Boo!

It is important to recognise the origins of Halloween, while being sensitive to the beliefs and values of families and colleagues who may have misgivings about it. While the festival has its origins in ancient pagan rituals, Halloween is now largely a secular celebration as the event has evolved over the years.

The day after Halloween is often observed as All Saints Day in many Christian traditions. In Mexican culture, Dia de Los Meurtos is a joyful celebration of family and friends that have died, rather than a time of ghostly activities. Some of the symbols used in celebration – such as skulls, skeletons, masks and costumes – are also represented during Halloween.

In the early years, our focus should be on the learning opportunities that reflect what children are seeing and hearing all around them. Here are some ideas to consider…

Black cats and bats
There are several animals associated with Halloween, predominantly cats and bats, which also rhyme if you want to take advantage of these opportunities for literacy. Black cats are everywhere during Halloween, often perched on the end of witches’ brooms, or portrayed as arch-backed silhouettes against a silvery moon. With a little bit of face paint and some pointed ears, children can delight in role play as they pretend to be felines, stretching and moving stealthily.

Bats are another enigma to be explored. Where do they go during the daytime? What do they eat? How big are they? Are they a type of bird? Children who go home as twilight falls may catch a glimpse of bats emerging from their roost for their night-time activity.

Jack-o’-lanterns
Pumpkins offer so much opportunity for the characteristics of effective learning. Carve them, eat them, grow them, decorate them, play games with them, observe them as they decay – it’s an endless list!

Carving pumpkins with small hands may be nearly impossible – try letting children explore the insides by scooping them out and squelching the interior. Children could try decorating them with stickers or black marker pens and wobbly eyes for a proper first-hand experience.

Don’t forget to dispose of your pumpkins carefully. Pumpkins going to landfill are not good for the environment. Add them to your compost bin or cut them up and spread them around your garden as food for insects and nutrition for your soil.

Funny bones
It would be impossible to have Halloween without the occasional skeleton cropping up. What a great opportunity to learn about bodies. While most Halloween skeletons won’t be anatomically correct, they give an excellent starting point for discussions. The song ‘heads, shoulders, knees and toes’ is always popular with young children and babies, giving them an early awareness of their bodies.

Dem Bones is another popular song that explains how bones are connected – this YouTube clip is just one of many that are suitable for young children and will motivate them to think about how their bodies move (bit.ly/ DemBonesDance).

Fancy dress
In America, the fancy dress tradition introduced by Irish settlers has become a huge event with adults, children and even pets dressing up for Halloween. The streets are often filled with ‘trick or treaters’ and some cities will even hold Halloween parades.

Commercial Halloween costumes are big business in America and increasingly so in the UK as well. They often focus on popular culture and can be expensive. It’s much better to make your own – cardboard boxes make great alternatives to fabric costumes and are easily sourced. From Rubik’s cubes to unicorns, it seems that a simple box and a little imagination are all that are required.

Making your own decorations from recycled materials can be a fun, cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative