BLOG

Easy, Inexpensive Halloween Costumes for kids

10/16/2025

Halloween is just around the corner and if your kids are like mine were you are trying to find a costume that is creative, affordable, and they will wear! Here are five ideas for Halloween costumes created from clothes that your can re-wear after the holiday is over. Be sure to check out my book Scary Halloween Costumes for more fun ideas. The main character, Jack, is struggling to find the perfect Halloween costume, so he tries out many hilarious options. This book is perfect for children 3-7 years old.

Deep Sea Diver
This is a costume you can put together at the last minute! Just match the same colored shirt, pants, and hoodie and pop on some swim goggles with a snorkel. Your child can decorate some paper shaped like fish to tape to a dowel rod to carry just like a spear fisher does!
This costume is warm and comfortable, too. The best part of this outfit (and many of the others below) is after Halloween night, your child can re-use the clothes!

Spooky Spider
Your child will fit right in with the Halloween vibe with this cute little spider costume! Just spray paint some pool noodles and tape (or sew) them to the back of a black hoodie. Tape (or glue) some large googly eyes to the hood and match it all up with some black pants. This costume is as festive as it is comfortable. I love how there is no need for face paint or a mask too! And-- once again you can easily remove all of the Halloween parts of this outfit and re-use it in your child's everyday wardrobe!

Jellyfish or Rainy Day
This cute costume can double as two different ideas. Let your child pick if they are a jellyfish or a rainy day! Just pair some blue clothes with a clear umbrella. Decorate the umbrella with curly ribbons and fairy lights taped to the inside. Re-using the umbrella and clothes after Halloween is over is a great way to make this costume worth trying.

House Painter
Does your child like painting and crafts? Then this cute costume is a winner! Pair some plain white overalls with a white T-shirt and get creative with some acrylic craft paint. Spot the paint onto the overalls anyway you like. This is a fun way for your children to get involved in the creation of their costume! Carry a paint roller and they are all set for Halloween fun. Don't throw out the overalls after Halloween. Re-use them every time your child wants to get messy with paints!

Scarecrow
Some denim overalls are paired with a festive orange t-shirt and fall plaid flannel jacket to make this costume. Use some craft hay tucked (or taped) into the brim of a brown bucket hat to complete this cute scarecrow costume. If your child will allow you, you can even paint a small orange triangle onto their nose to complete the look. Extra craft hay can be taped (or glued) to the jacket and overalls to embellish this outfit even more. This costume is warm and comfortable for your child and of course it is completely re-usable after Halloween by removing the craft hay!

Scary Halloween Costumes by Veronica Stanley-Hooper is PERFECT for your child 3-7 years old.
This fun story is full of Halloween fun. Jack is trying to figure out the perfect SCARY Halloween costume but just can't figure out what scary means. Bananas are scary when they get old and Mom says the laundry room is a scary place! This hilarious book is fun, relatable, and sets the right mood for Halloween! Check it out on Amazon , or for a signed copy, you can buy it on my website ! Check back here soon, as I will be posting about fun Halloween themed foods next!

0 Comments

New to Homeschool? Here's What you should be Doing

10/9/2025

0 Comments

This post will help you design your homeschool day to custom fit your lifestyle and your children's educational needs. In a previous post, I detailed some resources that many homeschool parents use to design their curriculum in an affordable manner. In this post, I help you figure out your child's academic level.

Content Standards are generally the same from state to state with slight differences in wording or achievement examples. You can look up your state's specific standards with a quick internet search "your state+subject area content standards+grade." Common Core Standards were originally designed to level the field across the United States by grade level, so that every school would be teaching the same skills to students of the same grade level. Which ever set of standards you look at, you will see general information which you can use to start designing your school day.

Content Standards
All schools start in the same place when developing a curriculum plan for students-- average developmental stages of learning by age/grade set the educational standards for each classroom. Your homeschool does not have to meet content standards because you can assess your children's academic levels and then teach appropriate lessons to achieve growth.

However, I find that knowing the content standards by grade level, can set homeschooling parents minds to rest when they wonder, "Am I doing enough? Are my students learning the same skills as their public school peers?"

