...and carry your cloak at all times

It never hurts to pack your Halloween supplies for the month of October...

No Laptime teller?

No problem!

Just pull on the witch's cloak, slip on some witchy shoes, grab a super freaky broom (on permanent display at the OPL), set up a good fiery and feathery cauldron to stew, and warm up the foggy bubble machine for one fabulously fun last minute laptime ;)

____________________

Oooooooo OOOooooo oooOOOOOoooo

ooOOOoooOO Ooooo ooo OOOooooo

. . . BOO!

The line-up: A list of the Halloween favorites
(this is a round-up of previously published LT/ST Halloween ideas)

Fingerplays and Poems

1 Little, 2 Little, 3 Little Witches

One little, two little, three little witches

~ fingers up, one, two, three

Fly over haystacks, fly over ditches

~ one hand flies up and over

Slide down moonbeams without any hitches,

~ slide the fying hand down the other arm

Hi Ho Halloween's here

~ hands on hips, then hands up, palms out

Who has Seen the Wind

by Christina Rossetti

Who has seen the wind?

Neither I or you.

But when the leaves hang trembling,

The wind is passing through.

If You're a Monster

Tune: If You're Happy and You Know It

If you're a monster and you know it, wave your arms.

If you're a monster and you know it, wave your arms.

If you're a monster and you know it,

Then your arms will surely show it.

If you're a monster and you know it, wave your arms.

Added Verses: Show your claws, Gnash your teeth, Stomp your feet

Halloween Night

(Tune: Frere Jacques)

Jack-o-lanterns, jack-o-lanterns,

Hall-o-ween, Hall-o-ween!

See the owls gliding,

Coal black cats are hiding,

Ghosts go "Boo," ghosts go "Boo!"

Black Cat

A big black cat with eyes so green

Went out on the night of Hallowe'en.

He saw a witch.

He saw an owl.

And then he began to "Meow, meow, meow."

In The Graveyard

Tune: Clementine

In the graveyard, In the graveyard,

When the moon. Begins to shine

There's a doctor. Crazy doctor

And his monster,

Frankenstein.

Oh, my monster, Oh, my monster,

Oh, my monster, Frankenstein

You are very, Very scary

Don't come near me

Frankenstein.

This Old Ghost

Tune: “This Old Man”

This old ghost, he played one,

He played peek-a-boo on the run.

With a biga-buga boo! And a clappity clap

This old ghost is a friendly chap.

Other verses:

This old ghost, he played two…in a shoe

This old ghost … three…behind a tree

A Haunting We Will Go

Tune: A Hunting We Will Go

Oh, a haunting we will go,

A haunting we will go,

We'll catch a ghost,

And put him on a post

And then we'll let him go.

Oh, a haunting we will go,

A haunting we will go,

We'll catch a cat

And put him in a hat

And then we'll let him go.

Oh, a haunting we will go,

A haunting we will go,

We'll catch a witch

And put her in a ditch

And then we'll let her go.

Owl's Eyes

See my big and scary eyes,

Get ready for a big surprise.

put them on and peer out.

BOO!

Tricks and Treats

Knock Knock

Knock, knock, knock

~knock on floor

Peek in

~cover baby’s arms over eyes and quickly uncover

Open the latch

~cover baby’s arms over chest, then quickly extend out to sides

And walk right in

~walk fingers up baby’s tummy

How do you do Mr. Chinny chin chin?

~tickle baby under chin

Doughnut

Here is a doughnut

~form circle with fingers and thumb

Round and fat.

There’s a hole in the middle

~look through your circle

But you can’t eat that!

~shake head

Five Little Ghostesses

Five little ghostesses,

Sitting on postesses,

Eating buttered toastesses,

Greasing their fistesses,

Up to their wristesses.

Oh, what beastesses,

To make such feastesses.

Trick or Treating

Tune: Are You Sleeping?

Trick or treating, trick or treating.

BOO BOO BOO

BOO BOO BOO

Trick or treating, trick or treating.

I scare you I scare you

What time is it when a ghost comes to dinner?

!!! TIME TO GO !!!!

Books

Funny Bones! by Charles Reasoner

Witch's Hand by Peter Utton
OPL Link

Aaaarrgghh Spider! by Lydia Monks

Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini

Humbug Witch by Lorna Balian
OPL Link


Bone Dog by Eric Rohmann
OPL Link

  
Go Away Big Orange Monster from Go Away Big Green Monster by Edward Emberley

OPL Link

The Thirteen Nights of Halloween by Guy Vasilovich
OPL Link

Music

Tis the night of Halloween...

