Halloween Bat Word Family Roll and Cover

 Halloween always provides so many fun opportunities for themed activities, but finding challenging but appropriate things for my little guy is always a bit tricky. He can read pretty well, but still has a short attention span and the fine motor skills of his age. Since he likes roll and covers, I decided to try making one with word families instead of numbers.

I made two levels of difficulty, one with very different word families and one with much more similar ones. I made printable dice, but chose to use a dry erase one instead (Dollar Tree). I used little witches hats but you could use erasers, pom poms or anything else you wanted.

Print Halloween Word Family Roll and Cover Here

Halloween Family Games

I know it is a little ways off, but I am getting so excited about Halloween homeschool activities! recently posted about some of the great Educational Halloween books. Another activity we plan to do for Halloween homeschool is play some board games (I love having a theme). I love board games, both for their educational value and for the family bonding time. Here are some ideas if you're looking to play some Halloween themed board games too!

 Go Away Monsters 

• Recommended age: 3+
• Everyone has a room board and draws tiles to complete their room. If you draw a monster, you yell "Go Away, Monster!" and banish it.
• This game is for very young kids. Archer has been playing since about 24 months. I included it for anyone else trying to work a toddler into game time, but would not recommend it solely for older kids. It is too simple.

Monster Chase Board Game

• Recommended age: 4+
• This is a cooperative memory game where players are trying to scare away monsters. Archer is still too young, but some reviewers said they play with 3 year olds.

Monster Factory

• Recommended age: 5+
• This is a competitive tile laying strategy game where you build monsters. If your kiddo

Ghost Fighting Treasure Hunters

• Recommended age: 8+ (Its cooperative so could definitely go lower)
• Another cooperative family favorite. There are four friends trying to retrieve treasure from a ghost infested house. You have to work together to get all of the treasure out before the house becomes too many Hauntings appear. We like that it has various levels of difficulty, so we can adjust depending on who is playing or how brave we're feeling. There is also an expansion available now.

Cauldron Quest

• Recommended age: 6+ (Its cooperative, so could probably go lower)
• A cooperative strategy game where everyone works together to save the kingdom from a dark spell. Components are cute and the reviews are great. I didn't discover this game until recently, so it is on my list to get when Archer is a little older.

Shaky Manor

• Recommended age: 7+
• A game with a unique mechanic, in this game you have little "manor" boxes that you have to shake to get objects into the correct rooms. Objects include snakes, eyeballs and spikers.

Shadows in the Forest

• Recommended age: 8+ (I think this seems a little high, younger players could play with the group of Shadowlings)
• A fun game to play in the dark. In this game multiple players move the cute little Shadowlings and another player moves the lantern trying to catch them. My family enjoys it, however, it does have to be fairly dark and you do have to trust your fellow players, it would be relatively easy to cheat.

Monster Fluxx

• Recommended age: 8+
• Fluxx games are card games where the rules and objective constantly change, depending on what has been played. Because of the changing rules, it sometimes takes 10 minutes and sometimes 40 or more. This version uses classic horror movie monsters for the theme.

Ghost Blitz

• Recommended age: 8+
• A ghost themed dexterity game where players race to grab the correct object. Since it can play up to 8, it would be good for bigger families or small parties. There are also a couple of expansions. 

Potion Explosion 

• Recommended age: 14+ (my 9 year old plays easily)
• This is a competitive potion creation game that has a nice tactile component. Your "ingredients" are different colored marbles you collect to make your potions. Once you complete your recipe, you can use those potions to help you in the game. How you select your marbles from the little rack can also cause "explosions" letting you take more ingredients. When I first got this for Xander, he wasn't all that interested. Then we played once, and it became his favorite game.

Broom Service

• Recommended Age: 10+
• This is a resource-delivery strategy game, where players are witches, druids or fairies. It is supposed to be a little bit "heavier" of a game, but is reviewed well. We have it on our list of games to try, but I wouldn't choose it if your family does not play a lot of games together. 

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Educational Halloween Books Perfect for Homeschool

I LOVE finding great educational books that will capture interest and inspire curiosity. Since we're homeschooling this year, we will have more time for fun holiday books and activities with my oldest. I think I'm MOST excited for Halloween!

Halloween feels like the holiday most about play. There are spooky stories, lots of sweet treats and enjoyable traditions. We get turn things that scare us, like bugs, witches, monsters and mummies, into fun topics to explore. I saw this as a great opportunity to learn about why we celebrate the way we do and how these topics are viewed in other cultures.

Here are some of the Halloween books I found:

A World of Spooky Stories: 50 Tales to Make Your Spine Tingle - This book is a collection of "spooky" stories from different countries all over the world. We have been reading one a night together, while we drink tea. So far, they have not been excessively spooky(think Red Riding Hood, but where she gets eaten instead of saved).

Season of the Witch: A Spellbinding History of Witches and Other Magical Folk - I like that this book also features lore from all over the world. I will be learning a lot, right along with him. It talks about both magic in general and specific characters.

Atlas of Monsters and Ghosts - This book has the stories of different monsters and ghosts from different cultures around the world. Some I had heard of, some not. I have a feeling my mythical creatures loving son will very much enjoy pouring over this. For each continent there is a map, then on the following pages are descriptions. Some descriptions are short (as in the picture) and some are more in depth.

The Atlas of Monsters: Mythical Creatures from Around the World - Similar idea to the previous book in the list. It has an interesting format of letters, logs and cryptic codes. We don't own this yet, but it is on our wish list.

Why We Celebrate Halloween: A Short History: Seeking the hidden roots and symbols of a Celtic harvest festival in the modern day fun - I am still waiting for this book to arrive, but I liked the idea of looking at the evolution of the holiday.

 

Why Do We Celebrate Halloween? - Another look at why we celebrate the holiday. I opted for the previous book in the list, just because it seemed like this one might be better for a slightly younger student than mine. I don't know for sure, since I have not yet read either.

Monster Science Books

These graphic novels teach different science concepts with monsters. We have a few and others are on our wish list.

• Aliens and Energy
• Vampires and Light
• Bigfoot and Adaptations
• Mummies and Sound
• Zombies and Forces and Motion
• Werewolves and the States of Matter
• Vampires and Cells
• Zombies and Electricity
• Frankenstein's Monster and the Scientific Method

Books about the Salem Witches

Since witches are a staple of Halloween, this is the perfect time to break out books about the history around the Salem Witch Trials.

• You Wouldn't Want to be a Salem Witch
• The Salem Witch Trials: An Unsolved Mystery from History
• Salem Witch Trials (Graphic History)