Halloween Party Recap

We have been super busy here. My mom came into town (which was awesome) and we tried to fit in all of our pre-Halloween activities into her one-week long visit. Then, in anticipation of company coming to visit for Thanksgiving, my hubby and I decided to paint our entire downstairs. He has a new paint sprayer that he has been itching to try out. Every single room in my downstairs was in complete chaos and my computer was shoved (unplugged) into a corner for 4 days. It was worth it and the new color is spectacular, but boy was it a lot of work. So, better late than never... the Halloween party recap!

The kids decided that they wanted to have a Halloween party this year. We kept it simple and served cupcakes, potato chips and juice boxes for the kids. We had a veggie tray and lemonade for the adults. The vast majority of the decorations were created by the kids or bought super cheap at Walmart. We played a few games and had the kids free play in the playroom upstairs, ending the party 2 hours after it started. We had a total of 18 kids there in their costumes and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun.

My kids in their costumes.

Waiting anxiously for their guests to arrive.

Even I dressed up...sorta.

The cupcake table.
Decorations from Walmart, cupcake stuff from Target.

• Pumpkin Decorating
• I found foam face stickers at Target and Michaels for really cheap. Each kid had a "pie" pumpkin that I bought at the local grocery store for between $1 and $2 a piece (we cleaned out 2 grocery stores by buying 20 pumpkins). I also put sharpies on the table for the kids to use. This was definitely a favorite.

Before the chaos. Kate helped set up the pumpkin decorating tables.

Kate and her cute pumpkin.

Andrew and his creepy pumpkin.

• Pin the nose on the pumpkin.
• Once again, thank-you Target dollar section! The game was only $1 and included the blindfold. I made more noses since I had more kids than the 5 triangles that it came with. I put numbers on each one and had the kids remember what their number was. 

• Pass the Pumpkin
• Think "hot potato" only with a small plastic pumpkin and fun Halloween music.
• Monster Mash
• Freeze dance to Halloween music, including "Monster Mash." The kids had a blast with this one! 

I think that we might just make this an annual event. The trick will be for me to figure out non-scary Halloween games that are age-appropriate for the kids that are there. The ages of the kids in attendance ranged from 4 to 10. One of the 10 year olds found some of the games to be embarrassing (like the Monster Mash), but overall, everyone seemed to enjoy the selection.

Kate designed the goody bags out of brown lunch bags and a printout of a ghost (http://www.pinatas.com/Halloween_Party_Crafts_s/713.htm). She cut out and glued on each one... all 20 of them! She even "wrote" a note for each person and put them in. I was pretty impressed by her dedication. The goody bags were simple. Each child got an eyeball bouncy ball and a Halloween temporary tattoo, both purchased in the Halloween section at Target. I then made ghost lollipops using tissue paper and rubber bands. I found some styrofoam in a package that arrived a couple of days before the party and stuck the lollipops in as a decoration. The kids each got to pick their favorite one before leaving. 

Super simple and super fun! I really like how everything turned out and it was great to see the ideas that my kids have come to life. 

What's That NUMBER???!!!!

It's time for everyone's favorite game show, "What's That NUMBER????!!!!" Our contestants are Slither, Squirt, Squeaker, and Sunshine. The rules of the game are: 1) You may not say the number aloud, 2) You may not look at your neighbor's dry erase board, 3) You may not touch the blocks, and 4) You may not hold up your board until your game show host says that it is time. The contestant with the most correct answers wins! The prize: a treat of your choosing!!!! Ok... the ten and one blocks are set for the first problem. On your mark, get set, GO! It's time to write your answer. Come on everybody, WHAT'S THAT NUMBER????!!!!

On days that school is out of session, I often watch another little boy while his parents work. Since I had home all three boys and Kate, I decided to do a math game with them. All of the boys are learning to count numbers using 10 sticks and 1 blocks. They are also learning place value. Andrew and Benjamin are both having some difficulty with these larger numbers. So, I decided that a game show format and a little friendly competition might be just the motivation to get them to learn. The kids all seemed to have a blast with the game. We ended up with a 4 way tie at the end! The modification for Kate (being that she is learning preschool/kindergarten math) was that she was to only count the green one blocks and then write that number on the board. She loved being able to participate in the game with the big boys!

The game was very simple. I simply displayed the ten and one blocks where everyone could see them and had each kid write what they thought the answer was on their dry erase board. When I said "Go," they lifted up their boards to show their answers. A correct answer earns a point. I used my best game show host voice and even attempted a short theme song hum at the beginning to set a playful and fun mood. The winner of the game got a special treat (either a couple M&Ms or Skittles). I tried to do a tie breaker, but after the first round, all of them seemed to understand the concept and got the answers right. The number 100 was actually what allowed Squeaker (aka Ben) to catch up with the other 3.