As All Hallowed Eve draws near, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the macabre decorations and sugar-filled festivities. While your working on a Pinterest perfect family costume set your little’s to work with learning activities that ‘trick’ them into learning something new over the holiday celebration. We’ve put together our top five picks for how to make Halloween a learning opportunity.

1Learn about a new culture

Five Halloween Lessons You Can Teach At Home

2Encourage Imaginative Play

Five Halloween Lessons You Can Teach At Home

3Teach about Fact and Fiction

For young children, Halloween can be more frightening than it is fun. When the things that go bump in the night start to not be so enjoyable, a quick lesson on what is and isn’t real can help provide the framework you need for a more restful night. Play a game as you walk through the neighborhood looking at decorations and talk about each yard decoration you come across.

Children are naturally curious, so explaining the origins of Halloween legends at an age-appropriate level can help eliminate some of the fear surrounding Halloween.

  • Spiders do not get as big as houses.
  • Ghosts are imaginary.
  • There are no graves in Ms. Johnson’s front yard.

The more open and honest you are about answering questions, the easier it may be to get back to a more restful night of sleep. After your walk, head home and flip on an old episode of Scooby Doo to show that most of the more terrifying creatures have a logical explanation if you investigate.

4Share a Health Lesson

Five Halloween Lessons You Can Teach At Home

5Explore the Five Senses

Pumpkin carving is a fun activity that allows you to encourage learning how all five senses work together. Provide help with the carving itself and as you prepare your jack-o-lantern walk through the following lessons: taste, sight, touch, smell, and sound.

Sound: Before carving, knock on the outside of the pumpkin. What do you hear?

Touch: Remove the top of the pumpkin and reach in to pull out some seeds. How does that feel?

Smell: Take a deep breath into the pumpkin. What does the inside of a pumpkin smell like? Is it sweet?

Taste: After the roasting the pumpkin seeds take a bite. What do they taste like?

Sight: Once the pumpkin is finished, place a candle inside and look at the unlit pumpkin. What changes after the candle is lit?

Looking for more ‘tricks’ to up your Halloween game? Check out our DIY Halloween Costumes You’ll Love.

 Halloween Lessons You Can Teach At Home
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