Suck It Up Relay

I laugh every time we play this game! For Suck It Up Relay you first need to divide your group into manageable teams. You will need one deposit container for each team. The size of it will depend on what type of object (I found ghost shaped erasers at U.S.Toys) you use; i.e., if it's erasers you won't need anything but a large plastic cup, but if you use paper cuts (perhaps the same cuts out you used for Follow the Ghost) you won't need anything at all. You will need one straw per participant. For younger groups of kiddos I cut the straws in half, but leave length for older kids. You could use any Halloween themed shape or item - witch hats, black cats, bats, spiders, leaves, pumpkins...

To begin, line the teams behind a "starting line", pass out a straw to each kiddo, and place a pile of ghost erasers or paper cut outs at the front on each team. Each player will suck on their straw to "attach" the eraser or paper cut out without using their hands. On "go" each player will walk or run to the container without using their hands to deposit the object and hurry back to tag the next person in line. It's harder than you think! The first team to finish all kiddos' deposits wins. The prize can be the eraser. I assure you will have fun watching and the kids will be talking about the game for days after!

Witch Drawing Relay

The Witch Drawing Relay activity is easy because you will be able to find most of these materials at school or around the house. You will need 5 - 6 feet of easel or butcher paper for each team, 8 - 10 index cards for each team, crayons, and space to execute the activity. On these cards you will need to write:

• hat
• eyes
• nose
• wart
• mouth
• hair
• shoes
• dress
• belt
• broom
• cat

One set of cards for each team. You may need to adjust the items to just the basics due to number of kids on each team. Or you may want to add more items to extend the play time of the game.

To begin, lay the butcher paper on the floor along with a cup of crayons with each paper. Have teams line up behind "starting line". For younger groups I recommend tracing the "body" shape and dress prior to the party beginning. For older groups include body as the first index card to be drawn. The remaining index cards can be in any order. Kiddos line up with their team and run to the paper in relay style to draw whatever item was written on the card they drew from the pile. They run back to their team to tag the next artist for play to continue. Which ever team finishes their witch first wins!

Eyeball Dig

The Eyeball Dig activity is MESSY. If you can plan to do it outside where you could squirt it down with a hose afterwards would be ideal. I have done it indoors though. It was with a group of 10 year olds, on my kitchen island, close to the sink. (I will post a picture.)
I used an old black roasting pan to make the gelatin as dark as possible. For my small group I used 2 boxes of orange and 3 boxes of grape flavors, but it never got black enough for my liking. Using the (1) black roasting pot really helped darken the gelatin and make it more difficult to find the buried treasures. I bought rubber snakes, spider rings, and rubber eyeballs - enough for everyone to find three spooky items. U.S.Toys or Oriental Trader has some great inexpensive spooky items. If you can't find what you want there, try the Dollar Store. You will need a clean up station whether you are executing the activity indoors or out. A container of warm soapy water works great for kiddos on their way to a sink. Hand towels, baby wipes or paper towels are additional items to have on hand. To make the game into a relay (because you will have kiddos get "lost in the muck") use a bell. It might look like kids taking off from a starting line on "go", running to the dig (gelatin goo), finding three items, ringing bell, and running back to starting line to allow next player to dig.

This is another activity to videotape! I assure you everyone will enjoy being messy and gross.

Follow the Ghost

To play this relay game you will need paper cut outs of a Halloween character. You could make cut outs at school if they have a die cut machine, a scrapbooking store with a die cut center or even purchase them from a school supply store like U.S. Toys. You could also tear apart pages of a character pad of paper from the dollar store. You will write out what the child will do to get back to the line; like crawl back to you team line or hop like a frog back to your team line. You can write them as "wordy" as you like. Think about reading levels as well as ages of participants. I assure you the game will have lots of laughs!

Pass the Pmpkin

Here is what you will need for Pass the Pumpkin:

• open space to run activity
• one pumpkin for each team
• choose what kind of pumpkin; i.e., real, stuffed, or plastic
• decide whether to write down how to pass the pumpkin in order to keep game going or run thru as rounds; round 1 - pass over head, round 2 pass thru legs, round 3 using elbows, etc.

I assure you the room will be full of giggles!

More Halloween Themed Games

I have more game ideas for your classroom celebration! I will post more details about what is needed, prep work, and how to "extend" the game in the coming days.

Pass the Pumpkin: first team to get pumpkin back to the leader/start person wins.  Teams line up behind each leader/starter, demonstrate how you want the pumpkin passed, i.e. over the head, thru the legs, back to back, elbow, etc.  RULE: ALL PLAYERS MUST STAY IN LINE.  Pumpkin passing starts on "go" and whichever team gets it back to leader first wins.

Follow the Ghost: Race to one end of the room, pick a paper ghost follow the directions written on ghost (jump back to line, crawl back to line, hop back to line, etc.) and return to line tagging next person.

