Halloween Fun & Games

Halloween is just around the corner! There are so many awesome Halloween books to get your family excited for the holiday. In addition to these awesome stories, check out some of the best Halloween fun and games to keep your kids learning during the spooky season! These can be adapted to your child’s skill level, so kids of all ages can join in the fun!

Feed the Ghost – This is adapted from the blog Toddler Approved. The author cut a large white ghost out of paper and cut a hole for the mouth. She then cut several circles out of different colored papers. For her kids, she wrote the letters of the alphabet on the circles and spread them around the floor. When she called out a letter, the kids had to find them and “feed” them to the ghost. You could also use this game with sight words or math problems (write down the solution and call out the problem, or vice versa). To make this more entertaining and challenging for older kids, you could have them ball up the circles and try to throw them through the ghost’s mouth.

Soup From a Stone!

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soup-from-a-stone Stone Soup is an old tale that has been retold for many years. There are many versions available using a wide variety of illustration styles and characters. The main character in the story is a stranger who wanders into a village looking for food, but no one in the village is willing to share what little they have. The stranger convinces everyone he can make soup from a stone, and they are all intrigued. He asks each person to add just a tiny bit of their ingredients to his pot with a stone and watch while he makes soup. The community learns that by each giving a little, they can help each other!

9 Fun Halloween Books for Family Read Alouds

The Halloween season is upon us! While kids are planning their costumes and making trick-or-treat plans, don’t forget to find time to enjoy some fun and spooky stories together! There are a ton of great Halloween books for children including everything from monsters and vampires to costumes and pumpkins. Whether you are looking for lighthearted seasonal fun or books to teach a lesson or help face a fear, there are plenty of great books to meet those needs. I cannot possibly list all of the amazing Halloween books, but these are some of my favorites.

Scary Fun with the Monster at the End of this Book!

Are your kids afraid of monsters? My daughter recently decided that she is scared of monsters. She only mentions it right before bed, and she doesn’t seem too frightened when she talks about it. To head off any later issues with monsters that she may have developed, I decided to ease her fears with some monster fun, courtesy of one of my favorite books as a kid!

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Growing with the Apple Pie Tree!

Fall is my favorite season. I start looking forward to it about halfway though the summer. I love going apple picking, drinking cider, baking pies, wearing cozy sweaters and watching football. Today’s book goes along with my love of all things apple and autumn as well!

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Reading Aloud from the Beginning

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Throughout our lives, my parents have told my sister and I that they read to us every night from the first night we were home from the hospital. When I got to grad school and was researching literacy practices, I wasn’t surprised to find out that reading aloud to children from the very beginning is a large factor in getting children to enjoy reading. My sister and I are both avid readers (thanks Mom and Dad!). People no longer like to help us move because the amount of books is ridiculous. It was important to me that I continue this practice with my daughter. I read the same book to her on her first night home that my parents read to us (One Minute Fairy Tales by Shari Lewis).

Fly Swatter Fun with the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

fly-swatter-fun-with-theold-lady-who-swallowed-a-fly

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Twelve Months (Plus!) of There Was an Old Lady | Music Therapy KidsThere Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly is a classic song that has been retold in story form many times. There are many popular versions available with different illustration styles. The bestselling Old Lady series by Lucille Colandro has many spin offs of the original for different seasons and holidays. Simms Taback’s take on the story won the Caldecott Honor Award Medal. Whichever version you use, there are a lot of fun activities you can use to bring this story to life.

Stop, Drop and Roll Your Way to Fire Safety!

Fire safety is an important topic to discuss with kids of all ages. You want them to know what to do in an emergency,  but you don’t want to scare them into worrying all the time. The book Stop, Drop and Roll by Margery Cuyler is a great resource for introducing kids to fire safety with care. It also provides a great opportunity to have some fun while learning some important skills.

Halloween Bucket List

Seasons are changing and Halloween is just around the corner! It’s the perfect time of year to snuggle up with some yummy treats and cozy blankets and indulge in some great Halloween books with your kids. In addition to checking out some of the awesome books out there, make up some plans with your kids and build some other memories to tie in with your reading! Kick off the spooky season right with a bunch of fun activities and traditions to start with your family.

Join in the Great Gracie Chase!

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join-in-the-great-gracie-chaseThe Great Gracie Chase: Stop that Dog! is a story by Cynthia Rylant about an adorable dog named Gracie who gets out of the house and starts to run. The painters in the house start chasing her and soon the whole neighborhood joins in. Gracie doesn’t understand why everyone is chasing her so she keeps running! The story has a cute ending that kids will love!