Trick-or-Treat: How One Utah School is Only Treats!

If you’ve been an elementary school teacher, you know the level of excitement at the school on Halloween is about ten levels higher than it normally is. The costumes, the promise of a class party at the end of the day, Halloween themed activities, and the knowledge that trick or treating is only a few hours away. Teachers can either lean into this form of chaos and embrace it, or dread it entirely. One school in Utah chooses to embrace it by going all out. I’m talking a school wide theme, with every staff member dressed in theme, and the halls decorated to the max. It’s not just Halloween there; it’s HALLOWEEN! But the best part of all of this? The theme is kept a secret until Halloween morning. The teachers work all year (literally… they start planning in January!) to come up with the ideas and plans for the big day. It is an epic surprise for students and parents alike, and it never disappoints! Past themes have included Coco, Star Wars, and Peter Pan. This year’s theme was Toy Story, and they included every single detail you could imagine, from an oversized working claw to broken and “repurposed” toys at Sid’s house to the cow cart at Al’s Toy Barn. It was incredible! 

I had the chance to walk through the school to admire the detail and excitement of it all, so I took a few pictures for you to enjoy! 

As you can see, the amount of work that went into this is astounding. In fact, the staff doesn’t even begin setting up until the night before, which means they usually end up working late into the night— usually until about midnight— to get everything ready to go. It’s a true labor of love. If you were to ask any of the staff why they do this every single year, every teacher or support staff would say that they do it for the kids. And let me tell you, every person who walks through those doors on Halloween can feel that love and excitement, and I am certain that it’s creating lasting memories for students, teachers, and parents alike.

Halloween Printable (Free!)

Sometimes teachers (or parents) just need a little extra something fun for their students to do. I’ve created a Halloween word search that you are able to print out and use for your classroom or home. Use it for quiet independent work time, as a group competition to see who can finish the fastest, for your fast finishers who need a time filler, as a class party activity, or whatever else works for your classroom. Enjoy!

  • Please do not resell this printable. It is for classroom and home use only.

Using Spooky Season in Your Instruction

Kids and holidays are such a fun combination. There is a certain magic that comes when you incorporate holidays into your lessons and activities in your classroom. Holiday activities take ordinary math into holiday math, and suddenly math is more fun! They take regular art time into holiday art time. Holidays can add such a fun element to classroom learning. 

With Halloween approaching, it seems fitting to share a few ideas of how to incorporate spooky season into your lessons. Holiday lessons can be used with any subject, and with any grade level. Secondary students might act like they are too cool and too old for holiday themed activities, but I would bet that most of them would still have fun with them. 

There are countless ways to add Halloween fun to your math lessons. For elementary grades, using worksheets that are color by number (with or without math equations) can be a great way to bring in the holiday. Rather than using math blocks or circle counters, using small Halloween themed figures like miniature pumpkins or ghosts, can be a fun way to make math more engaging during Halloween time. For secondary students, you might create story problems that are based on Halloween themes, or create an assignment where students must plan out a Halloween party and need to figure out all the costs.

In Language Arts classes, there are an abundance of halloween books and stories that can be used. Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson is a favorite picture book that students of all ages would enjoy. Another halloween favorite is The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams. And of course we can’t forget There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bat by Lucille Colandro! For secondary grades, there are a plethora of stories and books that are excellent to use for Halloween. One of my all time favorites to read with my eighth grade classes was “Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe. The suspense and mystery are the perfect level of “spooky” for junior high aged kids. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is a fun mystery book to use for younger secondary students. For older secondary students, other works by Poe, Christie, and Bradbury, among others, can be used to add some holiday fun to learning. 

In art classes, students can create a haunted house from various mediums. In history classes, students can study the history behind Halloween and how traditions and celebrations have changed over time. In sewing classes, students can sew a pillow that is a Halloween shape. In cooking classes, students can bake pumpkin or bat shaped cookies. 

In preschool classes, students would enjoy playing with a Halloween themed sensory bin or listening to silly Halloween songs and rhymes. They might also enjoy using Halloween shaped cookie cutters to make fun shapes out of play-doh. 

The options are endless, but one thing is certain: mixing in some Halloween themed activities is a sure fire way to add some fun and excitement to your instruction!