As the holidays are quickly approaching while teachers are scrambling to find those holiday sweaters and with their pumpkin spice lattes in hand, let me help you make those classroom activities a little bit easier. If you are already at an inclusive school, a school that practices mainstreaming/reverse mainstreaming, or just started inclusive practices, these activities are for you.
Each of these activities are things you might already be doing but you don't know how to make it inclusive or these might be brand new to you and you need the ideas for October activities. These activities don't all focus on Halloween but you can use the holiday as much or as little as you want in each of these.
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5 senses with pumpkins
Pumpkins are impossible to avoid August-November. Instead of ignoring these gourds, embrace them and use them for any lesson you can. Not only in my classroom do we use pumpkins to learn about shapes, probability, texture, and art-but I loved spending a good amount of time on our 5 senses activity.
If you need pumpkin carving tools, click the image to be redirected to the Amazon link!
First we talked about what we see, the color, the shape, the stem, and bumps, literally anything.
Then what do we hear. How does it sound when you flick it, when you hit it, when you roll it, and if you have extra pumpkins, if you drop it.
What do you feel. Is it bumpy? Is it smooth? Is it rough? Is it soft? Is it round? Touch comes in again after you open it.
What do you smell? You can even compare the smells and texture before and after carving the pumpkin.
Then carve the pumpkin together.
Talk about your senses again. How does the inside feel? Did the smell change? Become more or less?
Do you have the resources to make something with your pumpkin? Or bring pumpkin cookies or muffins in and let everyone try a bite? How does it taste?
Really, the possibilities are endless!
Games everyone can participate in
Click on the numbered items to purchase
All of these games are also great for different therapies stude
nts might be receiving. These games practice coordination, throwing, balancing, turn taking, etc.
All of these games can be played with a wide range of abilities. Easy adaptations can be made. For example, for the pin the eye on the zombie, maybe no blindfold for some, or you can add a textural cue on the poster, like a small piece of tape for them to find and match.
Read alongs with others
Looking for book to read with peers? Check out my blog post for inclusive books for October and pick any of those to read with your students.
This can be done in small groups, one on one, or as a big classroom activity. Take turns reading or answering questions. I strongly suggest having a student who can read the book, kids tend to listen more when it is their peers.
Parade
This is a great time to prepare, practice, and plan. A lot of schools do parades to show off the Halloween costumes. First step is to prepare.
Prepare you students for a parade. Walking for a while, with a lot of people, it could be very overstimulating. Social stories can come in real handy here.
Practice. Have a day where you practice the parade walk with your class and maybe some peers who would encourage your students to keep walking.
Plan. Make a plan if the parade it becoming too hard for a student. Bring positive reinforcements. Prepare a way out if it is too challenging.
Movies/Shows
Movies/Shows to the end of the Halloween or October celebrations, it is time to put on a movie and chill. Students need a break, and at this point, so do you. If you don't have the stamina to decorate one more pumpkin, then watch some of these fun movies and relax.
And have a Happy Inclusive Halloween!
Inclusion starts with you and I just want to help
Kayla
xx
