Hands-On Halloween Centers for Kindergarten
One of my favorite ways to keep students engaged in literacy and math practice is to bring some seasonal fun to the classroom. Using themed literacy and math centers is an easy way to do this! If youโd like to add some holiday learning activities to your classroom this fall, check out these hands-on Halloween Centers for Kindergarten!
Halloween Literacy Centers
Literacy activities with a special Halloween twist will keep your students engaged in practicing a variety of skills. These Halloween theme activities are always a hit with kindergarten students!
Phonemic Awareness
A fun literacy game for young learners is this Trick or Treat Beginning Sounds activity! Your students can take turns with the letter spinner, then cover the Halloween candy with a corresponding beginning sound. The game continues until all of the candies have been covered. Youโll probably find that your students will want to play again when theyโre finished!
You can also continue the Halloween theme to syllable practice with the Stirring Up Syllables activity. Students will determine how many syllables they hear as they name the picture on each spoon. Then they will match the spoon to the cauldron with the correct number.
Letter Recognition
A pumpkin patch letter match game is a fun way to help your students practice identifying letters. This activity can be customized for the needs of your class. Students can either use a spinner that shows both uppercase and lowercase letters together, or a spinner that only has uppercase letters.
They will use a plastic marker or mini eraser to cover the letter on their pumpkin mat that matches each spin. The game continues until they have four in a row or fill in their whole card. Students will want to play this game again and again, so itโs an excellent option for practicing literacy concepts!
Word Families
If your students are ready to practice short vowel word families, theyโll love the Spooky Spider Sort! This activity focuses on word families containing short a and short i. Students can match picture cards to the word family shown on each spider web. For more accountability, you can add a recording sheet! Students can color the spider with the correct word family for each picture.
Sight Words
Bobbing for apples is a traditional Halloween activity that you can also use for literacy practice! Prepare multiple apples with sight words that youโd like your students to practice. (The apple cards for this activity can be edited!) Place the prepared apples in a bowl, a bag, or face-down on the table. Students can then pick up an apple card, then read and write the sight word.
Halloween Math Centers
Your students will also love to have some Halloween fun with these festive centers that focus on a variety of math skills and number concepts.
Number Identification & Counting
Your students will love this candy counting activity that practices counting, one-to-one correspondence number recognition, and number formation! Students will roll a die with different combinations of candy. After rolling, they will count the candy and write the corresponding number on the recording sheet.
Addition
By October, kindergarten students are more comfortable with counting and ready to add! In the Potion Commotion center, young learners will be able to roll two dice and add the numbers together. They can place Halloween mini erasers or other game pieces on the answer until they have covered all of their numbers!
Another activity that can be used for addition or counting is the Gone Batty center! In this game, students will take turns choosing a card with an addition sentence or a collection of moons. Students will place a small manipulative on the bat with a corresponding number. (Googly eyes are perfect for Halloween math manipulatives!) If they choose the โGone Batty!โ card, they can choose to cover any number. The game continues until all of the bats have been covered.
Comparing Numbers
Students can compare numbers using the Ghost with the Most center! Students will take turns choosing a ghost card with a number. The student with the larger number will place a manipulative on their game board. The game continues until a student covers all of their ghosts. For an additional challenge, students can switch to identifying the smaller number.
Measurement
Your students will be able to practice non-standard measurement with monsters! They can use a line of monsters to measure the height and width of a variety of Halloween items. Each card even contains a guide line to help students practice measuring independently!
More Uses for Halloween Centers
You can use these centers in many different ways! They don’t have to be confined to literacy and math stations.
- Morning Work – Add these hands-on activities to your morning work tubs to ease into a day of learning.
- Small Group Interventions – Keep your students engaged in extra math and literacy practice!
- Early Finishers – These literacy and math activities can keep your students engaged in meaningful work until the next task begins.
- Homework – Some recording sheets can be used as stand-alone worksheets that can be sent home for extra practice.
- Halloween Party Alternative – You don’t need a dollar store shopping spree to have a festive Halloween celebration in your classroom! Create a fun day full of low-prep and engaging learning activities.
Printable Halloween Centers
The hands-on activities shown above (and more!) are included in a collection of Halloween centers for kindergarten. Each activity comes with a recording sheet and a child-friendly, illustrated instruction card. The recording sheets can be used to increase accountability for the center or as an informal assessment afterward.
These centers are designed to be ready to go with minimal prep. Simply print, laminate for durability, and add some simple Halloween manipulatives to bring some extra fun to your classroom this October. These activities are easy to store, so they will be a big hit with your students year after year! Click below to take a closer look at this set of Halloween centers.
Halloween Centers for Kindergarten
Would you like to use seasonal center activities that aren’t holiday-specific? You can check out these hands-on centers for the month of October.
Save These Halloween Centers for Kindergarten
If youโd like to save these Halloween center ideas, be sure to add this pin to your favorite teaching board on Pinterest.
