How to - Origami

It’s hard to believe but Halloween is already here again! It’s time to start thinking about bright orange and black colors, pumpkins, goblins, skeletons, fun costumes and how you are going to decorate your classroom.

Whether you are starting from scratch or you already have almost all of your Halloween classroom decorating ready, fresh classroom decoration ideas keep the spirits roaming your classroom.

Gigantic Spider in Her Web

A neat decoration for a big wall in the classroom is to make a giant spider web. The web is easily created using yarn of any color that will stand off the wall. Pick 6 points on the wall for attachment. A few good reference points are the hour hands on clock of 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, and 2. Cut three lengths of yarn the entire length of the web you wish to create. Attach the yarn straight across the wall at the 6 points to make an asterisk. Then, working in a spiral from the outside to the inside, connect the yarn at each of the 6 spots with tape or adhesive until you have at least 3 spirals. You may have quite a few more spirals depending on the size of your wall. 

Once you have the web done, it’s time to create the spider. Even though spiders come in a wide variety of different colors black typically works best because it seems to go with the whole Halloween theme. You can cut the body out of black construction paper and then use long black pipe cleaners for the legs. You can also make the legs out of black construction paper by cutting long rectangles and then folding them accordion-style to give the spider dimension. Once the spider is assembled, attach her to the web.

This can also turn into a great project for the children to help out with.  Give them pipe cleaners and show them how to twist the pieces together to make mini-spiders that will help turn the large web into a scary masterpiece.  You can take the project another step further with black or brightly colored miniature pom-poms that can be used as the body of the mini-spiders.

Not So Scary Scenes of Halloween

One classroom door decoration idea is to make scenes of Halloween out of colored felt or construction paper and attach them to the door. The scenes need not be scary, but warm and inviting, drawing the children inside. A kitty with a pumpkin, friendly ghosts, skeletons with top hats, or a big moon with a fence silhouette are just a few ideas to get you started. Use simple shapes and contrasting colors to create a delightful variety of mini-scenes for decorating your classroom door.  Be sure to keep your students involved by asking them to cut out some of the shapes for you or glue some of the pieces together.

Surrounded by Skeletons

A border of cut out skeletons can wrap around the upper part of your classroom wall. You can make the skeletons in a paper doll style, with many layers of white construction paper cut out all at once so they are attached after you unfold the paper.

Another idea is to have your students cut out the bones of small skeletons, connect the bones with brass fasteners and then hang them around the perimeter of the classroom. Children can be creative by putting the legs and arms of their skeletons in funny positions or even hanging them upside down!

Motivating classroom decorations are an important part of making an environment where children are motivated to learn. If you want to involve the children in classroom decorations, many lessons can be incorporated into easy classroom decorating ideas like anatomy, language arts, math and social studies.

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