Oh, what an October! This month is always frightfully good fun at the POD. Combining our LOVE of the outdoors with lots of (non- scary) Halloween activities always has the kids cackling with delight!
From brewing up some terrifyingly tasty treats in the kitchen to engaging in some spooktacular sensory fun, we’ve embraced the best of this abundant month with awesome outdoor inspired activities, heart-warming crafts, space exploration and seasonal sounds. Here’s all the delicious details from our totally aaah-mazing October!
What better way to show your granny or grandad you care than by making them a beautiful card and clay heart! Celebrating families of all shapes and sizes plus talking about those we love is the perfect cosy craft activity for the colder months! We never need an excuse to get the glitter out, but we have to say, the sparkle level on these creations was sensational! Heart-warming gifts full of love are just the best aren’t they!
The October night sky is just perfect for space exploration! From making our own pumpkin planets in various sizes, to crafting homemade telescopes to see the stars, we’ve blasted off on adventures to the moon (and back) and imagined a million amazing stories about space and what is ‘out there’. We’ve made our own recycled rockets (with lots of buttons and levers) and messed around in moon-sand. We’ve moved like a Martian (and made-up our own greetings) and giggled at the colours of the Aliens Underpants as we strung up some pants we designed in various pretty patterns! We simply loved this space themed week and all the interesting activities it brought with it.
Poetry Day is a perfect opportunity to explore the sounds and rhythm of language. From nursery rhymes and funny limericks to acrostic poems and haikus we’ve explored lots of different ways to have fun with words. We listened for whether a word rhymes with another (or not), and if we could hear a rhythm when the poem was read out loud. We spent time thinking about words that that we could link to autumn or Halloween as well as sounds that we associate with this super season!
Click Clack Boo is a lovely read-aloud book perfect for October. Full of descriptive seasonal language and a main character that doesn’t like the spooky season, this story is a great way to talk to children about overcoming their fears. Scared Farmer Brown does not like Halloween, so instead he hides away in bed. The farmyard animals however are planning a fun Halloween party. We loved everything about this story - from Farmer Brown finally overcoming his worries to the animals’ quirky outfits! This book is rich in word repetition from the crunch, crunch, crunch of the leaves to the creak, creak, creak of the floorboards and is a wonderful way for kids to hear a story ‘rhythm’ and the use of sounds. We also got to introduce the concept of onomatopoeia (when the words used create the sound they describe – crunch, creak), and to think about other words that have the same effect.
From natural inspired tuff trays with colourful crunchy leaves, shiny conkers and pinecones to potion mixing stations full of gloopy good stuff, October is awesome for sensory fun. More than just messy (although that’s a MAJOR part of the fun), tuff trays allow kiddos to use lots of lovely describing works to tell us exactly what everything feels like. Free play that focuses on the senses is a fab way to sneakily encourage expression and language – and the use of new vocabulary! Whether we were carving pumpkins and removing the ‘guts’, or cooking up homemade pumpkin soup in the kitchen, we used all our sensory activities as a super way to talk about the sounds and smells of the season.
Magic and movement filled the air for our frightfully fun fancy-dress Halloween party. Full of eeriesistible games like turning our friends into toilet roll mummies, fiendishly fantastic face painting (think everything from spiders to unicorns), and of course, lots of Halloween inspired crafts, we had a ghoulishly good time! Dancing and dressing up with all our friends and having some yummy treats, was a wonderful way to round up our awesome October activities.
October may be over but we’re already pop, fizz and crackling into November! From Guy Fawkes and fireworks to the dancing lights of Diwali we know it’s going to be brilliant and bright! Watch this space!
We Made Gorgeous Grandparents Day Gifts (1st October)
What better way to show your granny or grandad you care than by making them a beautiful card and clay heart! Celebrating families of all shapes and sizes plus talking about those we love is the perfect cosy craft activity for the colder months! We never need an excuse to get the glitter out, but we have to say, the sparkle level on these creations was sensational! Heart-warming gifts full of love are just the best aren’t they!
We WOW-ed Ourselves with World Space Week (4 - 10th October)
The October night sky is just perfect for space exploration! From making our own pumpkin planets in various sizes, to crafting homemade telescopes to see the stars, we’ve blasted off on adventures to the moon (and back) and imagined a million amazing stories about space and what is ‘out there’. We’ve made our own recycled rockets (with lots of buttons and levers) and messed around in moon-sand. We’ve moved like a Martian (and made-up our own greetings) and giggled at the colours of the Aliens Underpants as we strung up some pants we designed in various pretty patterns! We simply loved this space themed week and all the interesting activities it brought with it.
We Became POD Poets on National Poetry Day (5th October)
Poetry Day is a perfect opportunity to explore the sounds and rhythm of language. From nursery rhymes and funny limericks to acrostic poems and haikus we’ve explored lots of different ways to have fun with words. We listened for whether a word rhymes with another (or not), and if we could hear a rhythm when the poem was read out loud. We spent time thinking about words that that we could link to autumn or Halloween as well as sounds that we associate with this super season!
We Loved our Barnyard Themed Book of the Month - Click Clack Boo
Click Clack Boo is a lovely read-aloud book perfect for October. Full of descriptive seasonal language and a main character that doesn’t like the spooky season, this story is a great way to talk to children about overcoming their fears. Scared Farmer Brown does not like Halloween, so instead he hides away in bed. The farmyard animals however are planning a fun Halloween party. We loved everything about this story - from Farmer Brown finally overcoming his worries to the animals’ quirky outfits! This book is rich in word repetition from the crunch, crunch, crunch of the leaves to the creak, creak, creak of the floorboards and is a wonderful way for kids to hear a story ‘rhythm’ and the use of sounds. We also got to introduce the concept of onomatopoeia (when the words used create the sound they describe – crunch, creak), and to think about other words that have the same effect.
We Had Off the Chart October Inspired Tuff Trays and Lots of Sensory Fun
From natural inspired tuff trays with colourful crunchy leaves, shiny conkers and pinecones to potion mixing stations full of gloopy good stuff, October is awesome for sensory fun. More than just messy (although that’s a MAJOR part of the fun), tuff trays allow kiddos to use lots of lovely describing works to tell us exactly what everything feels like. Free play that focuses on the senses is a fab way to sneakily encourage expression and language – and the use of new vocabulary! Whether we were carving pumpkins and removing the ‘guts’, or cooking up homemade pumpkin soup in the kitchen, we used all our sensory activities as a super way to talk about the sounds and smells of the season.
We Dressed-up and Danced at Our Halloween Party
Magic and movement filled the air for our frightfully fun fancy-dress Halloween party. Full of eeriesistible games like turning our friends into toilet roll mummies, fiendishly fantastic face painting (think everything from spiders to unicorns), and of course, lots of Halloween inspired crafts, we had a ghoulishly good time! Dancing and dressing up with all our friends and having some yummy treats, was a wonderful way to round up our awesome October activities.
October may be over but we’re already pop, fizz and crackling into November! From Guy Fawkes and fireworks to the dancing lights of Diwali we know it’s going to be brilliant and bright! Watch this space!
If you’d like to find out more about the practical magic we can bring to your family please get in touch.
Call 07581 156684 or email sophie@practicallyfamily.co.uk
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07939 942334 (during Holiday Club weeks only)
