Bobbing for Ghosts

Preschoolers may be a bit skeptical when it comes to sticking their heads in a bucket of water.  Not to mention the fact that those apples, even though they look yummy, may seem a little more than a preschooler can grab onto with their little mouths. This game is on the same pretext as Bobbing for Apples, only easier for young ones to play. 

You will need a long stick or piece of wood that you can hang above the children’s heads.  You will also need large marshmallows, marshmallow crème, black decorating gel, strong string cut into different lengths and a sewing needle. 

Start by placing a tiny bit of marshmallow crème on the top and bottom and of two marshmallows.  This will hold the marshmallows together to make your ghost.  Once you’ve attached the marshmallows, give your ghosts 2 eyes using the black decorator gel.   

Once you have your ghosts put together thread the needle with a piece of string.  Pull the string through the marshmallows and out the side.  Be sure to tie the string tight and close to the marshmallow to hold it in place. 

Remove the needle and tie the string to the stick or piece of wood.  Continue doing this with all the marshmallows until you have ghost strung completely across the piece of wood.  Be sure to have the strings different lengths so all the children can reach a ghost.

Now it’s time to play!  Line the children up and place the stick, with the dangling ghosts above their heads.  The object is for each child to catch a swinging ghost in their mouth.  If they catch it they get to eat it.  Just be sure you remove any string that may stay attached beforehand.  What fun the preschoolers will have with this ghost bobbing game.

Find That Ghost 

This is a fun and easy game to play with your preschoolers at their Halloween party.  They can make the ghosts and then enjoy trying to hunt them down.  Here’s how it’s done.

Start by having the children make the ghosts.  You will need construction paper, scissors and crayons.  The kids can cut their ghost shapes out of the construction paper.  You might want to have a picture of a ghost for the kids to look at so they will have an idea of what they want to cut out. You can also do this step prior to the day of the party as well.

Next have them decorate the ghosts with the crayons.  Any color of ghost will be fine and the kids can place eyes, a nose and even a mouth on the ghosts if they would like. 

Once all the children have created their ghost, divide them into two teams.  Give one team the ghosts and have them hide them in the classroom.  Remember to count the number of ghosts to make sure they are all returned at the end of the game.  The other team sits in at their tables or desks with their heads down and eyes closed so they can’t see where the little goblins are being hid.

When the first team has hidden all the ghosts have them sit in their chairs while the other team searches for the ghosts.  They can make ghosts noises and even a boo now and then to help the other children locate where the ghost might be.

Once all the ghosts have been found, reverse the roles and let the second team hide and the first team do the searching.  Hopefully they will find all the ghosts and return them to you safe and sound with no worries of one sneaking up behind you.    BOO!

Bowling for Ghosts

This is a fun and energetic game you can play at a preschool Halloween party.  It takes a little extra room and a lot of patience, but everyone will get a kick out of making the pins and then knocking them down.

To play this game you first need to make the ghost pins.  This is pretty easy to do and the kids will enjoy making them.  Start with ten two or three liter bottles.  The use bigger bottles makes it easier for the younger children to bowl them over when the time comes.

Using white paint, have the children paint the bottles from top to bottom.  Be sure they have paint smocks and use newspaper so your classroom isn’t turned completely white. Once the paint has dried, let the kids draw or paint faces on their ghosts.

To play the game you will need to prepare an area that is big enough to set up the ten pins and for the children to be able to roll the ball to knock the pins over.  You can use any type of ball, just be sure it is large enough for the kids to be able to knock over pins but not too large for them to handle. 

Let each child take a turn at trying to knock all the pins down.  Be sure to have someone at the other end to set those ghosts back up each time.  You can keep score, if you choose and whoever has the highest score wins.  You can also have a special treat for anyone who gets a strike.  No matter which way you do it the kids are sure to have a great time bowling for ghosts.

For information about Pumpkin Painting (a safe alternative to pumpkin carving for Preschoolers), don't miss Easy Pumpkin Painting.