Halloween Activities for Kindergarten {with FREEBIES!}

Oh my word. Can you believe we are already talking Halloween? And right after Halloween comes Thanksgiving. And then it’s Christmas. And then it’s 2017. So that means it’s practically 2017! Woah let’s slow down. Today I’m just talking Halloween activities for Kindergarten! Thanksgiving and Christmas will come later.

Halloween took on a whole new meaning for me back in 2007. In the wee hours of the morning, I became a mom to my sweet Delaney. Thanks to her we always have something special to celebrate on Halloween.

When planning my Halloween activities for Kindergarten, I try to keep it light and cute. We don’t do vampires, skulls and mummies. I stick to pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns, spiders, bats, candy, etc. It’s just my personal preference.

Here’s a look at some of my favorite read alouds for Halloween.

If you’re looking to add to your classroom library, you can click on any of the titles below. By clicking you are using my affiliate link, which takes you to Amazon where you can purchase the book(s).

Here’s one of the activities we do to practice letter sounds. This activity comes from my new Bippity, Boppity Brew {Let’s Make Some Alphabet Stew} packet. It’s a fun, interactive activity and the kids really look forward to it. It works great for large group, small group, or a time filler activity. You know those times when everything is cleaned up, you’ve got ten minutes left before lunch, there’s not time to start a new lesson…this is perfect for that.

Students recite the chant while one student picks a letter from the bucket, bowl, or cauldron. You can have students sit in a circle and pass the container around or sit in rows and call one student up to the front of the room. While the students are reciting the chant they help by making a stirring motion with their hands as one student selects a letter. The student identifies the letter and makes the sound and we all make the sound. Then they put the card back in the pot, stir it again, and then pass it on to a friend.

Uppercase and lowercase cards are included. You can use all uppercase, all lowercase, or a mixture of both. I also included the A, B, C picture and the large cauldron to help jazz up your chant. I used rubber cement to glue on the pictures.

After laminating the poem, I cut a small slit in the cauldron and put a paperclip on it. This is where we display the letter that we are working on.

If you’re not wanting to write out the poem, don’t worry! Also included is a typed up copy. This would be great for displaying on a Smart Board, document camera, ect.

Also included in this packet are follow-up pages. This makes a fun small group activity. Just print the page and slide in a page protector. (A lowercase version as well as an uppercase version are included.) One person will pick out a card and make the letter sound. Students determine which letter makes that sound and uses a snap cube to cover the letter. This would also be a great activity to use all of those small Target erasers that we are all collecting!

Speaking of Target erasers…here’s a few Halloween activities for Kindergarten that I made using items I picked up in the Dollar Spot.

If you don’t have time to run to the store, use my affiliate link to grab some similar erasers on Amazon. Click here for yours!

First up is this “Trick or Treat” activity. I found these small pumpkin containers and candy erasers in the Dollar Spot.

You can use my affiliate link to pick up similar candy erasers on Amazon by clicking here.

This activity can be completed individually or in pairs. To use this activity individually, students will read the number on the pumpkin and put that many candies in the pumpkin.

To play with a partner they pretend to go trick or treating.  One student selects a pumpkin and reads the number. They say to their partner “Trick or treat. I need three sweets please.” Then they hold the pumpkin for their partner to place that number of sweets in the pumpkin. This is reason #472 why I love teaching Kindergarten. The silliest and smallest things make them excited about learning.

I added tweezers so students can get some fine motor practice, but you don’t have to. You could have students use plastic spoons to scoop up the candy erasers as well.

Here’s a recording sheet so students can show what they know! Click the picture above to download the FREE recording sheet.

Included in the download are uppercase letter cards. The letters include directional arrows to show students how to correctly form the letters. Just print, laminate, and cut apart the letter cards then put the work mat in a page protector and you’ve got an easy peasy center.

Students select a card and put it in the square located in the upper right corner. Following the directional arrows, they use the erasers to build the letter. When they are done, they clear the board and select a new card.

Here’s a sneak peek at some of our other Halloween activities for Kindergarten.

I love when we can practice two skills with one activity and that’s just what’s going on here. Students identify the number on the ten frame card and write it down. Then they count on to fill in the numbers that come after.

Students count each set of objects and record the number next to the picture. To differentiate this activity, you could have students color the picture that shows the greatest number or the least.

Students are comparing numbers with this activity. They count each set of objects and dab or color the picture that shows less. Next to each picture, you could have students record how many of each object is shown on the card.

Making five practice. Bingo dabbers, crayons, or colored pencils work great for this activity.

Here’s a spook-tacular number order activity. Students put the numbers in order and record them in the space provided. A number line is included at the top of the page to help students.

Here’s a simple rhyming activity. All words are CVC words, which makes it a little bit easier for kids to hear the rhyme. Students are shown a series of three pictures. They say the name of each picture to determine which two rhyme. They dab or color the rhyming pair.

With Costume Kids students are matching the uppercase letter to the lowercase letter. They identify the uppercase letter on the card and then dab (or color) the matching lowercase letter. I love the Do-A-Dot brand bingo dabbers. But if you don’t have dabber, don’t worry! You can use my affiliate link to pick your own up at Amazon by clicking here.

Sweet Syllables can either be completed with crayons or bingo dabbers. Students say the name of the picture to determine the number of syllables. They dab or color the candies to show that many their answer. Sorting mats are also included.

This activity is a class favorite. I think it’s because they get to use markers with it! Students select a letter card and find the spot where the lowercase letter belongs. They trace or write the lowercase letter to match the color on the card. There’s also a recording sheet version with all of the letters filled in, which makes differentiating a breeze!

This activity is great for kids who are still working to master beginning sounds. Students are shown a series of three pictures all beginning with the same sound. They say the name of each picture to determine the beginning sound that they all have in common. They record the letter to show the beginning sound.

You can check out all 22 center activities by clicking on the picture below.