Eyeball Dig Relay:  Be the first team to successfully find all their "prizes".  Need prepared black gelatin (orange & grape combined), 3 spooky prizes per kiddo (rubber snakes, spider rings, eyeballs, etc), and clean up station.  Kids kneel down with closed eyes (or blindfold) before digging for 3 prizes.  Ring a bell for next kiddo to dig.  

Witch Drawing Relay:  Be the first team to draw all the parts of a witch.  Need 2 sheets of easel paper, index cards with witch parts written on them, 2 crayons, and masking tape.  Teams start with an outline of a witch on paper.  Each kiddo will pull an index card (eyes, nose, warts, hat, shoes, belt, etc.) in a relay fashion.

Suck It Up Relay:  Be first team to fill container with ghosts without using hands.  Could use ghost erasers or paper ghosts.  Give each guest a straw and eraser (or paper ghost).  They MUST walk to the other end of the room while sucking it on the end of the straw to deposit their ghost into a bucket without using their hands.  Kiddo runs back to tag next in line.  *** My son tried this with jelly beans and it was hilarious!  He transferred jelly beans from one cup to another. Take pictures of this!

Candy Corn Relay:  Be the first team to transfer all their candy from one container to another.  Need 2 large spoons and 4 containers (2 full of candy). On "go" WALK to the opposite end of room, scoop candy out of container and WALK back to empty container to fill.  Team that drops the fewest pieces wins.

Ghostly Platter Relay:  Be the first team around chair and back while keeping balloon ghost on the plate.  Each gust can decorate their plate. RULE - IF BALLOON FALLS OFF PLATE, KIDDO MUST STOP AND PICK UP TO CONTINUE.  Variation:  you must restart if balloon falls.

Magical Stick Relay:  hold balloon with 2 "sticks" (paper towel tubes, chopsticks, rulers) walk around opposite end chair and back to pass to next kiddo in line without using hands.  IF YOU DROP THE BALLOON YOU HAVE TO PICK UP WITH STICKS.

Mysterious Relay:  Be the first team to complete all activities inside balloons.  Kiddos take turns running to other end of room to pop balloon and do activity inside balloon before returning to line to tag next person.

Mummy Wrap Game:  Be the first team to wrap a teammate mummy so no skin or clothing can be seen (except nose and mouth).

Flying Ghost Game:  Be the person to collect the most points.  Write random numbers on ghost cutouts (5 per guest).  Toss the ghosts in the area.  On "go" each guest picks up 5 ghosts and add them up to see who got the most points.

Mummy Candy Holder

"Classroom Letter" highlights a Mummy Candy Holder. This has been a successful project for elementary classroom celebrations. You will need:

• half a toilet paper tube per child (you could use paper towel tubes for "taller" mummies - but will need longer gauze)
• 2 sheets of black or white 8.5 x 11 construction paper (check the teacher's supplies before you buy) 
• glue (remember to check with the teacher as she may have a stash in the classroom)
• 12 inches of first aid gauze per child
• 2 googly eyes per child
• 4-6 Hersey Kisses or other type of wrapped candy to fill finished holder

I saved the toilet paper tubes over time, but you could ask the children to bring one from home too. I traced circles and cut them out from the construction paper ready to have the children glue to one end of the tube making a bottom. I watered the glue down and had the children use their finger to "paint" the glue on the outside of the tube. After handing out 12 inch strips of gauze to each child, they wrapped it around the sticky tube. The children glued the googly eyes on last, drew a mouth with black Sharpies, had a snack provided from our volunteers - don't forget to wash those sticky hands, and stuffed the wrapped candy in. The project finished drying throughout the party on the corner of their desk to take home at the end of the day. I assure you a successful Halloween craft will be completed and cherished!

Classroom Letter

I am here to help you plan your classroom celebrations! Let's review and start with a letter to the classroom families who volunteered to help with the first of four school year celebrations.
REVIEW: Remember, if you divide the work throughout the school year your rate of participation will yield "high profits" because you aren't asking the same folks over and over again. In addition, the classroom teacher probably asks these same families to volunteer their time and maybe even the PTA! So use the following letter or revise and make it your own with my blessings!

Thank you for signing up for party needs. You are very generous! Here is your friendly Halloween Class Party update:

Halloween Celebration - Tuesday, October 31 @ 1:15 - 2:15 p.m.

Parent Helpers: Parent A and Parent B

Treats and Supplies:

• Parent 1 and Parent 2          cookies/brownies (1 dozen each)
• Parent 1 and Parent 2          juice bags/boxes (1 dozen each)
• Parent 3                             candy corn 2 bags
• Parent 4                             wrapped candies
• Parent 5                             googly eyes (50 ct)
• Parent 6                             2 inch wide gauze (50 ft)

The plan for the Halloween Celebration looks like: 2 crafty activities - Spooky Thumbprint Scenes [black and orange ink pads, crayons, construction paper] and Mummy Candy Holders [toilet paper tubes, construction paper, gauze, googly eyes, glue, tape, wrapped candy], Skeleton Bones relay game, estimation jar [candy corn], and a science "experiment" - Haunting Bells [wire hangers and string]. I have printed off jokes and riddles for the kids to read aloud if our activites run faster than anticipated.

