Spiders, Bats, and Pumpkins Overview

Please exercise caution with this theme. I have not named it “Halloween” because many families are sensitive about the topic of Halloween. I have, however, included Halloween topics. Please be aware of any concerns families may have about this topic and plan accordingly.

Books about Spiders, Bats, and Pumpkins (this is not an exhaustive list….there are so many great books about all of these topics!)

From Seed to Pumpkin (Lets-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1) by Wendy Pfeffer (illustrated by James Graham Hale)
Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz
Five Little Pumpkins by Iris Van Rynbach
Aaaarrgghh! Spider! by Lydia Monks
Spinning Spiders (Lets-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) by Melvin Berger (illustrated by S.D. Schindler)
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats by Ann Earle and Henry Cole
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat by Lucille Colandro and Jared D. Lee

Spiders, Bats, and Pumpkins Songs

“The Itsy-Bitsy (or Eensy-Weency) Spider”
I am not going to insult your intelligence by typing the words here!

Finger Play for “Five Little Pumpkins” (I always do this while reading the book)

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate (hold up 5 fingers)
The first one said, “Oh my, it’s getting late!” (look at watch)
The second one said, “There are witches in the air!” (look up in sky)
The third one said, “But we don’t care!” (shake head)
The fourth one said, “Let’s run and run and run!” (pretend to run)
The fifth one said, “We’re ready for some fun!”
Then Ooooooo went the wind (swirl arms around)
And OUT! went the lights! (clap hands, have someone turn out the lights)
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight! (roll hands around)

“Looking for Dracula” from 10 Carrot Diamond by Charlotte Diamond

This is an awesome CD all around. “Looking for Dracula” is a fun, “Going on a Bear Hunt” type song that your kids will love…and it mentions bats! They will also love “I am a Pizza,” “Octopus,” and “10 Crunchy Carrots.” Trust me, I know! You can also buy books to correspond with the songs.

"Little Bats"

1 little bat was trying to behave.
He hung upside down from his feet in a cave.
Another bat flew in, and said, "How do you do?"
The second joined the first, and then there were 2!

2 little bats were trying to behave.
They hung upside down from their feet in a cave.
To help pass the time, they sang "Do re me"
Another bat joined the song, and then there were 3.

3 little bats were trying to behave
They hung upside down from their feet in a cave
From their cave perch, they looked down at the floor,
A new bat joined the game, and then there were 4.

4 little bats were trying to behave.
They hung upside down from their feet in a cave.
One little bat zoomed inside and did a dive.
He stayed to take a rest, and with him there were 5.


Center Modifications

Tactile/sand/water table:

*Mini pumpkin buckets (the kind you buy as party favors) with colored water
*Spider rings
*Mallow crème pumpkins (check childcare licensing rules)
*Yellow, orange, and black shredded paper
*Rubber bats and pumpkins
*Colored sand (orange)

Homeliving/Dramatic Play Center:

*Halloween costumes
*Pretend candy
*Toy apples
*Fake pumpkins
*Pumpkin buckets

Block Center

*Large and small pumpkin buckets
*Buckets of shredded paper
*Unit blocks
*Toy bats and spiders

Art Center

*Orange, black, and yellow paint
*October edition of children’s or parenting magazines
*Playdough in a variety of fall colors with “fall” scents, such as pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, vanilla
*Stencils, sponges, and cookie cutters shaped like pumpkins, bats, and spiders
*Black, yellow, and orange construction paper and shredded paper

Boardmaker* Symbols to Print (or pictures to search on Internet if you don’t have Boardmaker) and Sign Language to Learn*
*pumpkin
*bat
*spider
*candy
*trick-or-treat (I always used “candy please” as the sign for this)
*Costume
*Colors: Yellow, black, orange
*cat

*If you do not have the Boardmaker-Dynamically Speaking Pro software by Mayer-Johnson available at your school, I recommend that you speak with your principal/school director about obtaining it. It is not terribly expensive and is absolutely irreplaceable for making visual symbols, picture schedules, and social stories-both for children with disabilities and without.

*For simple preschool signs, I recommend the book Sign With Your Baby by Joseph Garcia