Your little ones have their minds made up and their costumes are picked out, but Halloween is still weeks away. How do you keep your kids in the spooky spirit when trick or treating is still so far out on the calendar? With spooky activities you and your child can do at home! Here are a few of our favorite simple, fun, and sensory-pleasing Halloween activities you can do using items around the house.

Spider Web Art

Supplies: cardboard box, painter’s tape, washable paint, paintbrush, and a tray for paint.

Steps:

1. Find a cardboard box and have an adult cut it into a square or rectangle shape
2. With assistance from an adult, use painter’s tape to make a spider web design on the box. First, make a plus sign (+) and then make an X through it. Connect each of those lines with smaller pieces of tape. 
3. Use a paintbrush and have the child paint each section different colors using washable tempura paint. If you want extra tactile input or messy play, you can use washable finger paint.
4. The child can paint the spider web at a table, on the floor, or on a vertical surface such as an easel. When painting on a vertical surface (standing or in a tall kneel), it promotes shoulder stability, wrist extension, and core strength.
5. Let the paint dry for a few hours.
6. Have the child slowly peel off the tape, revealing the spider web design, for fine motor practice.
7. Draw a spider in the middle of the web to make it extra spooky!

 

Spooky Sensory Bag

Supplies: hair gel, spoon, Ziploc bag, duct tape or packing tape, googly eyes, plastic spider rings, and other decorations such as beads or glitter if preferred.

Steps:

1. Use a spoon and scoop hair gel into the Ziploc bag (can use a sandwich bag or a gallon bag if you want a larger sensory bag). Make sure you fill up most of the bag up with hair gel. Optional: can use hair gel in a squirt container and have the child squirt the gel in. 
2. If you use clear hair gel, you can add some color by adding a few drops of food coloring. 
3. Drop in the extra details such as googly eyes, plastic spiders, and beads.
4. Sprinkle in some glitter.
5. Let the extra air out and zip it up.
6. Tape it shut with tape to decrease the mess. 
7. Use for a sensory break and tactile play!
8. Work on following directions by having them search for certain items (Ex: Find the purple spider).

 

Fall Sensory Bin

Supplies: popcorn kernels, plastic bin/container, plastic spiders, small pumpkin buckets, spoon or measuring cup with handle.

Steps:

1. Find a plastic container, shoe box, or any kind of bin.
2. Pour in popcorn kernels.
3. Add in plastic spiders (If you use multiple colors you can work on sorting by color).
4. Add in little pumpkin buckets for the kids to scoop the kernels into.
5. Use a measuring cup (with handle) or spoon to stir and scoop.
6. Have fun playing with the Fall themed bin for sensory exploration and fine motor play!

 

For even more spooky activities, check out some of our other Halloween blogs here, here, and here!

Written by Brianne Griffin, MOT, OTR/L