away, either send the ghost to them through the mail (FUN!) or ask mom or dad to make one for them! Hide the ghost each day (and even during naptime) and then have your Little hunt for it. If you are a distant Grand ask your Little where the ghost was each time you talk to them. If you FaceTime, your Littles can hunt for the ghost during your time together or show you where it was found! Another Option… If you FaceTime with your Little regularly, you could make the ghost and hide it in your home prior to each call. Then have your Little search for the ghost as you carry your phone around your home! Such a fun way to connect with each other!

FAVORITE HALLOWEEN BOOKS!

You know how much we love children’s books and reading to our Littles so we thought we’d each share a Halloween favorite with you all! We’ve included links with info about each as well as links to youtube videos of each story (an option when purchasing a book is unavailable or if you prefer this way of sharing a fun story). Reading books with our Littles is a cherished experience and can take place in person OR on FaceTime! ENJOY!

Laurie’s Favorite Halloween Book...

Snowmen at Halloween

by Caralyn M. Buehner