Halloween is a popular fall holiday, and it can fit naturally into early learning. Simple crafts, sensory play, and games give preschoolers chances to practice fine motor skills, counting, and creative expression.

If you are looking for Halloween ideas for your preschool or child care classroom, this guide shares ten easy activities, along with tips on ages, safety, allergies, and making the season welcoming to every family. Not every family celebrates Halloween, so many of these ideas can also work as general fall activities.

Playground also offers customizable curriculum right through the app, giving you high-quality enrichment activities for plenty of themes and needs. Book a free demo to learn more.

Before You Begin: Planning Halloween Activities for Child Care

• Ages and abilities. Toddlers can tear paper, paint, and glue pre-cut shapes. Preschoolers can cut with child-safe scissors, follow simple steps, and add details of their own.

• Safety. Check materials for small parts, use non-toxic supplies, and keep scissors, permanent markers, and carving in adult hands. Follow your licensing and program policies on holiday activities.

• Allergies. Review enrollment records before any activity that involves food or sensory materials, and consider non-food rewards rather than candy.

• Budget and materials. Most ideas here use paper plates, construction paper, markers, and glue. Ask families to donate scrap paper, and save finished pieces for fall displays.

• Time. Spread the activities over a week or two so children have time to explore each one without rushing.

Making Halloween Inclusive and Family-Friendly

Not every family celebrates Halloween, whether for religious, cultural, or personal reasons, and some children find spooky imagery upsetting. A little planning helps every child take part. Share your plans in advance, make participation optional, and consider framing activities as fall learning. For seasonal themes that welcome everyone, see our fall preschool themes and ideas.

• Communicate early. Tell families what you plan to do and invite questions or concerns before the activities begin.

• Offer alternatives. Pumpkins, leaves, and spiders and bugs connect to fall and science, and you can offer a different activity for children who prefer not to take part in Halloween crafts.

• Keep it friendly. Choose silly over scary, and skip anything realistic or frightening for young children.

• Do not require costumes or candy. Costumes and treats can create cost, allergy, and comfort issues, so keep them optional or leave them out.

• Invite families in. Ask families to share fall traditions, donate materials, or join a craft session.

10 Easy Halloween Activities for Preschoolers

Each activity below uses simple, low-cost materials and includes a practical tip for your classroom.

These activities teach children about the season through hands-on play, and many build fine motor skills, early math, and language along the way.

Pumpkin Halloween Projects for Preschool

Make Pumpkin Slime

This easy activity needs only a few ingredients and makes a great sensory experience. You will need white glue, orange food coloring, and contact lens solution. Mix the ingredients together and let children explore the slime.

Tip: Some contact lens solutions contain boric acid or sodium borate, which can irritate skin. Check the label, have an adult measure and mix, wash hands afterward, and skip slime for children who still put objects in their mouths. Many slime recipes also use baking soda, so test your recipe before the activity. Playdough or cloud dough is a good alternative for programs that limit slime.

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Go on a Pumpkin Hunt

This is one of the Halloween games for preschoolers that works both indoors and outdoors. If you are playing indoors, hide small pumpkin toys or erasers around the room and let children search for them.

If you are playing outdoors, an adult can carve a few mini pumpkins ahead of time and hide them around your yard or play area for children to find.

Tip: Small toys and erasers are choking hazards for children under three, so choose larger pumpkin toys for toddlers. Carving should always be done by an adult, away from children, and carved pumpkins spoil quickly, so whole mini pumpkins are a safer choice if you want to hide them for more than a day.

Make a Pumpkin Out of a Paper Plate

This is a classic Halloween craft for preschoolers. You will need a paper plate, orange paint or markers, green and black construction paper, scissors, and glue.

Paint or draw the paper plate orange, then let children cut a stem from the green construction paper. Glue it onto the plate and the pumpkin is done. Use the black paper to add a face, or leave the pumpkin plain for a simple fall decoration.

Tip: Toddlers can sponge or finger paint the plate and glue a pre-cut stem, while older preschoolers can cut their own. Leaving off the face keeps the pumpkin a general fall decoration that fits any program’s theme.

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Halloween Game for Preschoolers

Go on a Halloween Scavenger Hunt

This is a good way to get children moving and exploring. Make a list of Halloween-themed items for them to find, such as a pumpkin, a black cat, or a broom.

