The spooky season is here! Celebrate the fun with these Halloween activities, crafts, and games. You’ll find writing prompts, STEM challenges, math activities, and so much more. There are enough ideas here for the entire month of October!

1. Watch a Halloween video

Still from a Halloween themed counting video

We’ve found a whole selection of terrific educational Halloween videos. Get some math practice, learn about Halloween around the world, or try some spooky yoga! See them all here.

2. Make straw skeletons

Skeleton made of cut up drinking straws glued on construction paper

Insert a little biology lesson about the skeletal system when you work on these bone-chilling skeletons for Halloween.

Learn more: Education.com

3. Turn plastic spiders into magnets

Plastic spider magnets on a filing cabinet spelling out I and S

Make your own spider magnets for only a few bucks by gluing small magnets to the back of plastic spiders from the dollar store. Then, use them for math activities, arrange them to spell letters or words, or just decorate your classroom.

Learn more: Early Learning Ideas

4. Create dotted pumpkins

Orange and yellow construction paper pumpkins with dotted patterns on purple background

Teach your students about the work of artist Yayoi Kusama and let them create beautiful dotted pumpkins of their own.

Learn more: Art is Basic

5. Feed alphabet letters to a ghost

Young student feeding construction paper letters through a large paper ghost's mouth (Halloween Activities)

Keep little learners busy by taping a large paper ghost with an open mouth to a doorway. Have kids feed letter magnets through the mouth as you call them out. This works with numbers and sight words too.

Learn more: Toddler Approved

6. Build STEM structures with toothpicks and pumpkin candy

Student building a STEM structure with toothpicks and gummy pumpkins (Halloween Activities)

STEM building challenges are always a hit with kids. Give this classic example a Halloween twist by using gummy pumpkins in place of marshmallows.

Learn more: Lemon Lime Adventures

7. Sort by initial sounds

Plastic cauldron holding small toys next to Halloween themed boxes labeled with letters

Early readers and spellers can get some practice at initial letter sounds with this cute idea. Label Halloween themed boxes with letters, and fill a plastic cauldron with small toys or mini erasers. Then, have students sort the items into the correct boxes by their initial sounds.

Learn more: Mrs. Jones’ Creation Station

8. Assemble a geometric bat

Construction paper bat made of geometric shapes with googly eyes and scissors

Sesame Street’s The Count would definitely approve of this bat. It’s made up of ONE rectangle, TWO squares, SIX triangles … mwah ha ha!

Learn more: Math Four

9. Sculpt pony bead pumpkins

Pumpkins made of pipe cleaners and orange plastic beads (Halloween Activities)

This easy Halloween craft will give kids some fine motor skill practice. You can also have them count the beads as they string them. When you’re done, they have a cute little pumpkin to decorate their room for fall!

Learn more: Cutesy Crafts

10. Do some Halloween-style creative writing

Various types of candy with text reading Tell the story of Halloween from the perspective of a piece of candy. (Halloween Activities)

We didn’t come up with this hilarious writing prompt, but we do have fifteen more ideas plus free printable writing paper for you to use! Find them all here.

Source: Writing Prompts Tumblr

11. Practice sequencing with Room on the Broom

Room on the Broom book with construction paper broom and printable worksheets

Sequencing is a key skill for kids to master, so use the beloved book Room on the Broom to work on the concept.

Learn more: Pencils to Pigtails

12. Read a Halloween book or two

Collage of pumpkin and Halloween themed children's books

If you’re looking for some not-so-spooky stories, try our roundup of pumpkin books. For kids who love to be scared, check out some of these (slightly) terrifying tales instead.

13. Erupt a pumpkin-cano

Collage of pumpkin turned into a baking soda volcano erupting (Halloween Activities)

Every kid loves the standard baking soda and lemon juice volcano, so add some Halloween flavor by doing the whole thing in a pumpkin!

Learn more: Little Bins for Little Hands

14. Carve up some pumpkin pi

Jack-o-lanterns carved with education themed designs

How amazing would these look in your classroom or flickering away in the background of your Zoom screen? They’re easy to make, too, using our free printable templates.

15. Craft a climbing spider

Spider STEM project that uses string to have a construction paper spider climb up a wall

Teach your students how spiders use their sticky webs to catch their food. Then have them make their very own spiders that really climb!

Learn more: San Diego Zoo

16. Explode ghost bombs

Eggshell painted with ghost eyes, dropped on the sidewalk in a cloud of cornstarch (Halloween Activities)

Save and clean your hollowed out eggshells, then fill them with cornstarch to create exploding ghost sidewalk bombs! Experiment with dropping or throwing them from different angles and heights to see what sorts of patterns you can create.

Learn more: Growing a Jeweled Rose/Smoking Boo Bombs Halloween Activity

17. Roll and stack spiders

Plastic spider rings stacked onto drinking straws stuck into clay, with pair of dice

The best Halloween activities involve simple supplies and simple setup. Stick a drinking straw into a ball of Play-Doh, then roll the dice and add that number of spider rings to your stack. The first to fill up their spider tower wins!

Learn more: Learning With Mrs. Langley

18. Make a ghost dance

Student holding a balloon over a floating tissue paper ghost (Halloween Activities)

Nothing spooky here! Make this cute little tissue ghost dance with just a balloon and a little static electricity.

Learn more: Science Bob

19. Crawl like a spider, tiptoe like a cat

Cartoon witch child next to a printable paper die with movement ideas

Need a movement break? Roll this free printable Halloween die, and let the fun begin!

Learn more: Pre-K Printable Fun

20. Experiment with Halloween candy

Glass of water with gummy worms floating in it

There’s always plenty of candy to go around on Halloween, so kids can definitely spare some of it for cool science experiments. Find Dancing Franken-worms and a dozen more fun candy experiments here.

