Written By: Jenny L. Clark, OTR/L
One of my favorite holidays is Halloween. Children love this time of year because, well let’s admit, they get free candy! In my books Learn to Move, Move to Learn and Learn to Move, Moving Up!, I created sensorimotor activity lesson plans based on Sensory Integration theory originally developed by A. Jean Ayres, PhD, OTR. Here are a couple of Halloween-Themed lesson plans adapted from my books with fun sensory and motor activities you can incorporate into your pediatric therapy practice.
Preschool Children
Theme: Pumpkins
- Warm-Up: Action Poem “Five Little Pumpkins”. Incorporate hand and finger actions for fine motor skills.
- Vestibular: Pumpkin locomotor relay. Color and cut a paper pumpkin. Hop, gallop, skip, and run with the pumpkin.
- Proprioception: Carry a pumpkin to music. Start and stop the Halloween music while carrying a real pumpkin around.
- Balance: Paper pumpkin balance game. Tape a paper pumpkin to the floor. Balance on each foot for 10 seconds.
- Eye-Hand Coordination: Orange balloon volley. Draw a jack o lantern face on a balloon. Bop the balloon back and forth.
- Cool-Down: Book How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow? By Wendell Minor (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2013)
- Fine Motor: Tissue paper pumpkin. Draw a pumpkin on a paper plate. Tear orange paper and glue onto plate.
Elementary School Children
Theme: Halloween
- Warm-up: Halloween Actions. “Stomp like monster. Fly like a witch. Dance like a skeleton. Howl like a wolf. Crawl like a spider. Walk like a Zombie. Float like a ghost. Laugh like a vampire.”
- Vestibular: Pumpkin patch obstacle course. Create a pretend pumpkin patch by placing large items around the room. Place paper pumpkins as props along the path. Hop, crawl, and skip through the obstacle course.
- Proprioception: Milk jug ghost game. Draw a ghost face on a milk jug. Fill the milk jug with water. Carry the jug around the room calling it ‘pretend haunted house’.
- Balance: Haunted bridge balance beam walk. Place paper ghosts along each side of a balance beam. Walk along the beam and pick up a paper ghost without falling off.
- Eye-Hand Coordination: Candy/beanbag toss. Using bean bags, pretend to toss candy into a Halloween bucket.
- Cool-Down: Book Inside a House that is Haunted by Alyssa Satin
- Fine Motor: Cotton ball ghost. Draw a ghost shape on white paper then cut it out. Next, draw the eyes and mouth. Tease apart cotton balls and glue cotton balls onto the ghost.
Check out my previously published newsletter and Blog on Halloween tips and activities.
- Clark Comments Celebrate Halloween with Sensory Tips and COVID Safety
- Jenny’s Blog Halloween Sensory Tips for Parents and Teachers
- Contact Jenny at https://www.jennylclark.com/
Explore online continuing education courses from Jenny below:
Visual Skills and Learning in School-Age Children
Visit summit-education.com for more information