Halloween's Ghouling Activities

Skill: Catch, Throw, Walk
Time Required: 45
Activity Type: Physical, Transition
Group Size: Large Group, Medium Group, Small Group
Age Group: 6 - 9yrs, 9 - 12yrs, 13+ yrs
Play area: Classroom (small indoor space), Gymnasium (large indoor space), Outdoor - Field
Safety Considerations: Remove any safety hazards and obstacles from the activity area.
Remind participants to be aware of their surroundings and to keep their head up.
Equipment: Different equipment for the different Halloween activities:

1. Pin the Nose on Jack - A large pumpkin taped to the wall and different noses cut out for participant to "pin" on Jack (large bristol board or other large piece of paper, black construction paper, scissors, tape, markers, pencil crayons, blindfold)
2. Catch the Treats - Bags, beanbags, tennis balls, pylons.
3. Halloween Boowling - Water bottles (or bigger bottles), tissue paper, construction paper, scissors, glue/tape, coins or other objects to give the bottles some weight.
4. Halloween Charades- Pieces of paper with Halloween things written on them and a bowl/hat.
Objective:
Participants participate in the different Halloween activities and have a "vunderfulll" time (said like a vampire).
Other Skills:
Underhand Roll
Set up:
Set up the different activities in an open space.

1. Pin the Nose on Jack: The leader(s) create a large pumpkin (Jack) using a large piece of paper and put eyes, a mouth and a stem up on Jack, but not the nose. Cut out a bunch of noses for Jack and place an 'x' on Jack where the nose should go. Tape the pumpkin on a wall.
2. Catch the Treats: Have 1 bag per two participants prepared and the same number of objects per pair. Place two pylons for each pair around 10 feet from each other.
3. Halloween Boowling: Have the tissue paper, construction paper, tape, scissors and other materials prepared.
4. Halloween Charades: Have the pieces of paper with Halloween things to act out in a bowl/hat.
Step by Step:
Divide participants into groups of 4-6 participants and each group will start at a different Halloween activity.
Set up all of the activities, or select a few and set those up.
Optional to have the participants create Jack, and the bowling pins before doing the activities.
1. Pin the Nose on Jack
- Leaders create a big pumpkin and tape it to a wall.
- Each participant will have a pumpkin nose (triangle cut out from construction paper).
- Place a piece of tape at the back of each nose.
- Each nose could be a different colour.
- One participant at a time will be blindfolded and standing in front of Jack with their nose in hand. They will be spun around a couple times and stopped so they are facing Jack again.
- That participant will then walk over to Jack and try to put their nose as close to the "x marks the spot" as possible".
- Remind participants to walk with their arm(s) out so they don't walk into the wall.
2. Catch the Treats
- Participants will get into pairs and stand at pylons across from each other.
- One participant from each pair will get a bag.
- The other participant will have beanbags and tennis balls next to their pylon.
- The participant with the beanbags and tennis balls will throw them to their partner with the bag (throwing candy into the participant's trick-or-treat bag).
- The participant with the bag tries to catch each item in their bag, and they can't go in front of their pylon.
- If they miss a piece, then they throw it back to their partner and they try again.
- Once they catch all the candy, they dump it next to their pylon, and their partner gets the bag and they switch roles.
3. Halloween Boowling
- The leader and/or participants will decorate different bottles as pumpkins, vampires, ghosts and other Halloween friends.
- For the pumpkin bottle, put orange tissue paper inside and then cut out eyes, a nose and a mouth from black construction paper and tape/glue these on the bottle.
- For the ghost, put white tissue paper inside the bottle and cut out eyes and a mouth from construction paper and glue/tape these on the bottle.
- Create at least 6 bottles.
- Could put sand or coins or something that will give the bottles some weight at the bottom of each bottle.
- Put the bottles in a pyramid formation on the ground.
- Using a foam ball or a little pumpkin, participants will roll it and try to knock down all of the Halloween pins.
4. Halloween Charades
- Participants will one at a time, select a piece of paper from the hat/bowl and have to act out the Halloween clue. It could be a costume, a thing, an emotion, an action and so on.
- Participants cannot speak.
- The participants that guesses it right, gets to go up and act out the next thing.
- Example of what participants can act out: ghost, vampire, witch, werewolf, scarecrow, mummy, scared, spider, pirate, zombie, eating candy, carving a pumpkin, haunted house, bobbing for apples, trick-or-treating.
Play Halloween music throughout these activities and at the end have candy or treats for the participants.
Variations:
Set up these activities along with other Halloween activities.
Could have "Pin the Nose on the Witch" instead of a pumpkin, or another Halloween person/thing.
Place the bottles in a standing pyramid, and participants have to throw a ball and knock over the pyramid.
Have a costume contest.
If indoors, instead of doing charades, make it like Halloween Pictionary and participants have to draw the item.
Sources: Developed for the Leisure Information Network.