Throughout the year, there are moments where kids get really excited. Revisiting classroom community building activities is a good idea. October 31st, or the days leading up to it, are a great time to implement some fun team building Halloween games for the classroom.
For each of these activities, you will want to make a group of about three students.
You may choose to keep points for the winners throughout the challenges to see who the overall winning group is.
You may also choose to assign different point values. For example, the group that comes in first place gets two points, and the group that comes in second place gets one point.
Tally up the points at the end to see which group is the winner.
Asking for donations from parents or by setting up an Amazon wishlist online and sharing it with friends and family is a great way to keep these activities thrifty.
(This post contains Amazon Affiliate links which means that if you decide to purchase something through a link, Amazon will throw a few pennies my way at no additional cost to you.)
Halloween Game #1: Pumpkin Toothpick Tower Challenge
The object of the Pumpkin Toothpick Tower Challenge is to make the tallest tower.
Materials Needed:
Make sure to give every group the same amount of candy pumpkins and rounded toothpicks. Set a timer for as long as you’d like to give them. Once the timer is up, Have students place their hands behind their backs. Walk around and measure each group’s tower. Any towers that topple over are disqualified. The group with the tallest tower wins.
Halloween Game #2: No Hands, Ghost Stacking Challenge
The object is to see which group can stack all the cups into a pyramid formation first.
Materials Needed:
Tie three strings of the same length to a rubber band. Give each group 6 cups and the rubber band device. Explain to the students that they are to stack the cups into a pyramid with three cups on the bottom, two in the middle, and one on top. They are not to touch the cups with any of their body parts. They can only use the device to maneuver the cups. The first group to create the pyramid wins.
Halloween Game #3: Cauldron Pong
The object is to get all the ping pongs into the cauldron.
Materials Needed:
- ping pong balls (made to look like eyes or jack-o-lanterns)
- plastic cauldron
Place the cauldrons against the walls in the classroom or take them outside. Mark a line on the ground about 6 – 8 feet away from the cauldron. Make sure every group has the same distance and the same amount of balls. Have the students begin to throw their ping pong balls towards the cauldron. The first group to successfully get all their ping pong balls in wins the challenge.
Halloween Game #4: The Mummy Wrap
The object is to wrap a team member up with toilet paper in the fastest time.
Of all the fun team building Halloween games for the classroom, this one is my favorite because it only takes one supply, little time, and you can make it as easy or as difficult as you’d like.
Materials Needed:
Give each group one (or two) rolls of toilet paper. See which group can wrap their team member up the fastest. Want to make it even more challenging? Tell groups that the toilet paper can not rip as they mummify their partner. If it does, they will be disqualified. (Make sure to buy the stronger type of toilet paper for this challenge.)
Halloween Game #5: Word Search Puzzle
The object of this challenge is to see which group can find all the words in the Halloween word search first.
Materials Needed:
Place a word search puzzle faced down on each groups table. Have the groups all turn their word searches over at the same time. Students work together to find all the words in the word search.
Hopefully these fun, team building Halloween games for the classroom help you and your students enjoy the day while also helping foster classroom community. Remember too that reading Halloween read alouds is also a great way to help build classroom community, so go grab a book and a flashlight, and share a story.
Looking to Spice Up Your ELA Block?
If you are looking to add some seasonal fun to your ELA block during the days leading up to Halloween, I’ve got you covered.
Wishing you and your students a fantastic Halloween season!
