This blog post is all about blending social and emotional learning (SEL) activities with some Halloween fun. It features 5 engaging activities that you can adapt to use with a wide age range of primary school children.
Why merge Halloween and social and emotional learning?
At its core, Halloween is about exploration. We dress up, take on new roles, and step into different shoes. Similarly, social and emotional learning is about exploration too – of our emotions, our strengths, and our challenges. By combining these two areas, children can explore their feelings in the playful world of Halloween.
This guide will explore the following activities:
- Monster-themed Feelings Check-In: A Halloween SEL Classic
- Pumpkin Gratitude Jar: Positivity in a Pumpkin
- Witches’ Brew Team Building: Every Ingredient Matters
- Halloween-themed Case Scenarios / Feelings Charades: Emotional Exploration, the Spooky Way
- Halloween Parade: Creating feelings masks!
Monster-themed feelings check-in: A Halloween SEL classic
Create a feelings check-in with a ‘monster theme’. Design collages of various monsters reflecting different emotional states – e.g., a sad monster, worried monster, excited monster. Consider using different colours or textures to represent each feeling.
Optional: You may like to create the feelings check-in board with your children or students, allowing them to draw or colour in each emotion.
As Halloween approaches, use the feelings check-in daily, this supports students to frequently practise identifying their different feelings and emotions. It also presents an opportunity for others to know how the child might be feeling, and provide support when needed.
Goals:
- Recognise and articulate feelings
- Practice seeking help / use a tool when needed
Materials:
- Paper, scissors, glue sticks
- Colour pencils or markers
- Pictures of emotionally expressive monsters
Pumpkin gratitude jar: Practising mindfulness
The aim of mindfulness activity is to highlight and discuss positive thoughts.
First, create a pumpkin-themed gratitude jar (you may like to do this as an activity with students). Next, give some pumpkin-shaped pieces of paper and ask them to write and draw things from their day that they are thankful for. For example – “I drew something I am really proud of” “Josh gave me a flower”, “My best friend is Sarah”, “I got my pen licence”.
You may like to read out the things they’re thankful for (with their consent). Gratitude activities can help support students’ well-being, relationships, and resilience, making it an excellent tool to add to children’s regulation toolboxes!
Goals:
- Practice using a regulation / mindfulness tool
- Enhance self-awareness and reflection skills
Resources:
- Pumpkin-themed jar
- Pumpkin-themed leaves (for students to write / draw on)
- Pencils, pens, or markers
Witches’ brew team building: A Halloween inspired ‘values’ activity for groups or classrooms
This brew is all about celebrating the unique qualities students bring to the classroom or therapy room. This social and emotional learning activity emphasises friendship, collaboration, and trust, making it ideal for groups or whole classrooms.
Discuss with students that they will be making a ‘witches’ brew’ that promotes friendship. Ask them to list qualities (values) they admire in their peers such as helpfulness, kindness, creativity, fun, openness, etc. Students can then write or draw these important qualities onto some scrap paper. When students have finished, get them to create their ‘witches brew’ by adding what they have drawn or written onto the cauldron.
As a group, discuss the brew and the linked qualities. You may like to discuss how you know someone is being kind, or helpful. How does that make you feel? Why is it important?
Optional: For younger students, you might provide cards showcasing various strengths or values.
Goals:
- Foster collaboration
- Enhance social skills
Resources:
- Pencils, pens, markers, and paper
- Strengths cards (optional)
- Witches Cauldron (e.g. a large bowl)
Interested in doing values work with your students? Here are some of my values resources:
- Personal Values Growing Bundle – Social & Emotional Learning Activities
- Personal Values Worksheets – Early Years – K-Grade 3 – SEL activities
- Personal Values Social Skills Story – Help students understand their core values
Halloween-themed case scenarios / Feelings charades: Emotional exploration, the spooky way
Traditional charades get a Halloween upgrade with these emotional regulation case scenarios.
Sample Scenarios:
- Lost Ghost: A lost ghost trying to find its way back to its haunted mansion.
- Nervous Witch: A witch making their favourite potion
- Excited Zombie: A zombie doing its favourite dance move at the Monster Ball.
Encourage students to think about the emotions the characters might be experiencing. They can act out the situation or the feelings (charades), while their peers guess the possible emotion.
This is also a great opportunity to highlight non-verbal cues, potential body sensations, or tools and strategies the characters might utilise (e.g. if the ghost is lost and feeling worried – what could they do? Ask for help? How?) Consider incorporating props to add to the fun!
Goals:
- Recognise and identity different feelings
- Understand the impact of situations on feelings
- Identify different tools and strategies useful for different emotional states
Resources:
- Case scenario cards (create your own or find my ready-made cards here)
- Props (optional)
Halloween masked emotions parade: Behind every mask
Invite students to design Halloween masks that represent different emotions. Once crafted, have a grand parade. Have students guess the emotions of each mask. Post-parade, encourage a discussion about their mask choices.
Goals:
- Identify different emotions in others (non-verbal cues)
- Expand emotional vocabulary
Resources:
- Mask templates
- String or popsicle sticks (for mask handles)
- Pencils or markers
- Optional decorative items like feathers or stickers
Halloween social and emotional learning is fun
Halloween + social and emotional learning activities = a fun way to engage your students and clients this October. Do you have any go-to Halloween activities? Have you tried one of these before? I love to hear what other therapists and teachers are doing. Please get in touch!
Questions
If you have any questions or need further assistance in implementing visual schedules, please do not hesitate to get in touch here or at sophia.occupationaltherapy@gmail.com.
