10.31.2014

Halloween Sensory Activities for Toddlers

Halloween is always a festive time at LVCC and the perfect opportunity for innovative sensory games. Located inside William Allen High School in Allentown, LVCC at Allen provides early childhood education for primarily infants and toddlers. The creative teachers came up with some fun learning activities.

First, the children danced around in costume while listening to children's Halloween music. The songs were lively and not at all scary.

Dancing to the music
Next, the toddlers crawled through a garland maze. Without knocking down the garland decorations, they had to climb over and under, working their gross motor skills. The indoor pumpkin patch created additional obstacles to crawl around.

Garland maze and indoor pumpkin patch
At the sensory table, Ms. Maisha (center director and teacher) guided the children through hands-on exploration of a pumpkin. Seeing the size and bright color of the pumpkin, the children each attempted to roll or lift it. As soon as the lid of the pumpkin was removed (precut by Ms. Maisha), the children discovered the gooey texture inside. Some of the children tasted or smelled the pumpkin flesh. Combining sensory experiences with science makes for a full day of learning fun.

Further activities to engage toddlers include painting designs on the pumpkin, using the pumpkin lid as a paint stamper on paper, or adding the pumpkin seeds and flesh into see-through resealable zipper storage bags to make squishy sensory bags.
Pumpkins in the sensory table

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