Last week we had a colorful pumpkin in our classroom that we got to observe and look at, and it created a watershed of interest. We went on our walk to GGP and found many , many decorations on the neighbors houses. The ones that the toddlers most recognized and were interested in were the Pumpkins, Skeletons and Spiders. We had been noticing the spiderwebs in the back and were keen to know where the spiders were. The large spiders on the houses created that instant recognition and the children were excited to be able to recognize it. For toddlers there can be moments of confusion when they have little to relate to in the outside world, these decorations provided some much desired continuity.
When the Preschoolers came back after their pumpkin patch trip, they brought us some smaller pumpkins and a large one. The interest in the pumpkins created a desire to make our own out of a mural that the children had painted earlier. Looking to the multicolored pumpkin, we decided on what shape to make, the children helped staple the pumpkin shapes together and stuff it.
The pumpkins texture along with a toddler’s interest in more tactile expression, brought out more possible projects. There were some colorful “slime” bags that were filled with little treasures to roll about and find. Some friends even found that they felt good on their tummies. We also had shaving cream, pumpkin roll painting and our Jack o’ Lantern to prepare. The Jack o’ Lantern was greeted with intense interest and everyone had a chance to help carve, choose shapes, and pull out the seeds.
The neighborhood decorations were becoming more and more prevalent so we decided to introduce some more of it into the classroom. The little Pumpkins that were brought for the children became impromptu decoration for our doll house. We added Skeletons and Spiders and some ripped cheese cloth for spider webs. The children were invited to move them around and decorate it to their tastes. They did an excellent job of sharing the decorations or playing alongside each other. We also had a chance to help the preschoolers clean the “Becca” Bus for decoration. The preschoolers and toddlers do not always get a chance to interact and having the opportunity to learn new interactions is such a learning opportunity.
Friday arrives and we are all dressed for the occasion. We had two foxes, a chef, Batman, and two Skeletons! One of our skeletons was Tucker who came for his first day. The room had been transformed to look more and more like the houses outside. There were spiderweb streamers and the Jack o’ Lanterns were lit up and place down for the children to use. We had fun in the backyard before we went on a walk around the neighborhood to see what may have changed outside. There were many, many pumpkins to be found and several large spiders with their large webs. The surprised skeletons were still there, surprised faced or with masks covering them, a happy find that bared familiarity to the children’s lives. A favorite house to visit has been one with many surprises behind their gate and a very pleasing echo chamber where the children like to hear themselves squeal in delight. A fun lunch with pasta and Halloween shaped vegetables and “Mummy” wrapped meatballs and snack with pretzel and cheese brooms help round out the day. Happy Halloween Week 2020!
