Wondering if any of you have Halloween party ideas for a second grade classroom. A couple of things to note is that it would be in a classroom where one child cannot have dairy and another cannot have tree nuts or wheat (although the other kids in the classroom are permitted to have these items). I would still love ALL ideas because I may be able to modify them if they include these ingredients, but if any one has ideas that are free of dairy, nuts and wheat please include them!! I am looking for both treat AND craft ideas (quick crafts for the kids to do themselves ie. decorating pumpkin cookies). Thanks for any/all input.
When my son was in 2nd grade, we had each student bring in a white pillowcase which they decorated to take out trick or treating. We provided the fabric paint, sparkles, etc. It was a huge hit and he has used it for years!!
Have fun.
Barb
I think popcorn balls would be okay. They call for butter, but you can use a substitute? Dye them orange like pumpkins. I might do this for my daughters preK class with lots of allergies.
L.,
I have 5 sons so I have been to a few Halloween parties.
Something my sons have done in the past was take a glove (not a latex glove more like a food service glove) and put a candy corn in the bottom of each finger (this makes the fingernail) then fill the glove almost all the way to the top with popcorn, tie off the glove with a twistie tie or a rubber band. Next put a spider ring on the finger.
Another game that has been played before is pin the nose on the Jack-o-lantern. Everyone gets a triangle with their name on it, then draw a big pumpkin with a face on the board, but leave off the nose. Then each child gets a turn to be blindfolded, then spun around a few times, then try to get the nose closest to where it belongs. Put a little tape on the back of each "nose" and leave them all up until everyone has had a turn. Closest one wins.
One year one of my sons teachers made a "witches brew" punch. She had cider, and pop, and jelly beans, and lots of crazy ingredients. She made up a story as she went along calling the cider frog juice and why it needed to be in her brew, the jelly beans were spider eggs or newt eyes or something like that. It was really enjoyable to watch her make the punch in front of the class while telling this story-she made it up as she went along doing all kinds of crazy voices, the kids were just rivited to her. I don't know how "theatrical" you are, but maybe one of the other moms or the teacher is?
Another teacher had a big garden and brought in a small pumpkin for each student. one year they used self sticking foam shapes to decorate the pumpkin and take it home, and another year they used markers to draw faces on the pumpkin.
one year a mom brought in face paints and painted little pumpkns, spiders, bats, etc. on the kids faces.
Also one year someone brought a peanut butter jar full of candy corn and each child got to guess how many were in it. The child that came the closest got the jar of candy.
You can always read a good Halloween story.
At my sons school they put up Halloween lights in the cafeteria, and turn off the overhead lights and everyone eats to the theme song of the Adams Family played over the PA system.
I'm sure I'll think of a bunch more as soon as I send this! If you want more ideas just e-mail me, I can ask around too. Good luck and have fun!
I have bought little flower pots and washed them really good, then I put chocolate pudding in it with crumbled oreo cookies. I buy gummy worms and place them in side or have them draping on the side of the pot. I call it "a cup of dirt". The kids love this!!!
I love the classic "cat litter" cake that you can mix up ahead of time at home with just the basics. I don't have the recipe but have found it easily online a few times. If you give each kid their own dish they can add to it. We've even served it with a cat scoop! (New of course!) You bring in little candy treats for their messy snack - like gummy worms, chocolate or butterscotch kisses, pudding, smashed orios, and other yucky looking treats. They add their favorite toppings and enjoy!
I have a kindergartener, two first graders, and a third grader, so this is right up my alley!! I was thinking maybe cupcakes with every other one being orange frosting then black frosting. Maybe you can top them with cand corns, plastic halloween rings, or both! Maybe rice krispy treats with orange marshmallows (if you can find them). You could give maybe goody bags with halloween pencils and other small treats. A crafts project that they might find fun to do- Bring in those miniature pumpkins, one for each child and maybe a few extra, and let them paint faces or whatever else they want on them! You could maybe bring in a CD of 'kid friendly' halloween music to play during the party! :-)
Good luck and have fun!!!
I love the idea of popcorn balls. You can't do anything with cookies because of the wheat in flour, so a lot of baked goods are out. If you buy fliechmans unsalted butter, that is dairy free and works great with popcorn balls. You can just use orange jello packs for more flavor and color. As far as a craft, you can decorate paper backs to trick or treat with. Just cut handles in them and let the kids go to town with markers, crayons, and maybe pick up some fun stickers from the dollar store. Also, you could do a scarecrow head, just bring in a little hay for each of the kids to glue on.
Other snack ideas would be little bags with candy corn; finger jello cut into halloween shapes or marshmellows with eyes (aka ghosts). I'm glad to hear you are trying to accomadate the kids with food allergies. Don't be offended if they don't eat your snacks, because being a parent with a child with allergies, I have taught him not to eat any food outside the home due to cross-cont. good luck and have fun with it!
gourd bowling. They will probably all be laughing. They think it is simple, but the gourd rolls all over the place. Those mini gourds you get in the store in a pack work great.
FROM FAMILY FUN MAGAZINE THIS MONTH (SAW IT IN THE DENTISTS OFFICE TODAY, FOUND IT ONLINE): Frozen Frog Eggs
The scariest holiday of the year calls for chilling fare -- and these frosty pops fit the bill. RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
2 Kiwi fruit
1 cup of limeade (we used a natural brand without artificial color)
1 tablespoon of honey
8 3-ounce paper or plastic cups
Popsicle sticks
1. To make a batch, cut a ripe, peeled kiwi fruit into chunks. Blend the fruit chunks with 1 cup of limeade and a tablespoon or so of honey until the mixture is somewhat smooth (some small lumps are fine).
2. Slice a second kiwi into eight thin pieces and press them into the bottoms of eight 3-ounce plastic or paper cups. Pour the blended mixture into the cups, filling them each about halfway.
3. Place the cups in a Pyrex baking dish and cover them with foil. Insert a popsicle stick through the foil and into each cup (the foil will hold the sticks in place) and freeze the pops until solid, about 4 hours.
4. When you're ready to remove the pops from their molds, you can loosen them by briefly dipping the bottoms of the cups in warm water if necessary. Makes 8.
You'll need to check with the mom of the child w/ the wheat issue -- is it just WHEAT, or is it GLUTEN, too? Most marshmallows are "safe" for wheat and dairy--we've used Jet Puffed w/ no problems for a child with those sensitivities.
homemade Rice Krispie Treats are GREAT -- but use a gluten free brand of rice cereal and a dairy free margarine (like Fleishman's Light -- double check it, but it used to be both gluten and casein/milk free). You can even cut them out w/ a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter.