Here's the link to the the Common Core Standards Website to begin your search.

HSLDA
The Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is also a great place to start learning more about homeschooling and designing a program that meets the needs of your children.
From their website:
"HSLDA is a non-profit advocacy organization that advocates for homeschooling by protecting homeschooling families and equipping them to provide the best educational experience for their children."
This website is a wonderful resource for almost every question you may ask yourself as a homeschooling parent.

What to Teach
The HSLDA website offers a multi-faceted checklist and survey to help you find your child's academic level and discover where to start your home education journey.
Here's the link to the What to Teach area of the website.

Placement tests - FREE
You can search the internet for free academic placement tests or free grade level placement tests and get a number of great website resources in the results. Two reliable resources are listed below.
I used Math Mammoth curriculum with my children when we homeschooled and they offer free placement tests for grades 1-8.
K-5 Learning offers Math and ELA (English-Language Arts) assessments.

One last thought
If you have chosen to homeschool, you probably have a good feeling about your child's academic level to get started. As your child's teacher, you get to determine where to place your child. Do not let the social constructs of public school determine your child's reading or math level. Some children operate far above their grade level peers and others need more support. Homeschooling is the perfect way to custom design your child's academic days to best suit their needs!

0 Comments

Halloween Themed STEM Lesson-Series Circuit

10/8/2025

0 Comments

My classes loved this activity! I have used it for many grade levels and many reasons. If you have a two column matching worksheet you can make this fun game. I am including two worksheets to download for free below. One is matching colors and the other is matching witch hats for Halloween! Stay tuned for another BLOG post where I teach you how to make a trio of light up pumpkins using the same concept of series circuits!

Materials needed:

Two column matching worksheet
Aluminum foil
Clear gift tape
Hole puncher
3 Double sided Alligator clips or 3 pieces of wire with the ends stripped
1 LED light bulb or one light cut from a holiday string light with the wire ends stripped
1 9volt box battery
1 toilet tissue tube (optional)

The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate a series circuit. Students should understand that a series circuit like a train on a track. The electricity flows along one path like a circle. If the track is broken anywhere the train stops.

Watch the tutorial on YouTube

Step One:
Use the hole puncher to create a hole beside each choice in both columns on your worksheet.

Step Two:
Cut aluminum foil strips as long as needed to connect the holes for the correct pairs - left to right column. One strip for each pair.

Step Three:
Connect the correct answers with foil on the back of the paper.

Step Four:
Fully cover the holes with the foil and tape the foil down to the paper completely covering it with tape. (If the foil is not completely covered with tape the game will not work.)

Step Five:
Clip one alligator clip to the positive side of the 9volt battery and another alligator clip to the negative side of the same battery.

Step Six:
Clip the free end of one of the alligator clips to one end of the light bulb. Clip a third alligator clip to the the free end of the light bulb.

Step Seven:
(Optional) Stuff the free wire from the battery to the light bulb into the toilet tissue tube so the light bulb is dangling out of the tube. Tape the tube to the table so it stays upright.

Download One of the Worksheets Below to Create the Game

Play the Game!
Touch the free end of the alligator on the left to one of the foil answer circles in the left column. Touch the free end of the alligator clip on the right to the matching answer choice foil circle in the right column of your worksheet. If the answers are correct the light will light!

Trouble shooting:
If your light isn't lighting and you know the answer is correct, you may have not taped each strip of foil completely on the back of the paper. Your series circuit isn't complete. Try redoing this step. Re-watch the video below to make sure you have connected all of your wires properly, too. If any of the wires are touching (including the light bulb wires) this will cause the circuit to be incomplete and the light bulb will not light.

REMEMBER- You are completing a circle of electricity from the battery through the light and your answer choices by touching the connected foil circles. If the circle isn't complete, your circuit is not complete.

Watch the Tutorial Video Below

Tell me about your experience with this activity in the comments! Be sure to let me know what you want to see next.

