Lovely Halloween

Halloween boosts excitement in childcare! A collection of ideas to liven things up with fingerplay activities

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked for 10 years as a kindergarten teacher and for 7 years as an after-school childcare instructor, then took a post as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I also engaged in activities that shared Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational play, working with many children. Afterwards, through freelance writing, planning, and editing work at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and conveying ideas. Leveraging the perspective cultivated in educational settings and my experience as an editor, I aim to deliver practical information—focusing on fields related to music and children—that values both input and output. Hobbies include instruments, singing, handcrafts, toys, drawing, traditional play, the outdoors, books, DIY, and crafts. Special skill: spinning-top tricks.
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICsasashina
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. During my student years at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, I studied a wide range of fields including sound, lighting, and video technology, building a foundation in comprehensive stage production and creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, consistently building experience in production and engaging in a variety of music-centered tasks. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting and what I feel and discover through daily interactions with my kids. I hope my work can be of help to you, even in a small way!

Halloween season is something both kids and adults look forward to! Why not enjoy Halloween together with the children at nursery school or kindergarten? If you give your usual fingerplay and rock-paper-scissors a slightly spooky, fun Halloween twist, you can create special memories.

With fingerplay themed around ghosts, pumpkins, and witches, let the children’s imaginations flourish while you enjoy the seasonal festivities.

Here, we introduce recommended fingerplay activities perfect for celebrating Halloween.

Halloween makes childcare lively! A collection of hand-play activity ideas (21–30)

Halloween fingerplay

[Fingerplay] [Halloween] You can enjoy it at daycare, too!!

Halloween fingerplay

Here’s a hand game perfect for Halloween.

The moves aren’t difficult, so even infants can copy them and have fun right away.

Doing it together makes it twice as enjoyable.

It’s an adorable and funny hand game that’s sure to make everyone smile.

You can also use it for counting play, so it’s great for preschoolers too! Toward the end, keeping your balance gets tricky, so there may be moments where everyone loses their posture and bursts into laughter.

Even children who are afraid of ghosts will likely enjoy this, since the hand game is cute and engaging.

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Pan! Pukin

[Halloween Fingerplay] Kids Will Love It♪ Pan! Pukin — Useful for Childcare

Pan! Pukin

Introducing the Halloween hand game “Pan! Pukin.” It’s a cute hand game that toddlers and even infants can enjoy.

In this game, you clap to the music with a “pan!” and then use both hands to make a pumpkin shape in front of your face.

The number of claps increases as the game goes on, so watch the teacher or caregiver closely and imitate them as you play! It also looks fun to enjoy it as a warm-up for physical activity by stretching out your arms and legs.

Now, can you do it without getting the number of claps wrong?

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Childcare Gets Exciting at Halloween! A Collection of Hand-Play Ideas (31–40)

Peekaboo

[Halloween Hand Play] Simple hand games enjoyable from age 0. Great for childcare settings and parent–child fun.

Peekaboo

In English, peekaboo means “inai inai baa.” This time, I’ll introduce a Halloween-themed peekaboo hand play.

Let’s enjoy a peekaboo game that even 0-year-olds can enjoy, set to music and rhythm! The rhythm gradually gets faster, which makes it so funny you can’t help but laugh—but do your best to keep up! And the fun part is that, at the end, the ghost flies off somewhere!? This hand play brings out children’s smiles! Keep an eye on the ghost at the end, and let’s all get excited together!

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Glove Theater: The Greedy Little Ghost

[Glove Theater] The Hungry Little Ghost [Handmade]

Glove Theater: The Greedy Little Ghost

If you want to enjoy Halloween with children, we recommend a guessing game where you match the contents of the refrigerator to the song “Kuishinbo Obake” (The Gluttonous Ghost).

A “glove theater,” where you stick ghosts and foods onto a glove, is fun too, but this video shows how to make a slightly larger and easier-to-use “fan theater.” This version is easier to make even if you’re not good at fine, detailed work.

Also, the “Kuishinbo Obake” song is super cute, making it a great theme even for kids who find ghosts scary.

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Finger-play eurhythmics “Ghost Sheet”

September–October Autumn: Halloween hand play song eurhythmics [Ghost Sheet] for nursery and kindergarten — Halloween song

Finger-play eurhythmics “Ghost Sheet”

This is a play song called “Ghost Sheet.” Kids love to “put it on, hide, and pop out,” right? This song includes all of those elements.

Sing it at a Halloween party and you’re sure to capture the children’s hearts! You can even use a big sheet so lots of kids can play at once.

To prevent suffocation or anything wrapping around the neck, prepare a semi-transparent handkerchief to use as the sheet and play in a way that keeps the children’s faces and condition visible.

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witch

A DNA-modified psychic witch, even stronger than the original! “The Witch: Part 2 – The Other One”

witch

When it comes to classic Halloween costumes, I think “witch” is definitely one of them.

This song is a hand play where you pretend to be a witch and cast little spells.

While showing the iconic triangular witch’s hat, you lightly tug the specified parts of the body after each spell.

For toddlers, the tugging part is funny and enjoyable, and with babies it can be a fun bonding play.

If there’s a child dressed as a witch at a Halloween party, it might be nice to have them come to the front and cast spells on everyone.

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In conclusion

How did you like the Halloween hand games? They’re full of Halloween-themed keywords like pumpkins and ghosts, so even children experiencing Halloween for the first time can really get a feel for it. If you sing them before a Halloween party, it might make you look forward to Halloween even more! All of the hand games are wonderful, so have fun together!