Let’s Play Music song

Halloween Laptime

It's going to be a Hoppin' Happenin' Hoot of a Halloween!
~a Laptime program for Babies and Toddlers~

I get so excited for Halloween!
I just can’t sit still one more minute~

Halloween Night

(Tune: Frere Jacques)

Jack-o-lanterns, jack-o-lanterns,
Hall-o-ween, Hall-o-ween!
See the owls gliding,
Coal black cats are hiding,
Ghosts go "Boo," ghosts go "Boo!"

Can we go Trick or Treating now?
I’m going to be a witch!
Who else is going to be a witch?
One little witch
-point to self
oh, there you are 2 witches – do we have 3 witches?

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Witches

One little, two little, three little witches
~ fingers up, one, two, three
Fly over haystacks, fly over ditches
~ one hand flies up and over
Slide down moonbeams without any hitches,
~ slide the fying hand down the other arm

Hi Ho Halloween's here
~ hands on hips, then hands up, palms out

I have a story of one particular witch, a little teeny tiny witch, a Humbug Witch  

Humbug Witch by Lorna Balian
OPL catalog link

That Fred, he’s some cat!

Black Cat

A big black cat with eyes so green
Point to eyes
Went out on the night of Hallowe'en.
He saw a witch.
Bring fingertips in a peak over head.
He saw an owl.

Form circles around eyes with fingers and thumbs

And then he began to "Meow, meow, meow."


Well, Fred may be ready for bed, but I’m not!
Must be all that candy I’ve been eating!

Let’s go outside and start our trick or treating.

Shhhh, do you hear that? What do you hear?
WhooooOooo  oooo Whoooosh
Is that the wind? Can you see it?


Who has Seen the Wind

by Christina Rossetti

Who has seen the wind?
~ hands up shrug shoulders
Neither I or you.
~ shake finger back and forth 'no'
But when the leaves hang trembling,
~ fingers hang down from wrists like leaves on trees
The wind is passing through.
~ hands together 'slide' through leaves

How many of you know how to trick or treat?
Okay, now for those of you that don't know, let me show you
First you knock on the door…


Knock Knock

Knock, knock, knock

~knock on floor
Peek in
~cover baby’s arms over eyes and quickly uncover
Open the latch
cover baby’s arms over chest, then quickly extend out to sides
And walk right in
~walk fingers up baby’s tummy

How do you do Mr. Chinny chin chin?
~tickle baby under chin

No, no, no...
that’s not how you trick or treat!
Let’s practice:

You knock on the door.
Wait for it to open,
And say “Trick or Treat!”
Come on, let’s all say it together:
“Trick or Treat”

Good job!
Shall we sing it?

Trick or Treating

Tune: Are You Sleeping?

Trick or treating, trick or treating.
BOO BOO BOO
BOO BOO BOO
Trick or treating, trick or treating.
I scare you I scare you

Well,we’ve got the treat part down - we just knock on a lot of doors.
We also get to do some tricking!

Halloween Haunt
Tune: A Hunting We Will Go

Oh, a haunting we will go,
A haunting we will go,

We'll catch a ghost,
And put him on a post
And then we'll let him go.

Oh, a haunting we will go,
A haunting we will go,
We'll catch a cat
And put him in a hat
And then we'll let him go.

Oh, a haunting we will go,
A haunting we will go,
We'll catch a witch
And put her in a ditch
And then we'll let her go.

It’s so cold and dark outside.
I’m scared.
Are you scared?

In The Graveyard
Tune: Clementine

In the graveyard,
In the graveyard,
When the moon
Begins to shine
There's a doctor
Crazy doctor
And his monster,
Frankenstein.

Oh, my monster,
Oh, my monster,
Oh, my monster,
Frankenstein
You are very,
Very scary
Don't come near me
Frankenstein.

If You're a Monster
Tune: If You're Happy and You Know It

If you're a monster and you know it, wave your arms.
If you're a monster and you know it, wave your arms.
If you're a monster and you know it,
Then your arms will surely show it.
If you're a monster and you know it, wave your arms.

Added Verses: Show your claws, Gnash your teeth, Stomp your feet

Go Away Big 'Orange' Monster
~I've taken Edward Emberley's Go Away, Big Green Monster /OPL link/ and created a Flannel board pumpkin (orange) monster. Click here to see photos (after linking, scroll down a bit)

Okay, that’s it.
Let’s go to Grandma’s house to warm up!
My Grandma always has chocolate milk and doughnuts!

Doughnut

Here is a doughnut
~form circle with fingers and thumb

Round and fat.

There’s a hole in the middle
~look through your circle
But you can’t eat that!
~shake head


Yum Yum! Now I’m done.
Nighty Nighty all!

______________

Need more?
Try some of these -

Owl's Eyes

See my big and scary eyes,Thumb and index fingers make owl's eyes.
Get ready for a big surprise.
Turn them upside down backwards, put them on and peer out.
BOO!


Five Little Ghostesses

Five little ghostesses,
Sitting on postesses,
Eating buttered toastesses,
Greasing their fistesses,
Up to their wristesses.
Oh, what beastesses,
To make such feastesses.