Source: Playdough to Plato

21. Decorate pumpkins with string art

White pumpkins decorated with colorful string art

Pumpkin carving is pretty messy in a classroom, so try this clever string art activity using thumbtacks instead.

Learn more: Hello, Wonderful

22. Use candy corn for math activities

Candy corn themed counting activity with dominos and printable worksheet

Pick up a few bags of candy corn and grab our free printables, then engage your students in meaningful math activities from matching to multiplication.

23. Spin inverted pumpkin tops

Inverted spinning wooden tops painted to look like a pumpkin (Halloween Activities)

Paint wooden inverted tops to look like pumpkins, then give kids a lesson in physics as they try to spin them so they land on their stems!

Learn more: Buggy and Buddy

24. Work on writing with hair gel baggies

Plastic zipper bag filled with bright orange gel with the shape of an N traced in it.

Fill a zipper baggie with hair gel and a few drops of orange food coloring, then knead to mix. Add pumpkin seeds or googly eyes, then lay it flat for kids to practice tracing letters or numbers.

Learn more: Pocket of Preschool

25. Turn leaves into ghosts

Leaves painted to look like ghosts and bats made of egg cartons hanging from a chandelier (Halloween Activities)

Take a nature walk to gather leaves, then paint them to create spooky little ghosts. Add bats made of egg cartons for more seasonal holiday décor.

Learn more: Handimania

26. Stencil craft stick puzzles

Halloween themed puzzles made on wood craft sticks laid flat side by side

Wood craft stick activities are inexpensive and lots of fun. Tape sticks together, then turn them over and stencil or draw a Halloween design on the front. Remove the tape and shuffle up the sticks, then reassemble your DIY puzzles.

Learn more: Active Littles

27. Explore story elements with pumpkins

3-D paper pumpkins with stories written on them laid out on a bookshelf

Craft 3-D paper pumpkins, then use them to break down a story into elements like plot, theme, and characters.

Learn more: Runde’s Room

28. Construct bone bridges

STEM bridge made of cotton swabs and glitter pipe cleaners

Cotton swab “bones” turn a bridge-building STEM challenge into a Halloween treat! You’ll need wood craft sticks, pipe cleaners, and rubber bands too.

Learn more: Feel Good Teaching

29. Learn about mixtures and solutions

Students learn about mixtures and solutions in this STEM activity using homemade snack mix. They get practice counting and graphing too.

Learn more: Third Grade Thinkers

30. Stack paper cup ghosts

Student stacking white paper cups with ghost faces drawn on them (Halloween activities)

This is bound to become one of your favorite Halloween activities. Draw faces on disposable cups to turn them into ghosts. Then challenge kids to stack and unstack them quickly, build the highest tower, and more.

Learn more: Turner’s Tots

31. Comparison shop for candy

Candy Conundrum tasks cards for comparison shopping candy

Learning how to add and subtract decimals is fun when candy is involved! Get the free printable task cards at the link, then use Halloween candy ads for a comparison shop of the best candy prices in town.

Learn more: Teaching with a Mountain View

32. Count with spiderweb 10 frames

Student laying plastic spiders on a printable spiderweb 10 frame worksheet (Halloween Activities)

10 frames are excellent learning tools for early math students. We love these free printable spiderwebs, which add a spooky seasonal twist to the learning.

Learn more: Fun Learning for Kids

33. Blow-paint silly little ghosts

Blow painted white ghosts with googly eyes on black construction paper with green drinking straw

Pucker up and blow some strange and eerie ghosts, using straws and white paint. Add googly eyes and a mouth with a black marker to give them each their own personality.

Learn more: Crafty Morning

34. Play Pumpkin Emotion Bingo

Printable pumpkin bingo game with spinner and orange dot marker

Pumpkin faces help kids learn about different emotions as they play special Halloween games of Bingo.

Learn more: The Kindergarten Connection

35. Engineer a robot hand

Robot hand built from drinking straws, string, and paper (Halloween Activities)

Nothing says Halloween like a skeleton. Teach your students how our joints, muscles, and tendons work together to move our hands using just construction paper, plastic straws, string, and tape.

Learn more: Instructables

36. Seek and find Halloween images

Halloween themed I Spy activity for kids

Use this free printable when you need a quick Halloween activity for your little monsters. It gives them counting practice with a seasonal theme.

Learn more: And Next Comes L

37. Calculate and match with pumpkins

Small plastic pumpkins labeled with numbers filled with craft sticks with math problems written on them

Label mini pumpkin bowls with numbers, and write equations on wood craft sticks. Kids do the sum and place the sticks into the correct pumpkin.

Learn more: Kids Activities Blog

38. Go bowling for ghosts

Plastic bottles filled with cotton swabs and painted to look like ghosts with an orange jack-o-lantern rubber ball (Halloween Activities)

Stuff empty plastic bottles with cotton balls to turn them into ghost bowling pins, then have fun knocking them down. You can even turn this into a math activity by having kids tally or graph the number of pins they get on each turn.

Learn more: No Time For Flashcards

39. Explode ghost rockets

Film cannister painted to look like a ghost exploding off the sidewalk

What kid wouldn’t love to see a ghost rocket flying through the air? This is a science demo that’s always fun to see in action.

Learn more: Growing a Jeweled Rose/Ghost Rockets Halloween Activity

40. Complete spider equations

Construction paper spider with equations written on each leg (Halloween Activities)

How many different ways can kids come up with to make equivalent equations? They’ll need at least 8 for this silly spider craft.

Learn more: Mr. Elementary Math

What are your favorite Halloween activities for the classroom? Come share on our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook!

Plus, 30 Sugar-Free Treats For Halloween.

40 Frightfully Fun Halloween Activities, Crafts, and Games For the Classroom