I know, I know, I say all the time how I’m not a fan of holiday programming, but this was before that! It’s important to incorporate STEAM and sensory play into everything we do with children, from eating to playing because it is so good for developing their motor, cognitive, and critical thinking skills. This is an example of incorporating STEAM into the spookiest holiday!
Station #1: Pipe Cleaner Spider Webs
For this activity, children built spider webs with pipe cleaners. Prep is very simple- just cut a pile of white pipe cleaners into different lengths. I also cut and laminated some tiny spiders for their webs. You could also just buy a bag of the little Halloween spider rings.
Supplies:
- white pipe cleaners
- tape
- spider rings (or print and laminate)
Station #2: Halloween Sensory Bins
For this activity, I put a lot of little plastic Halloween spiders, snakes, and rats into sensory sand bins. The children had a blast with these because they were terrified that the spiders and snakes were real!
Supplies:
- Sand, or craft sand
- Halloween toys
- small bins
Station #3: What’s Inside a Pumpkin?
This is a very simple activity. Cut a pumpkin open and dare the preschoolers to stick their hands in the musy, gushy inside! The preschoolers were surprisingly hesitant to do this one, but once they did, it was full-on mess time! Have baby wipes close by to help decrease mess.
To make this one even more educational, I made small cards that had different pumpkin parts on them for the preschoolers to identify. Seeds, pulp, and fibers are good parts to list. Download my sign and worksheet here (PDF) : Pumpkin Parts Worksheet
How Did It Go?
Very well. The only issue was that each station had a very simple activity, so children breezed right through all of them. This meant that families didn’t stay very long. This isn’t necessarily bad, but I prefer to have a good crowd for the hour duration of the program.
