Halloween Story & Craft, 10/20

Today was the first time I have ever done a school-age story time at this branch, and the first time I tried one on a Thursday afternoon. I was so blown away by how well it went! Here's the format I used for the story time, followed by the craft.

---

Part I: Story Time

Opening Song: Hello, how are you?
The advertised age range for this program was Kindergarten through 3rd Grade, but some kids were as young as 2, and many of my regular preschoolers were in attendance, so I did the hello song as a means of getting the ball rolling. Most of the older kids - who were mainly kindergarteners and first graders - seemed to actually enjoy it.

Book 1: Haunted House, Haunted Mouse by Judy Cox, illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler (2011)
This is one of those books for kids who want to be scared, but also want to know everything is okay in the end. My favorite scene is the one where Mouse is inside the candy bag and nibbles a hole, through which we can see the street and the trick-or-treaters. 

Book 2: Bone Dog by Eric Rohmann (2011)
I initially thought of this book as creepy, but my audience thought it was sweet, and they loved the skeletons.


Rhyme: One Little Ghost

Song: Horns and Fangs, Knees and Claws
There were a few five year olds who really loved this and had the biggest grins on their faces.

Book 3: The House That Drac Built by Judy Sierra (1998)
There are some pretty gruesome pictures in this one, and I felt a little bit guilty because some of the kids were so young, but I also think sometimes people need to learn the hard way that the age limits on these programs exist for a reason. I had no complaints, but I was pretty aware of how scary the zombie illustration was, and it did worry me slightly.

---

Part II: Paper Bag Haunted House Craft

I first saw this craft idea during the summer between my junior and senior years in college when I worked at Mohonk Mountain House. We used the paper bags to make any old buildings back then, but I thought it was a perfect idea for a haunted house. So that's what we made today. 

Supplies:

Paper lunch bags  
There were 60 in a package, and I bought them from the dollar store.
It doesn't get much better than that.

Halloween foam stickers

I bought a bunch of cute spider, ghost, and other spooky creature stickers at a craft store. They filled an entire basket, and only about 25 kids participated in the craft, so there should have been enough, but some parents got a bit greedy, and I had to go around begging for extras for a little girl who didn't get any. Next time, if there is anything extra like that, I'll let the kids start their project first and then see to the even distribution of the special stickers myself.

Markers & Crayons

I always include both now, ever since a little boy started crying one day and announced, "Mommy said no markers!"

The instructions are simple. Color the bag, then open it up, stand it on whichever end you like, and add some stickers. Easy peasy. (I prefer to stand the bag up with the bottom of the bag at the top, so it's like a roof.)

Two more Halloween story times to come next week - stay tuned!