You can also turn it into a game by timing the group to see how quickly they can find all the items.

Tip: Use a picture list so children who are not yet reading can take part, and have them search in teams rather than racing individually so no one feels left out. Add fall items such as leaves or apples for a version that is not tied to Halloween.

Ghost Halloween Projects for Preschool

Make Ghost Sun Catchers

These are easy to make and look cute hanging in the windows. You will need white contact paper, black Sharpie markers, and string.

Cut the contact paper into ghost shapes, then let children decorate them with the markers.

Once they are done, cut a small hole in the top of each ghost and thread some string through. Hang the ghosts in the windows.

Tip: Adults should cut the contact paper and handle the permanent markers. Use only markers labeled non-toxic, and keep the area ventilated. String can be a strangulation hazard, so keep it short and hang the ghosts out of children’s reach, or tape them directly to the window.

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Ghost Crafts

This craft is easy and well suited to younger preschoolers. You will need white construction paper, scissors, and markers.

Cut the paper into ghost shapes, then let children decorate them however they like.

Tip: Pre-cut the ghost shapes for toddlers and let them scribble, stamp, or add stickers. Hang the finished ghosts together as a class display so every child’s work is visible.

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Easy Spider Halloween Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Make Spiders Out of Pompoms

This activity is a good way to practice fine motor skills. You will need small black pompoms, black pipe cleaners, and googly eyes.

Help children twist the pipe cleaners around the pompoms to make legs, then add the googly eyes.

Tip: Pompoms and googly eyes are choking hazards for children under three. Use large pompoms for toddlers, or draw the eyes with a marker instead, and fold over the ends of the pipe cleaners so they are not sharp. Supervise closely and count materials before and after.

Make Spider Web Paintings

This activity supports fine motor skills and the pincer grasp. You will need black paint, paper, and cotton balls.

Have children dip the cotton balls in the paint and print them onto the paper to create a spider web effect.

Tip: Clip each cotton ball in a clothespin for children who need a firmer grip, and use washable paint and smocks. Cotton balls are small, so keep them away from toddlers’ mouths.

Other Halloween Crafts for Preschoolers

Make a Witch’s Hat

This simple activity for toddlers and preschoolers needs no special materials. Just draw a triangle on a piece of black construction paper and help the child cut it out.

Let children decorate it however they like.

Tip: Not every family celebrates Halloween or is comfortable with witch imagery. Offer a party hat or a fall leaf hat as a choice, and let children pick. Adults should do the cutting for toddlers.

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Skeleton Craft

This activity is a good way to introduce children to the basic parts of a skeleton. All you need is white paper, black markers, and googly eyes. Have each child draw a skeleton on the white paper.

Then help them add details with the black markers, and finish by adding googly eyes to the skeleton’s head.

Tip: Use a picture book or printed skeleton picture to name a few bones together, such as the skull and ribs. Some children feel uneasy about skeletons, so keep the tone matter-of-fact and curious, and skip the googly eyes for children under three.

Halloween Activities for Preschoolers: Summary

There are many easy Halloween activities that work well for preschoolers. Whether you choose a craft, a sensory activity, or a game, the best ones match your children’s ages, your program’s policies, and your families’ preferences.

With a little planning, these activities help children learn about the season while having fun together.

Key Takeaways

• Match the activity to the age group. Toddlers can tear, paint, and glue pre-cut shapes, while preschoolers can cut, follow steps, and add details.

• Watch for small parts. Googly eyes, pompoms, and erasers are choking hazards for children under three, so choose larger materials or draw details instead.

• Check allergies and sensitivities. Keep activities non-food, avoid candy as a reward, and review enrollment records before any sensory or tasting activity.

• Make it welcoming to every family. Share plans early, make participation optional, and offer fall-themed alternatives to Halloween imagery.

• Choose friendly over frightening. Silly pumpkins, ghosts, and spiders work better for young children than realistic or scary imagery.

More fall and seasonal reading for your classroom

• October themes and lesson plans for preschool

• Fall-themed activities for preschoolers and toddlers

• Fall leaf activities for preschoolers

• Top 15 creative fall classroom door ideas

• Día de los Muertos child care activity ideas

• November preschool lesson plan ideas

Like these ideas? Playground offers a wide variety of customizable curriculum activities, in addition to billing, payroll, family communications, reporting and more. Book a free custom demo to see for yourself.