Spooky Sensory Play

8 Crafts and Activities that promote hands-on Halloween fun

Spooky season is upon us and you know that means, it is the perfect time to bring a sensory twist to your Halloween activities with hands-on projects designed to engage touch and creativity. Utilizing play and imagination is one of the best ways to foster the development of children all while making lasting memories that they can carry with them throughout their life. These 8 crafts are sure to have your young ones excited about the Halloween season.  

1. Bat Cups

Halloween is infamous for being a time when kids collect tons of tiny little toys and trinkets. Having a creative and fun place to store these little items is a fun way to stay organized in the midst of the chaos.  To create these cups you will start by using your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine. You will also need TP Roll-Bat Die Cut as well as some googly eyes and some black paper cups. Start by cutting out bat wings from black construction paper and then cut the mouth from white construction paper.

Next, glue the wings to the back of the paper cup then glue the mouth to the front of the cup. Add the googly eyes and take a step beyond by adding black yarn or black puff balls to the wings to create an additional sensory element to the cup. 

2. Hands On Candy Corn Counting

A great way to connect learning to creativity is with these hands on Candy Corn Counters. This is great for your scholars and these are a special craft they can take home and share their learning at home. To make these hands-on learning tools you will need to use the MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine. You will also need the Candy Corn Die Cut, the Utility Die Circles and a 1” Alphabet Letter Set of your choice. Cut out the corn pieces for the numbers you are working on in your classroom. Assemble the corn with the number in both standard form on the top and in word form on the bottom. Then laminate the candy corn. Cut out and laminate the dots. Add velcro to the candy corn and to the back of the dots and have students add dots to create the number representation for the corn. They can take these apart and put them back together numerous times for practice with their numbers.   

3. Fine Motor Jack-O-Lanterns

Giving young people the chance to improve their fine motor skills is something that is essential for their growth. These Jack-O-Laterns are a great way for them to practice putting things together using those fine motor skills. To get them started grab your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine and you will also need the Pumpkin-Lacing Die Cut as well as shoelaces or yarn. Begin by cutting two pumpkins out of construction paper. Then have your students or children decorate the front of one of the pumpkins with crayons, markers or puff paint. Use tape or glue to add the stem. Then allow the kids to lace the pumpkins together with yarn. They can put these together and take them apart or you can have them leave a space open for stuffing them to use as decorations for your classroom or home. 

4. Bat Bags

Creating these adorable bat bags for students to take along with them for trick-or-treating will be a blast. You would need to take a trip to the fabric store to buy black fabric for the bags. You will also need to get a bag for each of the children you are doing this activity with. For this project you would need to use the GrandeMARK 2 Die-Cutting Machine. This machine is amazing because you can cut multiple materials, including fabric. Adhere fusible mesh to the fabric, then cut your fabric with the Halloween #3 Die Cut. It works like a charm! The kids can decorate their bats with googly eyes or add extra elements using puff paint on the bag itself. If you want to take it a step farther and give students options to use the ghost, gravestone or spider it could really turn into a bag covered with their creative expression. 

5. Halloween Photo Booth Props

If you want to celebrate Halloween in your classroom or have a get together with friends, family and neighbors. These photo booth props are sure to add a lot of fun to your celebration. To make these props you will need to use the MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine to cut out all of the elements of the Photo Booth Props-Halloween Die Cuts. Use sturdy paper like cardstock to make sure that these props last through the event. You can also laminate them if you want to use them from year to year. Decorate each of the props to make them really pop. Create a festive backdrop and allow kids to pose for fun pictures throughout the event. Keep the props in a mason jar or spread them out on a table to grab. You can take this a step further and have each student select a prop to decorate for themselves before they take their picture.

6. Fun with Shapes Pumpkins

Using a theme to practice and promote learning is a crafty way to meet a goal with creativity and fun in mind. These pumpkins can be used to help students practice their shapes. Use the MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine to cut out pumpkins using the Pumpkins #2 Die Cut. Then you will need to cut out lots of smaller shapes using the Pattern Block Die Cut set. Then have students use glue to create the face on the front of the pumpkin. They can use orange squares to cover the back of the pumpkin as well. Have students sit together and share their pumpkins while highlighting what shapes they used to create the pumpkin’s face. This hands-on process will naturally create engagement while also allowing students to think about their learning. 

7. Spider Straws

These straws are a great tool to use with music class or when playing some quick and easy games in the classroom. These can also be used as a prop during a read aloud story that you share with your scholars. To make these straws you will need to pull out the MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine and you will need to have the Spider #5 Die Cut and the Utility Die Circles. Start by cutting out one black spider for each child.  Then use a hand punch or the Utility Circles die to cut out two white circles for the eyes. Next, students can add more detail on the eyes and glue to the spider. The last step is to attach the spiders to a straw. Once the straws are made they can use them to practice their breathing, or to blow and show their powerful lungs at the beginning of music class. You can also use these for quick minute-to-win-it games when they blow puffs across the room or to see who can pick up the most marshmallows in a minute. 

8. Paper Plate Spider Webs

This craft is a fun way to practice hands on fine motor skills. To make these you will need to have paper plates, yarn or string and you will need to use the MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine to cut out spiders using the Spider #5 Die Cut. Have your students paint the plates before you cut out the center. You will then use a hole punch to create places for the students to zig-zag their yarn through. Let the kids pick a starting place and then they will weave in and out of the holes on the plate to create a spider web for their spider to play on. This is something they can put together and take apart many times as a way to build those fine motor skills.     

All of these activities are sure to get the energy going and the creativity flowing. They will promote hands-on learning, fine motor skills and sensory play for your scholars that will also create memories that will last a lifetime. 

Written by Amy Pinegar.