Pattye Duffner's Blog

Halloween 2010

 
 
 
 
 

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

Growing Holiday Fun

This year again we planted our own pumpkin patch and we were successful! 8 large ones and several small baby pumpkins… This is my kind of plant water and watch grow.  It was fun to see them take over our front yard and for the kids to pick their favorites.  I hope we can continue this for years to come.

 

 

Happy Halloween

 

Halloween this year was a year of changes   The kiddos changed their costumes so many times I could not keep count.  For me I just cringed every time.  I am a planner.  I wanted them all to be a theme.  I wanted to make something!  So with no further ado   Quinn was a basketball player    Ella Princess Peach   the princess from the video game Mario Brothers.   Braeden was Buzz light year and Davis was a turtle     I was a maid oops that is my everyday costume.  I was a Momma and Jerry was Dad of the year!

 

 

 

Classroom parties...

 

Squash Bowling How-To
First, make the pins: Attach vinyl sticker numbers to 10 butternut squashes. With painters' tape, cover portions of each squash to create stripes. Fill in stripes using acrylic craft paint, and let dry. Carefully peel off stickers and tape. Designate a lane, and set up the pins, placing lower numbers in front and higher ones in back. Have each player stand about 15 feet away, grip a small pumpkin by the stem, and bowl. (Should the stem fall off after a few tries, players can grab onto the whole pumpkin.) Give everyone two turns, and award each player the number of points on the pins knocked down.

Now What???

Now that Halloween is over what are YOU going to do with all those pumpkins?  Okay, I COULD make a pumpkin pie...or roast pumpkin...or make spicy pumpkin seeds...but honestly, I have a lot of pumpkins.

Homemade Pumpkin Facial Masque

Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh cooked pumpkin, drained, cooled, no skin
1 egg white whipped
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp ground oats (oatmeal)
2 tbsp plain yogurt
dash of fresh lemon juice
pinch of nutmeg

Or

Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh cooked pumpkin, drained, cooled, no skin
1 tbs oats (oatmeal)
1 tbs honey
1/2 tsp olive oil (or any oil you have on hand)
pinch of nutmeg
squirt of lemon juice

Mix all of the ingredients together to form a thick like consistency. Adjust the ingredients if needed, add more oats to make it thicker or add more liquid to thin it out. Apply this mixture to your clean face and neck, leave on for 5-10 minutes. Use tissues to gently remove the bulk of it, then rinse with warm water followed by a cool water rinse, gently pat skin dry.

Enjoy!

Martha to the rescue...

Last week I tried the starch ghosts and do not feel this is the best craft project for this year...  It worked out great but I am worried that the overnight drying time will be a problem.  So here is the other option for the craft project, we have done this before at a Halloween Party and it went well.  Wish me luck! 

Create a ghoulish Halloween candy face with a variety of candy, but be sure to warn children not to eat the candy on the face.

Tools and Materials
Good & Plenty
Miniature marshmallows
Twizzler licorice bites (Black)
Gummy teeth
Licorice wheels
Candy corn
Neapolitan licorice
Ball pins
Glass canisters
Scissors
Small pumpkin

Halloween-Candy Face How-To
1. Secure the candy to the pumpkin with ball pins that match the color of the treats so they aren't too noticeable. Tip: Chewy candy is easier to bend and snip.

2. Place pumpkin on glass canisters or reuse large glass jars for candy.

Monster Mash

I am so excited to plan the Halloween Party for my sons classroom.  From now and then I will post the ideas that I plan on using.  If you have any additional ideas please share them.  Today we found a fun site with Halloween games and activities that Quinn just loved!  I thought I would take the coloring sheets as a back up activities incase the original station activities run a bit short, or in case someone would rather color then to what I am going to plan.  You never know with little ones right?  I am planning the party to have four different stations where five kids at each will rotate.  Hoping that I can get four Moms to help, one at each station.

The craft station will be these Gauzy ghosts...

It takes practically nothing to make this family of mischievous sprites.

CRAFT MATERIALS:
	Different-size plastic milk jugs or juice bottles
	Laundry starch
	Aluminum foil
	Paper towels
	White gauze or cheesecloth
Time needed: Under 1 Hour

1. Top each jug or bottle with a ball of crumpled aluminum foil.

2. Cut white gauze or cheesecloth into 18-inch squares (one square for each ghost). Dip the gauze squares into a bowl filled with laundry starch. Pull them out one at a time and squeeze out the excess moisture. Drape a square over each bottle.

3. To shape the ghosts' shoulders and arms, loosely pile crumpled aluminum foil near the bottle and drape the gauze over it. Flare out the lower edges of the gauze and let dry overnight. (To make a dog, simply drape a small square of gauze over shaped foil.)

4. Once they've dried, carefully lift the ghosts from their bottles. They should stand freely on a flat surface.