This Old Ghost
Tune: “This Old Man”

This old ghost, he played one,
He played peek-a-boo on the run.
With a biga-buga boo! And a clappity clap
This old ghost is a friendly chap.

Other verses:
This old ghost, he played two…in a shoe
This old ghost, he played three…behind a tree



Funny Bones! 
by Charles Reasoner



 





Aaaarrgghh Spider! 
by Lydia Monks
OPL link

Mrs. McMurphy's Pumpkin  
by Rick Walton
OPL Link

The 13 Nights of Halloween 
by Guy Vasilovich
OPL Link









... Let's Play Music has a fabulous Halloween song,



OoooOoooOooo
Tis the night of Halloween...

Play this or other fun Halloween music at the beginning and end, or even in the middle of the program for an added bit of fun.

WHooOoo are the Witches

Witches and Goblins, Spooks and Ghosts...are you ready for Halloween?
______________________________________

I set up this Storytime with a special Halloween bucket that has 'bubbling' orange netting material spilling out if it. In the bottom I have punched out paper spiders to hand out afterwards. Surrounding me I have a host of scary characters (mini ghost, mini witch, troll with hedgehog, black cat, black puppet spider etc.) peeping around various Halloween books I have pulled. I also have the flannel Humbug Witch story set up before the kids arrive.
______________________________________


As you can see I have many friends here to help me tell stories. You see, this time of year can be kind of scary, I need the help of my friends. Friends just make things a little less scary.


Let's get in the mood and call all those witches out to join us -


One Little, Two Little, Three Little Witches

One little, two little, three little witches
~ fingers up, one, two, three
Fly over haystacks, fly over ditches
~ one hand flies up and over
Slide down moonbeams without any hitches,
~ slide the fying hand down the other arm
Hi Ho Halloween's here
~ hands on hips, then hands up, palms out


Let's start with a particular witch. A very grumpy grouchy horrible witch. A witch that goes by the name of Gritch.

Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini
OPL Link


Whew, that Gritch, she was more than just a witch by name, she was also a witch by nature I believe.

Pull over the flannel board with felt Humbug Witch on it, along with the black cat, 'Fred'. I love to ham this one up a lot, really act it out. The felt witch is there so that I can 'show' the kids the punch line at the end. I also ask the kids for magic words, I have them give me the ingredients for the potion, really let it go on this and have some fun!


I have another witch here, a different witch, a very little witch, as a matter of fact everything is tiny on this witch, well except for that nose. It's rather large...


Humbug Witch by Lorna Balian
OPL link

Here is a flannel version of this classic story that I made. Set up the flannel board before the storytime, you don't want to give away the ending before you've even started!


















Well, no wonder her potion didn't work! She was just a little girl.

(((shiver)))
It's getting so cold outside now. The leaves are all falling, the wind is blowing. Let me teach you a little poem


Who has Seen the Wind by Christina Rossetti

Who has seen the wind?
~ hands up shrug shoulders
Neither I or you.
~ shake finger back and forth 'no'
But when the leaves hang trembling,
~ fingers hang down from wrists like leaves on trees
The wind is passing through.
~ hands together 'slide' through leaves


Now are you ready for a scary book or two? 
Maybe a truly frightening wicked witch story?
Possibly a Pumpkin with preternatural* powers? 
*(that means the pumpkin can do things that really aren't possible in real life)


 Witch's Hand by Peter Utton
OPL Link
if you can get a large dried out leaf for this, it works GREAT!

Okay, that does it! I'm scared. How about you? You know, here is a little something I'll teach you when things get too scary.



Mrs. McMurphy's Pumpkin by Rick Walton
OPL Link


 Whew! Those were some SCARY stories!
Do you ever get really really scared? Do you sometimes just want that monster to go away?



Go Away Big 'Orange' Monster
spin off the book Go Away Big Green Monster by Edward Emberley.
This is a cumulative story, read it, you'll love it! I've substituted a felt pumpkin for the green face.

As a flannel/felt story this story is so much fun as I whisk off the parts (mouth, hair, ears, eyes) and make little 'zzzup' noise as I do it - it almost always brings out the giggles in the kids. Really emphasize the end - 'and don't come back (shake finger and head in a 'no-no') unless I say so! (thumb to chest, nod head)

Felt Monster to make - PRINT IN LANDSCAPE, enlarge as needed.














Thank you all for coming to storytime today. I have one last thing for you, a question:

What time is it when a ghost comes to dinner? 
 !!! TIME TO GO !!!!

Riddle from Marc Brown's Spooky Riddles
OPL Link


Have a fun and safe Halloween! See you next time!

___________

Need Another Book?

The Thirteen Nights of Halloween by Guy Vasilovich

OPL Link