5 Spooktacular Halloween Learning Activities from the Busbys

Gabrielle Fischer Posted On Oct 23, 2017 | Halloween

Adam and I are always looking for activities to do with the girls, and there’s plenty of learning and fun to be had this Halloween. It can be as simple as counting and sorting Halloween candy, drawing a spooky picture, or making a paper plate spider web. The learning is always there – you just have to look for it!

1. Pumpkin Coloring Contest

Get out the crayons, print out this pumpkin picture, and watch your little artist’s imagination come to life! Points for the silliest, spookiest, and most creative pumpkins.

2. Paper Plate Spiderwebs

Fall trees aren’t just full of leaves – they’re also full of spiders! Garden spiders are most active in the fall so you’re likely to see more of their elaborate, beautiful webs in the trees in autumn, too. Join the fun and spin your own spider webs out of a paper plate!

Cut the center out of a paper plate.
Let your kids color the outer edge of the plate with beautiful fall colors like red, orange, and yellow.
Using a single hole puncher, punch 12-14 holes around the edge of the hole.
Tape one end of a length of yarn to the back of the paper plate and wrap tape tightly around the other to form a ‘needle’.
Demonstrate how to weave the yarn back and forth through the holes to create the web, then hand the plate over to your child.
Once, the web is spun, remove the pin from the end of the yarn and tape that end to the back of the plate, too.

Add a pipe cleaner spider for the perfect fall finishing touch – cut four black pipe cleaners in half and twist to create an eight-legged creepy crawly!

3. Frankenstein Fun

Start with a blank sheet of paper, then guide your kids, step by step, to draw Frankenstein’s head. Instructions are below:

Draw a large rectangle, short sides up and down, long sides on the sides, to form the head.
Add a rectangular ear on either side of the head.
Add a zig zag line just below the top of the head to make hair.
Draw two parallel lines coming out of the bottom of the head to form the neck.
Add the start of another rectangle beneath the neck to form the top of the body.
Draw two circles for eyes and two half circles inside the circles to form pupils.
Add rectangular eyebrows at an angle over the eyes.
Add a rectangular mouth.
Using the bottom of the mouth as the base, draw three triangles, then connect the pointed tops of the triangles to the top of the mouth’s rectangle to form teeth.
Shape a nose between the eyes and the mouth
Once the outline of Frankenstein is complete, kids can go crazy with details – add bolts, scars, etc. Outline the creation in Sharpie, and color him in with crayons, colored pencils, markers, even watercolor paints. You’ll be surprised how differently each of your children’s drawings are!

4. Spooky STEM Sculptures

Put all that Halloween candy to good use, with STEM sculptures! Use candy pumpkins and toothpicks to create STEM structures designed to introduce early math and science principles like gravity, balance, angles, and more. Younger kids can try building a simple tower with a three-pumpkin base supporting a single, floating pumpkin. Challenge older kids to create a taller tower, pyramid, spiral, or spider web!

5. Skeleton Puzzle

This double sided skeleton puzzle not only makes a great Halloween activity, it’s also a great way to teach your kids about the name of bones! It also makes a great front door decoration to help greet your trick or treaters.

Happy Halloween!

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Patria Lincoln | Posted on Oct 22, 2019

Monster Mixing Potions!

October has so many great opportunities for integrating themes into the curriculum with fun experiments. Kids especially love any opportunity to be “scientists.” Kick-off some Halloween fun with this exciting Monster Mixing Potions experiment!

Bring the thrill of the Halloween season to life with the opportunity to make “potions!” This is the perfect activity for any primary or elementary-aged student. The suspense will have them on the edge of their seat!

In order to begin, you’ll need to gather the items below:

Plastic cups
Monster decorating accessories (googly eyes, pipe cleaners, etc.)
Glue/tape
Eyedroppers (ex. Learning Resources Jumbo Eyedroppers)
Vinegar
Baking soda
Food coloring

Start by allowing the kids to get creative decorating the cups with monster faces. Look to the book Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley for inspiration. It’s a classic and it sure won’t disappoint! Give the monster faces plenty of time to dry before doing the experiment.

Once they are ready you can decide whether you will reveal the “potions” (experiment materials) needed or not. Students can observe, smell and make predictions if you’d like them to. Place as few or as many drops of food coloring as you’d like at the bottom of the cup. After, sprinkle about a teaspoon of baking powder over the coloring. Pour the vinegar into a small bowl and allow students to combine the “potions” using the eyedroppers. Monster Potions Eyedroppers

I love that Learning Resources created a product that enables students of all ages (3+) to use tools that allow them to truly feel like a scientist. These jumbo eyedroppers are perfect for experiments and fine motor sensory play in the classroom. They are easy to use for tiny hands and fingers and hold quite a bit of liquid, which worked well for this experiment!

After the vinegar is in the eyedroppers, allow the kids to carefully and slowly drop a drip or two of the vinegar into the cup and observe the reaction of the potions combining.

They can gradually add more vinegar and baking soda as needed. Be careful of the surfaces you choose to do the experiment on. Take a look at the chemical reaction below! Students will be roaring with laughter and erupting with questions once the reactions take place.

Just a quick note, you’ll need about ¼ cup or so of vinegar to elicit a potion with a reaction as seen in the pictures above and below. Also, I recommend placing the cup on a tray for easy cleanup! Monster Cup Bubbling

Enjoy the thrills of this Monster Mixing Potions experiment! Monster Cup Faces

Save it for later!

