Half-Term Hallowe’en

Thank goodness for half-term; everyone needs a break, now and then, including homeschoolers. The distinction between term time and holidays seems more blurred when you’re a home educator; we still have some scheduled activities planned. However, I’m internally debating whether to use any educational activities as study time accrued in lieu for next Monday because – the shock, the horror – Hallowe’en falls on a school night this year! (It’s going to be a long week, on a sugar high.)

Pumpkins a la Twinkl

Pumpkins have been carved, and sweet treats have been bought, in preparation for guisers (trick-or-treaters) calling next week. Costumes have been negotiated (and hopefully won’t be changed at the last minute). We’re just thinking about decorations now…

Carved pumpkins, ready for Hallowe’en!

So far, we have our super cute mini 3D pumpkins from Twinkl. (My kids love these because they look very Minecraft style.) However, Twinkl also do a ton of other Hallowe’en paper crafts. Asides from the 3D pumpkins, my top picks for sheer simplicity would include: Hallowe’en Paper Pumpkin Craft, Hallowe’en Cone Characters, and Hallowe’en Themed Paper Chain.

3D paper pumpkins, from Twinkl.

We’ll be making some more Twinkl decorations soon because they’re so easy and fun; print-and-go is my favourite type of craft. However, seeing how we’ve just finished carving the pumpkins, I wanted to do something cool with the seeds. (Can you guess where my son got the inspiration for his pumpkin face? Have another look at our mini 3D pumpkins. Of course, I love my daughter’s design choice too!)

Parts of a Pumpkin

Another fantastic teaching resource site is TeachersPayTeachers. It’s a peer-to-peer marketplace; all the resources are authored by fellow teachers and homeschoolers. (In fact, Twinkl is on there too!) I don’t always go by grade level, as some resources are just too good to not adapt them for different purposes.

Parts of a Pumpkin, with real pumpkin seeds!

I adore the Parts of a Pumpkin craftivity by A Sunny Day in First Grade, on TpT. You just need some coloured paper, scissors, glue, and pumpkin seeds. This year, we used some of the actual seeds from our Hallowe’en pumpkins, after drying them out in the oven. I’m going to hang these posters in our schoolroom, as Hallowe’en decorations with an educational twist.