Today we’re back for the second set of posts in the Halloween Invitation to Play series. I’m joining Buggy and Buddy,Play Trains, Twodaloo, Fun-A-Day and Nothing if Not Intentional to share some creative play ideas for Halloween.

This post contains referral links.

This Week’s Halloween Invitation to Play: Halloween Weaving

GET A FULL WEEK OF HALLOWEEN THEME ACTIVITIES IN OUR PRINTABLE PRESCHOOL LESSON PLANS.

Materials

• Decorative ribbon cut into various lengths-You can use leftover scraps of ribbon or purchase some related to Halloween (or another theme). I always find great theme ribbon in the dollar bins at craft stores, Walmart, and Target.
• Surface for weaving-There are various surfaces you can use. We used the Wilton Jack-O-Lantern Cookie Cooling Rack. I can find a few available on eBay, but I do not see them available from Wilton any longer. You could also use a standard cooling rack like this Chrome-Plated Steamer Rack, a dish drying rack, or even a laundry basket with openings. We found the mat picture below (from a previous invitation to play) at the Dollar Tree. It comes in handy for weaving activities, too. 

Ways Children Might Use the Materials

Below is a brief list of skills kids might practice using these materials. However, as I watch kids interact with new invitations I am always impressed by their creativity in using materials in ways that I may never have thought of. This kind of free exploration is one of things I enjoy most about invitations to play.

• Fine Motor-This is the primary goal of this invitation.
• Problem Solving
• Creativity
• Patterning
• Counting

This is a great activity for older toddlers. Tinker is especially interested in weaving, so she has revisited this invitation over and over again since I made it available. She has a lot of patience (at least for these tasks…ha!), and she enjoys sitting for long periods of time trying to weave the ribbons in various directions.

Preschoolers and early elementary students will also enjoy this type of activity, but they may be more focused on creating patterns and unique designs. Lovey was especially focused on following the over/under pattern as she added ribbons to the jack-o-lantern.

Thanks for joining us for the Halloween Invitations to Play series. Don’t forget to stop by and see what the other members of the series have planned for you today. Then visit us on October 15th for even more new ideas.

Playing and Creating with Sand & Glass Gems by Buggy and Buddy

Halloween Sticky Table Art by Fun-A-Day

Invitation to Paint by Nothing if Not Intentional

Pumpkin Railroad Building by Play Trains!

Spooky Mirrored Sand Play by Twodaloo

GET A FULL SET OF HALLOWEEN THEME ACTIVITIES

The 132-page Halloween Lesson Plan Set includes hands-on activities and these additional printables:

1) -at Word Family Bat Game (in color and b/w)

2) Candy Corn Science Experiment Recording Sheet (in color and b/w)

3) Candy Corn Uppercase, Lowercase, and Beginning Sound Picture Puzzles for Letters C, A, N, D, Y, H, O and R (in color and b/w)

4) Candy Corn Counting Cards 1-10 (in color and b/w)

5) Halloween Costume Syllable Sorting Activity (in color and b/w)

6) Haunted House Colors Board Game-3 variations to work on color recognition or color word recognition (in color and b/w)

7) “Look at the Costumes” Emergent Reader-3 variations

8) 0-35 Halloween Number Cards (in color and b/w)

9) Halloween Roll and Graph Math Game (in color and b/w)

10) Halloween Picture-Word Cards (in color and b/w)

11) Build a Jack-o-Lantern Pumpkin Mats and Shape Pieces

12) My Jack-o-Lantern Recording Sheets-2 variations, one to focus on shape recognition and one to focus on writing

13) Spider Number Mats and Ways to Show Numbers 0-10

Also available on Teachers Pay Teachers.