Spooktacular Ways to Move More at School this Halloween

As the days have grown shorter and the leaves have turned shades of orange, there's an undeniable buzz in the air. Halloween is approaching, and with it comes the perfect opportunity to infuse your classes with the excitement and energy of the season.

The Spellbinding Power of Physical Literacy

Before we embark on our spooky journey into the realm of these festive games, let's remind ourselves why physical literacy is the true magic potion of movement. Physical literacy equips your students with fundamental movement skills that will serve them well throughout their lives. It's the foundation for a lifetime of active, healthy living. Incorporating these Halloween-themed activities into your lessons will provide students with skills they can take far beyond the gym walls, turning them into active, healthy individuals who can confidently face life's challenges.

We invite you to explore three "spooktacular" activities that will get your students to enjoy meaningful movement this Halloween!

Scary Square

Scary Square is a simple game that can be played indoors and outdoors, requiring very little equipment. It's a great way to practice balance and locomotion skills. Watch out, little monster; you'll need to be strategic if you don't want to get caught by the witch.

1. Divide your group into teams of 5.
2. Each team places 4 cones in the shape of a haunted house (i.e. in a square), with about 3 meters between each cone.
3. One child is selected as the witch and stands in the middle of the haunted house.
4. The other children are the monsters. Each monster stands in a corner of the haunted house next to a cone.
5. To begin, monsters and the witch all hold a single-leg balance pose.
6. On your signal, the monsters swap corners with another monster without the witch stealing their place.
7. They return to a single-leg balance pose when they arrive at a new corner.
8. If the witch succeeds in taking a monster’s place, that monster then becomes the witch.
9. After a few minutes, mix up the teams and start again.

Variations:

• Increase or decrease the distance between each cone.
• Vary how children move (galloping, skipping, etc.) from cone to cone.
• The witch can decide when the children can move.
  

Jumping Jack-o'-lantern

This game is perfect for playing indoors in the gym or outdoors and only requires hula hoops. It’s a great way to practice teamwork and the skill of “hopping on one leg” or the “two-foot jump.”

1. Divide children into teams of 4. 
2. Designate start and finish lines at opposite ends of the activity space. 
3. Each team has 5 of the same coloured hula hoops. Each hula hoop represents a jack-o-lantern.
4. Teams line up along a start line on one end of the activity space.
5. They then place their jack-o-lanterns in a straight line in front of the start line. 
6. Each team member stands in a jack-o-lantern,  leaving the last one empty.
7. On your start signal, the last person in line picks up the empty jack-o-lantern behind them and passes it to the person in front of them until it reaches the front of the line. Each team member must touch the jack-o-lantern as it moves to the front. 
8. Next, the child at the front of the line places the jack-o-lantern in front of them and hops or jumps into it.
9. The rest of the children hop or jump into the jack-o-lantern in front of them. 
10. This pattern continues until all team members have passed the finish line.
11. Play again by changing the way children are moving from hoop to hoop.
    

Halloween Freeze Dance

This Halloween activity is fun and easy to get your students moving while practicing their balance skills. Balance is required for all forms of movement, and learning to balance well will have positive benefits throughout one's life.

1. Play fun Halloween-themed music (e.g. Monster Mash or Spooky Scary Skeletons).
2. When the music is playing, children dance around the room in a “scary, Halloween” sort of way.
3. When the music stops, children freeze for 5-10 seconds in the balance pose you call out (e.g. scarecrow, black cat, ghost flying high in the sky, etc.).

Variations:

• Give each child a bean bag they can place on their head while holding the pose.
• Tape Halloween pictures or targets on the walls in the activity space. If children lose their balance, they run to a target, touch it, and then rejoin the game. 
• Tape Halloween pictures/targets on the walls in the activity space. If a child loses their balance, they run to a target, throw their bean bag at it, and then rejoin the dance.
  

Spooky Scavenger Hunt

This activity is perfect for practicing different locomotion or dynamic balance skills. If you have Halloween decorations, you can use them or print out pictures of pumpkins, ghosts, skeletons, etc. Hide them around the classroom or the school and ask the students to move in different ways as they search for the items (walking on an imaginary line, skipping, galloping).