One of our lovely facebook followers volunteered to write this post to provide some fun, craft ideas for children in the run up to Halloween. You can find her and all her other wonderful ideas on Instagram here (Active Play and Learning). *Please note, as with all activities on this site, we accept no responsibility for the safety of the activity- it’s always up to you to risk assess them based on the children in your care. You may want to carry out some extra research for activity number 2.

This year everyone is feeling a bit disheartened with Halloween and the special events that are usually celebrated at this time of year. I’ve seen countless posts from families saying “Halloween is ruined and should just be cancelled!’ However, I have to disagree! After a difficult year for everyone around the world, we should take this opportunity to make some memories. We should push the iPad’s (or other tablets) and mobile phones to one side, switch off from the outside world and spend some quality time with our children. You don’t need to be a ‘crafty’ person to make things with your children and you certainly don’t need a cupboard full of craft materials. The beauty of a child is they can turn anything into a craft projects…there imagination can be endless!

To inspire you guys, here are my Top 10 Halloween Crafts.

1. Design a Pumpkin.

You could use paint, chalk, wax crayons or coloured markers. Or why not try designing your pumpkin with icing? In this activity I used paint and markers.

2. Science Experiment

How many elastic bands does it take to make the top of your pumpkin pop off? its pretty impressive! *

3. Pumpkin Printing

This is super easy, just like potato printing use an apple cut in half to print orange paint onto paper. If you don’t have googly eyes, you could get creative and draw them on. You could make all sorts of silly faces.

4. Hammer Design

Depending on the ability of your child, you could use golf tees or push pins to create a design on the pumpkin.*

5. Pumpkin Shapes

This activity follows on beautifully from the previous one. You can use elastic bands or string to practise shapes and make some funky designs. Learning isn’t just about sitting at a desk with a pen and paper, learning should be fun!

6. Autumn Tree

I call this activity “I have limited craft materials in the house and need 5 minutes peace and quiet”! We’ve all been there! Sometimes you just need a minute to yourself and if this is you, this is the craft for you! Get some paint together, crunch up some kitchen roll, drip and dab! The template can be found on Twinkl.

7. Pumpkin Seed Art

Don’t throw your seeds in the bin! Grab some glue and create some Halloween art! You could colour the seeds with food dye, paint or crayons!

8. Volcano Pumpkin.

If your have a keen scientist, why not create a volcano with your pumpkin? You could try different methods, I tried this with mints with coke* but there are lots of methods to try. For more information on how to make a volcano, specifically with bicarbonate of soda and vinegar watch The SEN Resources Blog’s youtube video here.

9. Pumpkin Mosaic.

All you need is glue and paper! I grabbed some old magazines, tore out anything orange and we were good to go!

10. Rainbow Wax Pumpkin

We all have those old wax crayons that rarely leave the cupboard. Grab them, secure them to the pumpkin and apply a gentle speed and heat *. I used a hair dryer* but please remember to ensure it is on low speed and heat and held by a grown up. The wax will be hot, so keep children a safe distance.

Always remember to supervise your children during all the activity. Use the correct safety equipment and research and risk assess everything yourself. We accept no responsibility.

You can find lots more adventurous craft and activity ideas on our Guest blogger’s Instagram Blog here. She would love to see your activities so feel free to tag her and The SEN Resources Blog in your photos.