Using Halloween Dollar Store Finds in Math

Looking for some fun ways to use all those dollar store Halloween props you've accumulated in your Math and Literacy blocks? Here's a few ways you can use your cheap finds at school. 

Halloween Pencil Toppers

I picked up these cute pencil toppers as a Halloween treat for my class but soon got other ideas for them!

When working on direction in Math and HASS, we used the toppers as our 'person' to move along the grid. When learning 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 turns, I always find there are a few students who will try and move spaces when turning, instead of staying in the grid space they are in. Using the pencil toppers help because we practice turning the topper in the space and we can see the new direction it is facing before following the next direction. For younger kids, they can use the toppers to learn left and right when giving and following directions. Grab this math activity from my store here. 

You can use the same pencil toppers as pawns for board games to add a little extra fun! You can grab this short and long /oo/ activity pack and board game from my store here. 

Halloween Buckets I use candy buckets to hold math centers. I also bought mini-candy buckets and use them for sorting activities. Here is one I made for ICP students working on addition and subtraction facts. I wrote facts on craft sticks and the wrote the sums/differences on the back of the heads and pumpkins. The students sort the sticks into the mini tubs. This same idea could be used for parts of speech, multiplication and division facts etc. You can grab this free recording sheet here if you'd like to make up this activity for yourself. 

Spooky Fingers

When I taught in Grades 1-2, I used these spooky fingers to track our reading!

I might bring them out again this year with my Grade 4's just for a bit of fun! Also, Nick Bland was hands down our favorite author in Grade 1! The orange tub was bought from Woolworths (I think) in a pack of 3. 

So there you go, some quick and easy ways to bring some Halloween fun into your classroom! Let me know in the comments your ideas!