Ohhh!! It’s spooky season! The pumpkins are out, and decorations abound even in the gymnasium! The week around Halloween, the gymnasium gets a “make-over” to celebrate the fun! In my K-5 classes, I have lots of different stations through which the students rotate. If their PE day lands on Halloween, it’s a ton of fun to see them participate in their costumes! Below are the different stations that I have used, with most of the equipment being items already found in my PE closet; along with some that I have purchased from the dollar store, online or had donated. I am scheduled to have one homeroom class at a time, so the stations are set for 2-3 students.
As a masterclass note: if you find yourself in a situation like mine where the space is not just used for PE and you find yourself having to take the stations down between classes. The trick is to put your more complex stations in an area that you may not need to totally have to vacate! To time the stations, I use popular music like “The Monster Mash”, “Love Potion No. 9”, “Werewolves of London”, etc. as we play/explore. When the music stops, the students do as well and that’s when we reset the station and move to the next one!
1. Witches’ Hats – using cones, construction paper, and yarn for hair. I create witches – wrap the cone in black construction paper, use a green sheet to create a face and glue it to the black construction paper. Stick a wrapped-up ball of yarn in the top of the cone to finish your witch. The hats are from the dollar store. Kids use frisbee like throws to try and get the hat to land on the cone. I have used hula hoops in the past if you don’t have the hats.
2. Skull bowling – the bowling pins are draped with silk scarves and rubber bands to look like ghosts and using a Styrofoam skull to knock down the pins. I have used regular balls in the past and just some pins and called it that.
3. Spider crawl – using a tunnel I found in the PE closet. The students crawl through it. Sometimes, I put a black plastic tablecloth over it to make it “spookier”.
4. Bats in the Belfry – using the indoor/outdoor standing hoop disc targets covered in cloth to catch the plastic bats that I purchased at the dollar store
5. Ghoul ball – using a plastic chain and a beach ball to play volleyball. I don’t have standards, so I use the base of a standing hoop targets to connect the chains!
6. Cross the Swamp – I use paper and other decorations to create a swamp complete with eyeballs! We use a balance beam to cross the swamp. If I don’t have time or am limited is space, I skip the decorations and just let the kids practice their balance beam skills. I do allow the older grades to try a cartwheel. However, they must show me on a line that they can do one!
7. Critter stew – uses some stuffed animals, a cauldron or black bucket, some spots to make a simple tossing game. I place the spots at different distances, and the kids see how far back they can go and still get their critter in the pot! We have played it like horseshoes where the kids can keep score – but that was mostly 4th and 5th grade.
8. Worm squish – using a koosh worm or another weird looking ball, the kids practice their badminton skills. For k-2, I have them practice their underhand serve by hitting the object into a hula hoop. The older grades try to hit it back and forth or in a triangle.
9. Wizard’s Duel – uses a fox tail to toss “spells’ back and forth. I have targets that someone gave me, but I have had the wizards’ hut be a hula hoop in the past with the opposing wizard trying to get the ball into the hoop.
10. Feed the Monster – I have a set of corn hole boards from a donation with a monster on it. The kids play corn hole. I have done other tossing game like corn hole using Styrofoam gravestones as the back of the target.
11. Graveyard putt – putt has the students practicing putting skills using gravestones as obstacles. Last year, I found little monsters and used those!
12. Ghost juggling – uses juggling scarves to practice their juggling skills.
Over the years, I have adapted and changed my stations, and the ones listed are my students’ favorites. Fortunately for me, our school is all in for Halloween and I totally cash in on the fun! I hope you have a wonderful Halloween! Happy Haunting!
Gopher equipment used: Indoor/Outdoor Hoop Disc Target set, vinyl poly spots, juggling scarves sets, rainbow SoftTail set, G1000 Jr and mini badminton racquets, hula hoops, 12” cones, foam balance beam, 9 hole putting green pack, rainbow foam hoop holders, and 2 way putters.
