There is something about Halloween which catches the imaginations of children. They get dress up, pretend play and treat themselves! In fact 3 years old is when they begin creative play (making up stories, mimicking etc), and Halloween is a perfect example of creative play.
Ways to make the day special for your preschooler:
- Halloween party
Organizing Halloween party is a great way to enthrall kids. Have a costume contest, candy treat, tattoo making, fun activities and spooky decorations to light up the party. - Keep it age appropriate
Make Halloween un-scary. When teaching kids about Halloween, make sure the information is light and comprehensible. Three-year-olds are clever enough to understand ‘real’ versus ‘pretend’ yet there are some toddlers who don’t understand the difference between real and make-believe. So you have to gear your answers to the age your child is. - Make it a fun affair
Make Halloween un-scary, and yet still tell the true story. Parents can talk about Halloween as the holiday where people were allowed to dress up as someone or something they imagined. They can have fun getting their faces painted and decorating a pumpkin. - Get creative
Halloween comes with huge imaginations and creativity. Kids can be engaged in Pumpkin carving or decoration, making paper ghosts, tattooing and so much more creative activities. All of this will allow kids to explore their creative side and make their own choices. - Halloween-themed story time
Read books that are fitting for Halloween – monsters, witches, spiders. This is a great chance for you to help kids realize that monsters and all spooky things are works of fiction. Make them understand that it’s OK to be scared; ask them to tell you when they’re afraid of something instead of keeping it to themselves.