0 Comments

Fall and Halloween Curriculum

10/3/2025

0 Comments

for TK Through Second Grade

Themed curriculum gets kids excited to learn. Why settle for boring lessons this fall when you can take advantage of my FALL CURRICULUM SALE and grab some instant digital download print and play lessons? Let me know if there is something you can't find and I will create the lesson and games for you!

Reading Comprehension Follow-up Activities for
Scary Halloween Costumes
This fun set of four activities can be used stand alone or as a follow-up to reading the book Scary Halloween Costumes. The set includes a word search, a matching game, a prompted drawing activity, and a create your own scarecrow activity. The BEST thing is it is a download and print PDF file, so you can use it with your littles today!
Check it out here.

Three Little Monsters - Reading Comprehension Game and Activity Book
This simple matching game pairs cute monster characters with common objects found at home or school. Depending on your child's reading level, either you or your child reads the one sentence prompt then finds the matching images. Example: "The purple monster is holding orange socks." The companion print/assemble book allows your child to glue the monsters to the appropriate page, then add their own drawings to make the sentence make sense.
Find this set here!

Candy Corn Math Matching Game
This game makes learning addition so much more fun. Children match the addition number sentences with the answers. This set includes the answers for each addition sentence pair that can be glued to the back to make the set self-correcting! The fun candy corn characters make this themed set the perfect addition to your October curriculum.
Find it here!

Green Spider and the -ING
11 common verbs and their present tense companions make up the matching portion of this fun Halloween themed set. The matching fill in the blank book is a perfect follow-up activity to review and write the words learned after playing the game.
Check it out here!

This is a page from the word book.
Children fill in the blank with the best word from the set!

All of these sets and more can be found on my curriculum page! I am having a seasonal sale right now on all of my Halloween themed sets! Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

0 Comments

Fall Fun for children

10/2/2025

0 Comments

Books, Crafts, and Food

Hooray! It's finally October and we enjoy everything fall. Pumpkin spice and everything nice! I have assembled a list of fall crafts, food, and activities below for you and your family to enjoy. Check back here everyday, as I will be posting Fall and Halloween content all month long!

Torn Paper Frankenstein!
You can adjust this craft depending on your child's age and skill level. Younger children will have fun tearing the paper to make the green, black, and red shapes, while older children can use a scissors. Just glue the shapes onto orange craft paper like you see in the photo, add some googly eyes and draw on some details with marker if you like. Super easy and super fun. You can use this idea with white paper on purple or black craft paper to make ghosts too! Kids love this craft and it helps them to develop the hand muscles that are needed for writing later.

Read a fun Halloween book!
This book is written for children aged 3-7 years old. The illustrations are fall themed with lots of leaves, pumpkins, hay, and one scarecrow that comes into play at the end of the story when one of our main characters can't figure out how to be scary at Halloween time. This hilarious story is fun and festive. I like to read books as part of a themed day of fall fun to get kids in the mood or to follow-up a busy day with a way to wind down.
Link to paperback book
Link to hardcover on FLASH sale $20

Mummy Dogs!
This fun food is super easy to make and kids (and adults) eat them up faster than you can say, "Happy Halloween!" Cut thawed puff pastry dough into strips then wrap them around your favorite hot dogs--be sure to leave a small part near the top uncovered. Put two small dots of mustard on the top for eyes. I dip a tooth pick into a small dot of mustard and pick up a few poppy seeds to place on the mustard dots to form the eyes. Bake everything according to the puff pastry directions (usually 400F for 15-20 minutes.) Serve with your favorite sides.

I hope you loved these ideas for fun Halloween themed crafts, activities, and foods. Visit all month long for more ideas! Leave a comment below with your ideas or traditions!

0 Comments

Forward>>

Easy, Inexpensive Halloween Costumes for kids

New to Homeschool? Here's What you should be Doing

Halloween Themed STEM Lesson-Series Circuit

Watch the tutorial on YouTube

Download One of the Worksheets Below to Create the Game

Watch the Tutorial Video Below

Fall and Halloween Curriculum

for TK Through Second Grade

Fall Fun for children

Books, Crafts, and Food

About

Archives

Categories