Twenty years ago when I was a preschool
Teacher, there were several things I could count on the day of
our Halloween Party: No one would nap; a child would cry because
his/her costume would get ripped, broken or a piece would be
lost; a parent would want me to paint some elaborate facial
make-up on a child that I couldn’t do; I would have a
headache at the end of the day; and none of the children would
trade me their Snickers candy bars.
I’ve come to believe in many instances in
working with young children, less is more. Is Halloween a
horrible and damaging thing for children – no. It’s not
about that. It’s about making the most of the opportunities
we have for learning, still having fun, and doing better,
more appropriate things for children. I’d like to explore
ways in which we can make this holiday and time of year more
appropriate and meaningful for young children – and less
stressful for everyone involved.
Some ideas and things to think about -
Decorating for any classroom holiday
should not start on the first of the month. Two weeks
prior is a good rule of thumb. When we start decorating
weeks in advance, we create a huge build-up, which
inevitably is followed by a big let down. We also need to
take into account the child’s lack of ability to
realistically understand the concept of time, and not
make waiting even more difficult for them. Telling
children "it’s a month from now" is far
too abstract for them to understand, and can create
anxiety.
We do a lot of things for children based
on the rationalization that "they love it."
This, in and of itself, is not a valid
reason to incorporate things into our curriculum.
Children also "love" ice cream, and given a
choice would probably eat it in place of every meal.
Children do not always know what is in their best
interest. We are entrusted to think in terms ofwhat
is appropriate and educationally sound for them.
We need to respect that some families
choose not to celebrate this holiday – and plan
accordingly. I used to feel sorry for children that
didn’t celebrate Halloween. How arrogant of me to
place my values onto these families and question their
legitimate parenting decisions.
Consider shifting the focus of your
party (or day) from "Halloween" to a Fall
Celebration or Fall Festival. There are many, many
fun activities you can do related to this that are much
more developmentally appropriate and educational. (And
don’t the children get more than enough Halloween at
home?) I have had several "Fall Celebrations"
that were just as fun as Halloween parties – and
much more meaningful and appropriate, with actual
learning taking place. (Other than counting how many
rolls of Smarties they get, how much learning
is taking place at a typical Halloween party?) Also
consider doing a Fall Carnival or Celebration with games,
activities and treats, as an alternative for families.
Many parents do not want to take their children
door-to-door and look for alternative activities such as
this. This can be opened up to the general public
and be agreat marketing tool for your
center!
A more appropriate curriculum theme
instead of "Halloween"
would be "Real vs. Pretend."
Children really struggle with this concept –
especially now with such amazing special effects on TV
and in the movies. How frightening some of this must be
to them, as they cannot always make this distinction.
Spiders or bats are a good theme as well, with the focus
being realistic and science-based - not scary.
Another simple curriculum shift could
be including a "Costume Shop" in the Dramatic
Play area. This gives children the choice to
experience dressing up, with more purposeful,
experiential play.
Place a pumpkin in the media table for
the children to scoop out the insides over several days.
Obviously, this is much more meaningful and sensory than
having the children sit and watch an adult carve a
pumpkin – which is exactly what I did my first 5
years of teaching. Add gourds, pumpkins, fall leaves and
Indian Corn to your Science Area. Incorporate fall colors
into your art area, art choices, and experiences. Do leaf
rubbings and paint with corn cobs. Make a leaf matching
game or Bingo. Make a pumpkin seed counting game. Make
apple cider with the children. Take a leaf-finding walk.
Fall is a great time of year for experiencing and
learning!!
If you
still choose to celebrate Halloween:
Do not allow the parents to have their
children dress in costumes that are violent or are
violent characters. As you are well aware, this lends
itself to aggressive types of play – and we have a
hard enough time with that already. Stay away from any
type of "scary", gruesome, or just ugly
decorations as well in your center, as these can be
frightening for young children. Respect childrens’
fears, and validate their feelings.
Think about possibly having a theme to
assist you in fostering appropriate costumes. If you have
parents dress their children as characters from stories,
you can relate the experience to literacy and the fun of
books.
Have a couple of extra costumes available
for that parent that forgets to bring one for their
child. (You will want to confirm that it is an issue of
oversight, and not that they do not want their child
participating.)
Encourage parents to bring in nutritious
snacks and treats. Limit what the children eat, and be
aware of how much sugar they are ingesting. Send extra
treats home, or spread them over several days.
Be mindful of the types of candy young
children can choke on. Parents may bring in things that
we should not serve.
Less can be more. Do we not set children
up to expect more and more? Keep it simple. Children do
not start out expecting constant entertainment and
a sack-load of candy – and they really do not
benefit from either. We can over stimulate and overwhelm
children fairly easily with this type of event.
Check with your Director and make sure
what you plan on doing is okay and consistent with the
other classrooms. It is extremely difficult if one
sibling has a full-blown party, bringing home a bag of
candy, and another doesn’t.
Check pockets over the next few days.
Children will bring things in, and again, we need to be
aware of the potential for choking.
And lastly – have realistic
expectations. Don’t plan on the children napping. It
is extremely difficult for them to wind down after so
much excitement – and sugar!
