If you enjoyed our Fall Invitations to Play series last month, you’re going to be excited to here what’s in store this month! I’m teaming up with Buggy and Buddy,Play Trains, and Twodaloo again to bring you a new set of Halloween Invitation to Play. We’re also really excited to have Fun-A-Day and Nothing if Not Intentional joining this series.
There’s one slight change. Instead of sharing the full series in one week, the series will run on Tuesdays. So check out what everyone has to share today. Then don’t forget to look for new posts on October 8 and October 15. Enjoy!
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This Week’s Halloween Invitation to Play: Skeleton Play Dough
FIND EVEN MORE SKELETON THEME ACTIVITIES IN OUR PRINTABLE LESSON PLANS
FOR HOME PRESCHOOL AND PRESCHOOL CLASSROOMS.
In the spring while we were learning about the letter X we set up this invitation to play so we could learn more about x-rays. It also makes a great activity for Halloween. Kids can make skeletons of familiar living things, or create their own unique and spooky creatures. This set up would be super fun for a school Halloween theme, play date, or Halloween party.
Materials
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- Black play dough
- Cotton swabs (I used whole swabs and also cut the ends off of some to give a variety of options for different “bones.”)
- Assorted cookie cutters (Ours are from the Wilton 101-Piece Cookie Cutter Set)
- Rollers (optional)
When I first set out this invitation I made one dinosaur to give them an idea of how they might use the materials. Typically I do not share an example, but in this case I wasn’t sure how familiar they would be with the idea of skeletons. They didn’t have to actually create skeletons, but I did want to provide the gentle suggestion.
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
- Creativity
- Patterns and Symmetry
- Counting
- Oral Language and Story Telling
Tinker really enjoyed poking the cotton swabs into the play dough. She did not quite have a sense yet of creating skeletons. Actually when the others created them, Tinker protested that they were “grumpy.” This Halloween may be a bit interesting for her sweet little self!
Lovey and Big Buddy did make their own variations of skeletons, and they had long elaborate stories about their creations.
Thanks for joining us for our first post in 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 8th for even more new ideas.
Invitation to Create with Beads, Straws, and Pipe Cleaners by Buggy and Buddy
Play Dough Skeletons by Fantastic Fun and Learning
Frankenstein Monster Pumpkin by Fun-A-Day
Creepy-Crawly Cauldron Play by Nothing if Not Intentional
October Moon Halloween Train Play by Play Trains!
Jack O’Lantern Collage by Twodaloo
PRINTABLE SKELETON THEME LESSON PLANS
Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provided different versions for home preschool families and classroom teachers so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.
The full Skeleton Theme Lesson Plan Pack also includes:
1) Uppercase Skeleton Letter Building Mats and Cards
2) Lowercase Skeleton Letter Cards
3) Doctor’s Checklist for Pretend Play
4) Skeleton Bone Counting and Building Mats
5) Skeleton Word Building Mats
6) Skeleton Number Cards 0-35
7) Bone Tallies and Number Recognition Mats
8) 3 Skeleton Puzzles
9) Bone Opposites Emergent Reader
10) Skeleton Letter Matching Puzzles
GET YOUR LESSON PLANS
Home Preschool Skeleton Theme Lesson Plans
Preschool Classroom Skeleton Theme Lesson Plans
Also available on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Polly
This would go so well with the FUNNYBONES story ; ) Thanks for sharing
Shaunna Evans
Thanks for the suggestion!
Anna@The Measured Mom
So cool. It amazes me how many ideas you come up with it! Thanks for sharing at After School 🙂
Shaunna Evans
Thanks, Anna! The kids love play dough, so it’s fun to find new ways for them to explore and create with it!
Jolanthe
Such a great idea, Shaunna. Would be so much fun for a human body unit! 🙂
Shaunna Evans
Thanks, Jolanthe! I agree…as my kids get older I’d love to revisit this in different ways.
Rachel @I Heart Crafty Things
You are the coolest!!! This looks like sooooo much fun! I know my 6 & 8 yr old boys would even love digging in with this activity.
Shaunna Evans
Thanks, Rachel! I bet your 6 and 8 year old would come up with some very elaborate creations.
Natalie F
I love this invitation to play – so fun, especially in the group. Thanks for sharing with Afterschool!
JDaniel4's Mom
This is such a fun idea! I need to dig out my cookie cutters and do this activity with my son.
Shaunna Evans
Thanks! We get so much use out of our cookie cutters!
Julie
We studied the human body last year, so did many similar projects. This is a great one like your stethoscope.
Shaunna Evans
Thank you! I’ll have to check out your human body activities when we start to focus on that more.
Katie @ Gift of Curiosity
Super cute! Pinned to my Halloween board. Love the idea of using q-tips for this!
Shaunna
Thank you! It turned out to be a really fun activity.
Sabrina Banks
such a cute idea!
Kirstylee
This looks so cute! I can’t wait to try it with my boys.
Mrs. A @ 123kindergarten
I wish I’d seen this idea years ago! Once, I boiled all the turkey bones for hours and stripped them for kidlets to make dinosaur skeletons but the bones didn’t stick to the glue well at all. Another year we did skeletons with newspaper strips which stuck even where we didn’t want. Tried the qtips on paper which was better than the other two, but this is so much easier for little hands and far more creative!
Shaunna
Oh thank you! And good for you for continuing to find ideas that will work for your kiddos. I bet they loved the activities no matter what version you tried!
Jessica @ Play Trains!
This is such a cool idea! Now I really want to make a skeleton train with the Little Engineer. 😀
Shaunna
oooh! A spooky skeleton train could be lots of fun!
Stephanie
This is the BEST idea! I love it! What a creative way to get little ones interested in anatomy!
Mary Catherine
What a FUN idea, Shaunna! I am definitely going to incorporate this into my preschool Halloween week! My son is going to love it, as well. Off to pin this now. 🙂
Shaunna
Thanks, Mary Catherine! I hope everyone has fun coming up with their own spooky skeletons.
Rachael @ Nothing if Not Intentional
What a great idea to use cotton swabs for bones! Great ideas, Shaunna! 🙂
Renae
I LOVE this idea and can’t wait to have the kiddos try it out this month. So much fun! Thank you so much for sharing! I’ve pinned it so I don’t forget.
Shaunna
Thank you! I hope the kids love it!
Kristan Price
This is so neat!! We have been using cut-outs on black construction paper and didn’t even think to use glue!! I love this idea and I can’t wait to try it with my kids. 🙂
Shaunna
Thanks! I hope they have fun!
Deb
Those are so cute, uh, I mean scary?! 🙂 Kids will definitely have fun making these.
Shaunna
ha! My kids don’t really do scary yet, so I think cute is probably more accurate for us!
Sarah @ How Wee Learn
That is exactly what I was going to say Ann – very cool idea!! My Sammy is loving invitations to play. So glad your last series inspired me to try it with him.
Ann @ My Nearest and Dearest
This is such a cool idea, Shaunna!