Patria Lincoln | Posted on Apr 20, 2018

Celebrate Astronomy Day with Kids

Each year Astronomy Day is celebrated worldwide. The stars have fascinated humanity for literally centuries, and even to this day captures the imagination of kids of all ages. Celebrate this event with them this year and don't worry if you don't own any expensive telescopes. These DIY activities use real life discoveries to inspire your little astronomers!

Track the Phases of the Moon

Bone sticks from across Europe and Africa dating back as long ago as 35,000 BCE that tracked the moon’s phases. Use a simple number line with your kids to track the phases of the moon over the course of a month, from full moon and back again. Do it for several months and see what patterns they begin to observe.

Depict a Celestial Phenomenon

A celestial phenomenon is a astrological event that involves one or more objects. The earliest example depicted was discovered in Germany in 1999. The Nebra Sky Disc dates back to 2000 BC and it depicted a star cluster, phases of the moon and the rising sun.

Use a black paper plate, or even just black paper, and encourage your children to depict their own star formations. If they can’t stay up to observe them at night, project some indoors with this Shining Stars Projector.

Astronomy to Keep Time

The Chinese astronomers kept detailed observations beginning about 600 BC, for the primary purpose of timekeeping. Their records allowed them to predict eclipses, and include the first record of events such as supernovas and comets.

On the other side of the world, the Mayans developed their own astronomical tables for predicting the phases of the moon, eclipses, and the appearance of the other planets. They used these and the cycles of the Sun, the Moon, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and constellations to establish the Mayan calendar.

All of the above astronomy was without a telescope, and you can still observe these astronomical events with your kids today. Check out this astronomy calendar and pick a full moon, eclipse, planetary event, or meteor shower to observe as a family.

Try this simple astronomy experiment to help kids as young as preschoolers understand what makes night.

Just because ancient astronomers did all of this without a telescope doesn't mean your little ones have to! All of the above activities can be done with the naked eye but if you feel like shooting for the stars check out Learning Resources Big View Telescope. How will you celebrate Astronomy Day?

Gabrielle Fischer | Posted on Nov 7, 2017

Smarts & Crafts: Practicing Thankfulness with a Gratitude Wall

Instilling gratitude in children is not an easy task and it doesn’t just happen by accident. While teaching kids to be polite and say “please” and “thank you” are important social norms, this will not necessarily help them understand gratitude or develop the internal motivation to be grateful.

The autumn season is the perfect time to instil the practice of gratitude among children. As Thanksgiving approaches, it is natural for families to reflect on what they are thankful for. Take time this year to make a gratitude wall and teach kids the value of thankfulness by bringing it to life.

Why gratitude?

Research continues to show that practicing gratitude is associated with increased happiness and better health in adults. Being thankful is a practiced discipline, one adults and children alike, must learn. For kids, they learn an attitude of gratefulness in their families by watching their parents.

What is a “Gratitude Wall”?

A gratitude wall is a daily family activity that helps everyone reflect on what they are grateful for. It is a dedicated space in the family home where everyone takes time together to reflect on the things they are thankful for and remember them visually. It can be as simple as a piece of poster paper or a large blank canvas decorated with words and hand drawn pictures. The visual representation of a gratitude wall is less important than the regular rhythm of practicing gratitude together.

Infuse autumn with thankfulness – make your own gratitude wall

What you’ll need:

Poster paper
Tape
Markers, pens or crayons
Scissors
Glue
Magazines or flyers

Set up your gratitude wall

Tape or tack poster paper or canvas up on a wall at home. Choose a location that is accessible and easy to interact with. The goal is to add a new reflection or idea every day.

A little thankfulness every day

Set aside time every day throughout the autumn months to discuss as a family what everyone is grateful for. Choose a time that works for the household. Supper time may work for some families while bedtime might be better for others. Then take time together to add a word, a short sentence of reflection, a sketched drawing, or a cut-out photo from a magazine, to the gratitude wall.

For younger children, their concept of gratitude will still be developing. They may be thankful for a pet or a special toy. The rhythm and practice of being thankful, and seeing other family members model gratitude, is more important than the specific content.

The gratitude walls of families of preschool-aged children may not look Pinterest-worthy. These may have a smattering of stick figures and jagged letters, and that is okay! The primary objective is to instil the practice of gratitude into normal family life.

After several weeks, each gratitude wall will have a collage of experiences, people, and objects that reflect what each person in the family is thankful for. And perhaps, there will be some newly established family rhythms that help everyone understand and practice gratitude regularly.

1. Pumpkin Coloring Contest

2. Paper Plate Spiderwebs

3. Frankenstein Fun

4. Spooky STEM Sculptures

5. Skeleton Puzzle

In order to begin, you’ll need to gather the items below:

Save it for later!

Track the Phases of the Moon

Depict a Celestial Phenomenon

Astronomy to Keep Time

Why gratitude?

What is a “Gratitude Wall”?

Infuse autumn with thankfulness – make your own gratitude wall

Set up your gratitude wall

A little thankfulness every day

1. Pumpkin Coloring Contest

2. Paper Plate Spiderwebs

3. Frankenstein Fun

4. Spooky STEM Sculptures

5. Skeleton Puzzle

Come Learn with Us!