If Halloween wasn’t already my favorite holiday, it definitely is now. There is something so fun about getting to experience the joys of pumpkin carving, costume-finding, and trick-or-treating with toddlers. As our other fall themed shelf work has been switched out, I couldn’t resist adding in some Halloween-themed trays. Here’s a glimpse at some October tray ideas:
Click HERE for access to these Fall Color Matching Cards.
They’re free to all subscribers!
Fall Color Matching-
We’ve loved our Montessori Color Box 2 for so many activities already. We just have box 2 right now, but if you’re considering buying one, I would recommend buying Color Box 3 since it includes the box 1 and box 2 tablets. It’s perfect for pattern making, matching color tablet pairs, and color matching with many other objects. We used it here for color matching with the set of fall object cards I created. For a free download of these fall object cards, click here to subscribe and have the PDF sent to your email!
Fall Threading-
I recently bought these needles for Asher as he has been seeing me sew and asking if he could join in. I’m planning them for some sewing shelf work projects down the road, but one of them worked out perfectly for this threading activity! I wanted some realistic images for the threading cards, so I printed out images myself on card stock, laminated, and hole-punched them. If you have toddlers that are showing interest in threading, I’ve found that the needle helps to make this fine motor activity more accessible and not too frustrating for them.
Halloween Card Making-
If you saw our fall themed shelf work, then you already know that we love card making right now. These fun Halloween stamps and washable ink pads are high-interest to Asher at two and half years, and I love that he can participate in activities where we send some love to others. He picks who he wants to send his homemade cards to and helps to get them in the mail.
Sticker Match and Counting-
We’ve mostly just been letting foundational math skills build through natural exposure and sensorial experiences at this point. However, I noticed Asher beginning to develop some one-to-one correspondence on his own and thought this activity would match up well with that. I traced some foam stickers onto card stock and laminated the sheets so they could be reused. He’s been loving peeling the backing off of the stickers and placing them onto the sheets. Sometimes he counts the stickers and sometimes he doesn’t, but I just follow his lead with this.
Pumpkin Cutting Practice-
Asher liked the apple cutting strips we used last month so much, I decided to keep this tray mostly the same. I switched out the apple cutting strips for pumpkin cutting strips. I also added in these cute pumpkin cutouts made from paint swatches. He works on cutting them on the white lines and they’ve been a fun addition to our scissor work this month.
Jack-O’-Lantern Face Matching-
This work incorporates some beginning pattern matching. I cut a pumpkin and some eyes, noses, and mouths out of felt. Then, I made a few different “face” combinations, took pictures of them to make cards, and laminated the cards. The laminator I use is one of my favorite and most useful tools for making Montessori-inspiried materials at home. I use it multiple times a week and love its simplicity, quality, and reasonable price. Asher chooses one of the laminated cards and then tries to find the pieces to make the felt jack-o’-lantern match the picture. This has been one of his favorites this month, probably because he likes to try to make the faces look as silly as possible and laugh at the results.
Pom Pom Sorting-
There are so many wonderful pom pom sorting ideas out there on social media. I like the simplicity of this activity and that it builds fine motor skills as well as color discrimination. Using a small pair of tongs, Asher sorts the pom poms into the matching colored container (found in the Target dollar section). This work can be extended by counting as the child sorts or using visual numbers to show older children how many of each color you would like them to find. Asher loves using tongs so this is definitely a high-interest activity.
Halloween Posting-
The set-up for this one was really simple- I cut up some orange and black pipe cleaners and set them up on this tray. The bottle is a drink bottle that originally had a straw in it that I removed. If you have interest in trying this, any kind of drinking cup with a lid with a straw hole should work well. Asher appreciates it because he still enjoys posting and unscrewing the lid (even though it’s not very challenging anymore), and I appreciate the simple set-up and prep (<5 minutes)!
Sensory Shakers-
These plastic mason jars have been making the perfect sensory jars. I filled one with pumpkin seeds and the other with corn and shaking them has been creating some great entertainment for both of our guys. Asher loves to listen for the different sounds that they each make.
These activities, along with some pumpkin books we found at the library, are what have been filling our shelves this month. We’ll be filling up these last couple of October weeks with as much fall and Halloween fun as we can. Then it will be time to start thinking about some Thanksgiving and Christmas-themed trays! If you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment below or send me an email! I’d love to hear about some of your favorite fall or Halloween-themed ideas!
This post contains affiliate links at no extra cost to you.
sonia says
Merci pour ce partage et bravo pour le travail réaliser.
Mes petits loulous vont adorés.
Maci says
Love! I have a 22mo and have just started getting into Montessori method. I was wondering – do you have a separate shelf for his trays/work or do you place them out as his “toys” for the week? I just didn’t know if his toys from toy rotation should be mixed in with shelf work, or if I could use two different shelves! Thanks so much!!
KMenko says
Sorry for the late response! I had the available toys and the shelf work out on the same shelf for him! Just intermixed together. However, I did have a few open-ended toys that were out in baskets in a separate area.