Families with children are always looking forward to the next calendar celebration, right? That special date can turn into an opportunity to spend quality time together and indulge in out-of-the-box projects. It’s no different when it comes to the Spooky Season, so buckle up and get inspired by these activities for Halloween!
As usual, taking the advantage to educate your child and get them to have fun at the same time it’s a win-win situation. Children are enjoying their time whilst still acquiring new skills and developing a healthy relationship with the act of learning.
What good comes from being creative at playtime?
Do you think that combining playtime and learning is unusual? Or, perhaps, that these are different moments in a child’s life and correlating both is counterintuitive?
Well, you’re in for something new!
STEAM is a revolutionary educational methodology, and its approach is not exclusively related to classrooms.
One of the major purposes of STEAM based games and activities is to spark children’s curiosity and interest in the world around them.
3 activities for Halloween inspired by STEAM
Now that you’ve got a hold of the STEAM basics, it’s time to get inspired!
As children are surrounded with pumpkins, ghouls, and skeletons during October, why not take this chance to engage them into fun and exploring activities for Halloween?
Exploding pumpkin volcano
This activity combines science and art to create a fun pumpkin volcano.
It might get messy, but it’s still worth your family time!
You will need a small pumpkin, baking soda, vinegar, dish soap, food coloring, and a tray.
Cut off the top of the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Add some baking soda, dish soap, and food coloring to the pumpkin cavity.
Place the pumpkin on a tray and pour some vinegar into the pumpkin.
Watch the colorful foam erupt from the pumpkin like a volcano!
By trying out this experiment, children get to see how different elements combined work together and can cause an unexpected effect. Chemistry has never been so much fun!
Glow in the dark slime
What could be better than slime that truly glows in the dark?
Mix one cup of glue and half a cup of water in a bowl. Add food coloring and glow in the dark paint.
In another bowl, dissolve two teaspoons of borax, liquid starch, cornstarch, or Epsom salt in hot water. This is your activator and it works as a gelling agent.
Next, add the activator to the glue mixture slowly, stirring until slime forms. Knead it until smooth and stretchy.
Charge the slime in sunlight for an hour. It’s now ready to play with it in the dark!
Store it in an airtight container or bag.
Ok, so now we’ve covered pumpkins, gooey slime… What other Halloween classic elements could be missing?
Cotton swabs skeleton
There’s no way that a list with activities for Halloween would be complete without some skeleton-inspiration.
The best part is that children can do this with objects that are easily found at home.
Firstly, pick a skeleton to copy. Use a diagram or a picture.
Next, get cotton swabs, glue, scissors, and black paper.
Using the diagram or picture, cut and shape the cotton swabs to match the bones. Use more swabs for longer bones.
Glue the swabs on the black paper to make the skeleton stand out and let it dry.
Add eyes, nose, mouth, or other details. Use markers, stickers, or anything you like because it will definitely show on the black paper.
Children can use their imagination and come up with creatures with different skeletons than those humans! What an awesome opportunity to discuss what composes the different structures of our bodies, as well as just being creative and have fun.
If you live in a house with children, you’ve most likely already own most of the materials needed for these activities for Halloween. Which one will you try out first with your Little One?
If you’re interested in continuing to learn about how to inspire children to be their best selves, learn the difference about STEM and STEAM!
