Halloween is always an exciting time in first grade! Between the costumes, candy, and trick-or-treating excitement, keeping students focused can be a challenge.
I love incorporating fun Halloween activities for first grade to let my students enjoy the season while still practicing important skills.
Fun Halloween Activities for First Grade
1. Halloween Logic Puzzles
My Halloween Logic Puzzles are a fun way to get students thinking, problem-solving, and using their reasoning skills! These Halloween-themed puzzles challenge students to use clues, make connections, and think critically to find solutions.
I love using them for partner or team activities, early finishers, or during our Halloween celebrations! You can read more about how I use logic puzzles in first grade at this post.
🎃 Get your Halloween Logic Puzzles here!
2. Building Pumpkin Towers
Pumpkin towers are a fun and easy Halloween STEM challenge! Give students building materials such as linking cubes, blocks, or pattern blocks and challenge them to build the tallest tower that can support a small pumpkin. I like to have students work in teams and give them about 5–10 minutes to plan, build, and test their designs.
It’s a simple, hands-on activity that encourages teamwork, problem-solving, and a little friendly competition!
3. Create Playdough Monsters
Making playdough monsters is such a simple and fun Halloween activity! We found cute little tubes of playdough in various “Halloween” colors and gave one to each student, letting them share colors as needed.
Then we let their imaginations run wild as they created their own silly, spooky, or downright adorable monsters! The kids absolutely loved this activity, and I loved how easy it was to prepare. Sometimes the simplest activities are the biggest hits!
4. Halloween Color By Code
Halloween color by code activities are a fun way to sneak in a little math practice during all the holiday excitement! My Halloween color by code worksheets give students practice with addition and subtraction within 10 as they solve problems and color their pictures using the code.
They’re perfect for independent work, math centers, early finishers, party activities, and more. Best of all, they’re easy to prep…just print and go!
🎃 Get 8 fun Halloween Color By Code Math Activities Here!!
5. Decorate Halloween Cookies
Decorating Halloween cookies was the perfect combination of a party activity and a yummy treat! I found a great deal on some cute Halloween cookie decorating kits, so each student got to decorate their own cookie.
The kids had a blast getting creative with their designs, and the best part was that they got to eat their masterpieces when they were finished! It was an easy, low-prep activity that made our Halloween celebration extra sweet!
6. Halloween Paper Chain Challenge
This Halloween paper chain challenge is one of my favorite easy STEM activities! Divide students into teams of 3-5 kids. Give each group a pair of scissors, glue sticks, one sheet of orange construction paper, and one sheet of black construction paper. Set a timer for about 15 minutes and challenge teams to create the longest paper chain possible using only their materials.
When time is up, stretch out the chains to see which team made the longest one! It’s a simple, inexpensive activity that encourages teamwork, planning, problem-solving, and a little friendly competition!
we did before winter break one year!
7. Halloween Brain Challenge
This Halloween brain challenge is a fun way to get students thinking and working together! Divide students into teams and challenge them to brainstorm Halloween-related words for each letter of the alphabet. Some letters are easy, while others really get those little brains working!
I love listening to the creative ideas and conversations as students work together to come up with their answers. This activity is part of my Holiday Brain Challenges pack, with similar challenges for other holidays throughout the year, as well as a couple of scoring ideas!
🔗 The Holiday Brain Challenge Games pack includes 16 fun holiday games!
8. Decorate Wooden Halloween Masks
I found some cute Halloween masks at the dollar spot, and they were perfect for an easy classroom craft. Students had a blast coloring and decorating their masks to make them their own. Once everyone finished, we had fun taking pictures of the kids showing off their creations! It was an inexpensive, low-prep activity that made for some adorable Halloween memories!
🎃👻🐈⬛🦇🍫🍬 Halloween in first grade can be a little wild, but it’s also a fun time to make special classroom memories! I love mixing hands-on activities, creative challenges, and a little academic practice to keep students engaged while enjoying the excitement of the holiday.
I don’t do big parties, but we still always have a great time! You can read more about how I plan my classroom parties at this post.
I hope these Halloween activities for first grade give you some easy ideas for celebrating with your students without adding a ton of extra prep to your already busy schedule. Happy Halloween!
Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Teaching!
Jennifer ~ Practical Primary Teacher 🍎🍏
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Hello, I’m Jennifer! I teach 1st grade. I've been teaching for over 20 years. I love to design engaging and rigorous activities for my students and help them develop a love for reading. 
