Inside: Fun ideas for learning about Halloween in your homeschool during the month of October.
For the last few years, we’ve done fun unit studies for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year I decided to do a fun and easy little unit study about Halloween.
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I wanted to keep this Halloween study fun and simple. I’m planning on taking about a week to learn about Halloween and then spending some time learning about Day of the Dead.
Halloween Unit Study
I’ll be honest Halloween has never been my favorite holiday, but it is fun to celebrate with kids, and I think learning about the history of Halloween will be really interesting.
For our unit study I decided I want to focus on learning about:
- Where Halloween came from?
- How Halloween traditions grew
- Halloween symbols
- Halloween Crafts
I’m also planning on starting our Massachusetts Unit study the week of Halloween. We will spend a little time talking about the Salem Witch Trials. Then I plan on finishing our Massachusetts study the first week of November and introducing our Thanksgiving topics and talking about Plymouth, MA.
History of Halloween
The first thing we’re going to learn about is the history of Halloween and where Halloween came from.
We will talk about Samhain, the Celts, All Hallows’ Eve and watch The History of Halloween by BBC Newsround.
I’m planning on also having my older kids watch Bet You Didn’t Know: Halloween from the History Channel.
We will also find the countries on our globe and possibly do a map page (I’m still deciding if I want them to color a map or just use the globe this time).
This History of Halloween informational reading is also something I plan on having my older kids read.
Halloween Traditions
Some Halloween traditions will have already been mentioned as we learn about the history of Halloween. But I still want to spend some time talking about Jack-o’-lanterns, costumes, trick-or-treating, Irish immigrants influence.
This article on History.com about Jack O’ lanterns and Stringy Jack is something I will read / share with the kids.
BBC Newsround has a video on Halloween Traditions that we will most likely watch.
Halloween Symbols
For Halloween symbols I think it will be fun to talk about some of the symbols associated with Halloween and why they are a part of the holiday.
The symbols I’m planning to talk about are:
- Jack-o’-lanterns
- Black cats
- Bats
- Ghosts
- Witches
- Skeleton / skull
I don’t love the creepiness some people do with Halloween so you could definitely go multiple directions with talking about Halloween symbols, but my plan is to talk about the history and why these symbols might be associated with Halloween.
I’m going to use a Halloween Symbols cut and paste worksheet to do this with my kids. We’ll keep it pretty simple.
For the bats I’m also planning on watching the Magic School Bus episode about bats. For witches we are going to talk a little bit about the Salem Witch Trials.
When we talk about Jack-o’-lanterns and carve our pumpkins we are going to do this Pumpkin Parable to talk about Jesus and being a light.
Halloween Read Aloud
For our Halloween unit study we aren’t going to do a specific read aloud. We will continue with our current chapter book read aloud and read some of our favorite fall picture books.
Halloween Crafts and Activities
To keep things fun and creative while we learn about Halloween, I’ve added several simple hands-on activities to our homeschool week. These are great for multiple ages and easy to set up! Many of them my kids do while we’re reading or watching videos.
Sticker by Number
I got this Halloween sticker by number book for the kids. All of my kids love doing these while we read or during quiet time.
Halloween Would You Rather Questions
These free printable Halloween would you rather questions are perfect for morning time, conversation starters or as writing prompts. I’m going to be using them as Halloween writing prompts this year.
I’m the Chef Too STEM Kit
I got the Halloween I’m the Chef Too STEM kit and my kids are so excited to make crystal ball cake bites.
Halloween I-Spy Coloring Page
I’m not sure if all of my kids will want to do this page or just the little kids. But it’s a fun coloring page for Halloween and a great way to work on counting for littles.
Pumpkin Patch Perspective Art
I saw this cute pumpkin patch art on Pinterest and I can’t wait to do it with the kids over the next week.
Paper Bag Haunted House Craft
My kids love making these haunted house bags and have been asking to do it. It will definitely be something we do this year. They also want to make stop motion videos with the bag so well try doing that.
Halloween Crafts and Activities for Homeschoolers
Here are some other Halloween activities and crafts we’ve done in past years and we might do again if we have time.
Halloween Word Searches
There are multiple Halloween word search pages to choose from. These are a great activity for kids to do independently.
Paper Plate Halloween Crafts
We love doing paper plate crafts and these Halloween paper plate crafts are so cute. The Jack O’ Lantern and witch are perfect for going along with the Halloween symbols.
Halloween Color by Number Printables
My kids love doing these types of activity pages for different seasons. There are 10 pages to choose from. Usually, my kids want to do more than one.
Perler Bead Jack O’ Lantern
We love doing Perler beads and these Jack O’ Lanterns are perfect and cute for Halloween.
Halloween Activity Pages
These Halloween activity pages include a journal page, Halloween ABC’s a questionnaire and fact or fiction questions. I’m planning on using the fact or fiction page and possibly the ABC’s.
Halloween Joke Teller
We made this joke teller last year and the kids loved it. I’m sure at least of my kids will be making it again this year.
Don’t Eat Jack
Did you play Don’t Eat Pete growing up? We love playing this Halloween version of the game (it’s a free printable).
Our Halloween Homeschool Study
As we move through October and the start of the busy holiday season, I’m trying really hard to be intentional. I want to make this season fun and educational for everyone and I don’t want to be stressed.
So while I’ve got this great plan of things I want to do for a Halloween unit it’s ok if we don’t get to it all.
After we finish our Halloween study, I’m really excited about what I’ve got planed for Day of The Dead.