I am always looking for simple and easy crafts that I can do with a larger group that don't require too much adult help. I loved this textured ghost idea from No Time for Flashcards. Collages are such great semi-independent activities and this one required very little prep as well- my favorite sort of craft!
Materials Needed: white cardstock, Halloween colored cardstock (black, orange, purple, yellow), googly eyes, scissors, marker, Elmers glue, black marker, white materials for texture (we used toilet paper, tissue paper, and cotton balls... but you can use anything you have around the house)
Directions:
Prep Ahead
- Draw a ghost shape on a sheet of white cardstock.
- Cut it out
(older kids can create their own ghost and cut it out themselves)
1. Have each child pick a Halloween colored cardstock paper for their background. This is the perfect time to practice language skills like asking questions, making requests, and using polite language (please/thank you). "I wantttttt redddd!!!!" is ok... 🙂 from a loud excited kid... but "Can I have red, please?" is so much more polite.
2. Help child put glue on the back of their ghost and then have them stick it onto their colored paper.
3. Put squiggles of Elmers glue all over the front of the ghost... or if you have little glue bottles, have the kids put the glue on themselves. My son will cover his entire paper in glue if I let him... so I have him do a little bit by himself and then help guide him to stop when he has gotten enough.
4. Provide piles of white textured materials in close range to where the kids are sitting and let them pick and choose which items they want to put on their ghosts. I left the tissue paper and toilet paper uncut and had the kids rip them up into little pieces (great fine motor task!).
5. Encourage kids to stick a variety of different items to their ghosts to make it full of different textures. Other fun white textured objects could include marshmallows, crepe paper, paper towels, coffee filters, white hole punched paper, white rice, white paint, etc.
6. My little group today wanted noses and mouthes... so we practiced our shapes while I cut up different colored papers for them to use. The kids practiced requesting different shapes- "I want a yellow triangle for my nose."
7. Add googly eyes and let the papers dry.
This activity allows for a lot of conversation about texture, color, and shapes. We talked about words such as smooth, rough, wet, sticky, soft, etc.
To finish up this activity, we read a few of our favorite Halloween books.
The Littlest Pumpkin by R. A. Herman
I love that both my 3 year old and 5 year old could do this project!