Halloween Curriculum Plans available FREE for Early Years Resource Factory members! Are you looking for inspiration for your classroom on the theme of Halloween? Check out the Halloween Curriculum Pack on the Early Years Shop! The entire pack comprises about 40 pages of printables and activities, all correlated to Aistear themes and Montessori learning areas. Each one is designed to support emerging interests of children.
Not an EYRF Member? You can purchase Halloween and other themed Curriculum Plan Packs:
Purchase Halloween Curriculum Pack
In Ireland, the festival of Samhain (Halloween) was celebrated at this time of year to commemorate the start of winter. It was traditional to dress up in costumes and masks and dance through the village. Eventually this also included children dressing up and going from door to door reciting verses or singing. This was done in exchange for food, similar to the practice of Christmas caroling.
When Irish and Scottish immigrants to the United States brought their Halloween customs, over time dressing up and trick-or-treating merged with pop culture, and by the 1930s costumes were commercially produced. This originally included skeletons, ghosts, witches and monsters. However, by the 1950s children were dressing up as cartoon characters and movie stars!
Dressing Up and Role Play is a Part of Development
Studies have linked role-play games to experiencing empathy for other children. By pretending to be someone else, children can get practice thinking about what it might feel like to be someone else and what other people might be going through. Dressing up can also give kids practice for the roles they might take as adults.
Obviously this is less of a feature when it comes to dressing up as a witch or SpongeBob Squarepants! However, taking on other roles always gives children a “safe space” to experiment with different types of behaviour and ways of interacting with others. This supports the Aistear Framework as children are encouraged to learn through play!
If you are already a member of the Early Years Resource Factory you get the Halloween CP and all our curriculum plans for no additional cost! You also have access to our monthly newsletter creator, staff roster, parent surveys and much more! Feel free to try a no-obligation free trial!