The kids will eat something sweet [cookies or brownies], something healthy ["finger food" - string cheese, cream cheese, and green bell pepper made to look like ghoulish fingers], and drink [juice bags/boxes] throughout the party. Please keep this with your calendar!

- Your Friendly Room Parent

You may have noticed some of the supplies and treats were not listed by parent volunteers. I supplied the orange ink pads, toilet paper tubes, the skeleton bones relay game (I found the pattern on the Family Fun magazine website), wire hangers, string, and jar for estimation. I had the benefit of getting $1 donations from each family and used it to buy string cheese, cream cheese and a bell pepper for the "finger food". The left over money was saved for the next celebration. The black ink pads, crayons, construction paper, glue, and tape were supplies the teacher had in the classroom. I could have had the children use their black and orange markers to color their finger tips to make finger prints as well.

In summary, the children ate 2 kinds of snacks along with a juice bag. They created a Mummy Candy Holder filled with wrapped candies (Hersey Kisses), a fingerprint Halloween scene (mostly pumpkins and bats), one child took home the estimation jar filled with candy corn, and all the children took home a wire hanger with string tied to it - you wrap the string around your fingers (2 pieces of string), stick your fingers in your ears and bonk the hanger next to something hard. It really sounds like haunted bells! They took home 3 things - art projects to be displayed and a science "experiment" (the wire hanger) to share/talk about at home. This party was high spirited, welcome fun before the school wide parade of costumes, and wrapped up within the 60 minute time frame!

You're the Room Parent!

The school year begins and you have either been asked (drafted) or have volunteered to be the room parent; the "go to" person for your child's class. Your responsibilities may be many or few, but classroom celebrations will most likely be your responsibility to organize and execute. So let's start off on the right foot.

Let's say you have 25 students in the class and you will be planning four celebrations for the year - Fall, Winter, Valentine's, and End of the Year. Divide the "work" by assigning 6 families per party - notice I have taken you out of the equation because you're the organizer! If you as the room parent establish this at the beginning of the year, families will be more supportive because you aren't consistently asking the same families again and again to bring or donate for every celebration. You may even ask for a $4 donation at the beginning of the school year to cover crafts. That's $1 per party per family!

Next design a plan for a classroom Fall themed party - this same plan could be used for the three remaining celebrations. Most schools allow for 45 minutes to a hour within the school day for celebrations. Having taught in the elementary grades for over 10 years, I assure you this is plenty of time. There is no need to overwhelm the children or the teacher. To begin:

• Verify with the teacher when and how long you may have for the celebration.
• Find 1 or 2 themed craft ideas - think 10 -15 minutes to complete.
• Find 1 or 2 themed games to play - think 10 - 15 minutes to play.
• Plan 1 healthy themed snack - you don't want to load the children up on sugar.
• Plan 1 sweet themed treat - remember the children have probably had lunch and a snack.
• Plan for 1 -2 helping parents
• Plan a simple themed science experiment - children had something "cool" to replicate and share at home.
• Plan a themed estimation jar - give away to child who came the closest.
• Plan "just in case" activities like a themed read aloud, jokes, or riddles.

Now that you have plan, it's time to have families sign up for the celebration they want. Once you see who signs up, ask those families for the supplies and goodies you will need to execute the plan. For example, you plan to make spooky eye candle holders. You need baby jars, black tissue, hole punches, black Sharpie markers, glue, and tea lights. Start at school with the teacher asking about black tissue paper, hole punches, glue, and black Sharpies. There's no need to ask families to provide supplies that are already at school. Next check your sign up list for those that wanted to provide food and those that wanted to provide supplies. Your food volunteers may bake the cookies, brownies or cupcakes. Your supply volunteers provide the baby food jars, black tissue paper, and tea lights. And if your were successful in getting $1 donations you will be able to get the supplies and goodies you didn't from your volunteers.

That's it! That's the plan.

Come back tomorrow when I post Fall themed crafts.

It's my favorite time of year. Fall is seeping into the air and that means room moms all over will begin to plan for the class Fall party. Think apples, pumpkins, harvest time! Tomorrow look for ideas here regarding a plan outline, a letter to send home, activities and games, and snacks to serve.

Getting Started

Whether it's a birthday celebration, a classroom party, an open house or hosting for the holidays, I've got ideas for you! I will help you be know as a "host with the most".
Getting started is probably the hardest part. The task at hand looks overwhelming. The questions to start with are the basics: who, what, where, when, why and how. "Oh my!" you're thinking. But when you put one foot in front of the other the task seems to complete itself and we wonder, "What was I so worried about in the first place?!" So don't worry. Stick with me. You will be hosting moments to remember, celebrations turned into traditions, and memories to be shared again and again.