A Sample Halloween Theme

The following is an example of how we utilize room and activity rotations to implement a weekly theme for our 4-year-olds, in this case Halloween. The toddlers and three-year-olds would also rotate activities, but they would be adjusted to be more appropriate for younger children.

For our Halloween theme, the 4-year-olds will spend Circle Time looking at and talking about various Halloween symbols such as bats, ghosts and witches. We would talk about Halloween safety and play with flashlights.

Later, in the Library, we would read a book titled The Witch Who Could Not Fly. As we engage the children in conversation about the story, we encourage self-expression. We might ask "Why couldn’t the witch fly? Because she doesn’t have a broom?"

During our Block Room rotation we would use the blocks to build a "strong foundation" for the witches castle and place several related items from circle time inside the castle.

For that day's craft activity, we venture outside to look for sticks to make our own brooms. We would then fray the ends of each and tie a bow around the stem.

While outdoors we would have a scavenger hunt for items that were visually introduced during Circle Time and in the Block Room such as a stuffed bat, a ghost, or a pumpkin. This will reinforce what the children learned earlier that day.

In the dramatic play area we would dress up like witches and use our craft-time brooms to take a pretend journey to the witches castle far away.