Get the Crowd Excited! Perfect Performance Ideas for Halloween at Daycare and Kindergarten
Here, we introduce Halloween activities you can enjoy with children! From Halloween dances to paper theater and panel theater, there are plenty of performances that kids can get excited about together.
Stories featuring ghosts and jack-o’-lanterns will have the children thrilled and delighted! By joining voices and moving their bodies, they can immerse themselves in a richly imaginative world.
These activities are perfect for nursery school birthday celebrations and Halloween parties, too.
Create special Halloween memories with the children that you can cherish together.
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Exciting! Perfect Performance Ideas for Halloween at Nurseries and Kindergartens (21–30)
Halloween Theater: The Mischievous Ghost Has Arrived
Here’s a recommended activity for daycare and kindergarten Halloween parties: a paper puppet show (called “peep-show cards” or “paper puppet theater”).
How about putting on a play using paper puppets for the children to watch? Since it’s a ghost-themed story, it really lets everyone soak up the Halloween atmosphere.
If you want to boost the quality of the puppet show, several teachers can split up the work of creating the motifs.
Another tip is to make the puppets larger so children sitting farther away can see them clearly!
Panel Theater: The Haunted Mansion
This is a color panel set called “Ghost Mansion,” produced and sold by Ai Kikaku, which creates and distributes color panel theater materials.
Color panel theater is like a small stage where various illustrated characters appear on a large panel.
You could think of it as a deluxe version of a kamishibai picture story show.
The comical story will make not only children but also adults laugh! Some children might find the realistic direction and plot developments a bit scary.
Let’s watch together while acknowledging their feelings.
Halloween Theater: ‘Surprising Halloween’
This is the theater piece “Surprise Halloween,” featured in the October 2018 issue of PriPri.
Set in a kitchen, it uses honeycomb-sheet ghosts hidden in pots and cups that pop out.
As you sing and lift the lids, cute little ghosts appear, which is sure to delight the children! It’s perfect for a Halloween main event.
Because acting skills are key, practice repeatedly and ask other teachers to watch and give feedback.
We hope you have a wonderful time on the day of the performance.
Ghost scooping
How about adding a Halloween twist with “ghost scooping,” a ghost-themed version of a classic fishing game? You can make the rod easily by tying kitchen twine to a pair of chopsticks and attaching a magnet to the end of the string.
Besides ghosts, making pieces like jack-o’-lanterns and witches will add lots of color.
If you want to get the kids even more excited, you can put candy inside the ghosts, assign points to each ghost, and offer candy or small gifts as prizes—they’ll love it! It’s great for even the littlest children, so we highly recommend it.
Paper Puppet Show: The Gluttonous Ghost
Many teachers probably incorporate paper-puppet theater (Peepu-saato) into early childhood education.
Peepu-saato is a type of “fan-shaped paper puppet show” that originated in Japan.
You draw pictures on two pieces of paper, glue them together, and flip the front and back depending on the scene to operate it.
Because the image changes in an instant, it’s likely very enjoyable for children to watch.
Like in this video, turning it into a quiz format could make it even more exciting.
It might also be fun to have the children make their own peepu-saato by hand.
Please try creating all kinds of stories with it.
Play “The Big Pumpkin”
A pumpkin version of the classic picture book “The Giant Turnip.” It’s a story that teaches children the importance of working together: even things that are difficult alone can be overcome when everyone joins forces.
The video introduces “The Giant Turnip,” but let’s try adapting it into a pumpkin version.
A witch grows a giant pumpkin.
A ghost, a vampire, and a mummy try to help, but they just can’t lift it.
Then, at the end, a bat arrives and suggests that everyone pull together.
They finally manage to harvest the pumpkin, which becomes a delicious pumpkin pie.
Invite the children to join in and cheer together: “Heave-ho, heave-ho!”
Dance: ‘Rock-Paper-Scissors with Pumpkins’
This is the dance to “Goo Choki Paa de Pumpkin,” which was featured on the TV show Shimajiro no Wao.
It’s a two-for-one dance where kids can learn rock-paper-scissors while singing and dancing.
Many Halloween-themed songs have a somewhat dark and scary vibe, but this one feels happy and fun, doesn’t it? Let’s all dance it together as the finale of your Halloween party! Even infants can enjoy it just by hopping or clapping along.
Let’s get everyone excited with adorable costumes, too.