October Blog: Imaginations Unleashed

WELCOME!

October is here! The leaves are slowly falling each day and the tops of the trees are shades of crimson and yellow. It's the perfect time to enjoy cooler temperatures, watch the beautiful colors emerge from the baskets of mums and other Fall flowers that stand firmly tall on many front gardens in neighborhoods all across the map, and settle in a cozy chair with a Fall beverage and the aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. The transition of colors in the atmosphere give way to the start of the Halloween season as neighbors prepare their front lawns for Trick or Treaters and bowls filled with candy and other treats.

• Some important dates to note for this month are:

  World Habitat Day, October 2nd

  National Pumpkin Day, October 26th

  Halloween, October 31st

Part 1- Writing - "Spooky and Magical: Writing for the Halloween Season"

Along with the fun of the Halloween season, it is also a time for imaginations to spark and to write seasonal stories with spooky, magical and adventurous themes.

Young children have vivid imaginations so writing a story about a talking pumpkin, or a ghost who is afraid of a haunted house can turn into a fun and interesting outcome! The following prompts and worksheets are here to help your child write by creating their own Halloween stories:

worksheet 1

worksheet 2

worksheet 3

These prompts and worksheets are here to help your child write by creating their own Halloween stories. These stories are a way for your child to break away from the day to day writing and invent a narrative with all the fun, spooky, but not scary, and a bit of mysterious elements we find about this season. From costumes and makeup to food and music, their story begins with how they process this popular holiday tradition.

We all know the story of the Peanuts cartoon character, Charlie Brown and his version of the Great Pumpkin in the pumpkin patch, written by Charles M. Schultz many years ago. I loved watching that video every Halloween while my Mom and Grandma made popcorn and hot chocolate. I wore my costume and enjoyed some of the treats from my goodie basket while keeping up the tradition of this very popular cartoon. I secretly used to think that the pumpkins in the patch would start talking to each other in great anticipation of this Great Pumpkin that Charlie Brown spoke about who was supposed to make an appearance. Giving kids the "spark" to come up with a story idea with witches, black cats, skeletons and ghosts is a once a year treat, no pun intended!

The story is their own and there is no right way to write it! With enough background information, those little minds will be sure to scare the reader in no time!

Part 2 - Education-"Using the Seasons to Teach Science and Storytelling"

What a great season Fall is to learn about Science and Storytelling through hands-on experiments! With so many things changing, it's the perfect time to dive into what's around us and create poems or short stories based on our ability to discover.

Start out by reading a few books on the seasons to give kids the background and some first hand knowledge on what they already know plus some things they don't. Books on leaves changing color is a great start! "Leaf Man," by Lois Ehlert explores the changing colors of leaves; also by the same author is "Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf," explains a maple tree's growth from seed to tree using a child as narrator.

Once you've done the reading, start by applying the STEM principles (Science Technolgy, Engineering, Mathematics) in the learning. Choosing a plant-life study for a hands-on approach is not only fun but helps children learn to record the information by journaling and using data and statistics to conclude their findings and understand the process: Observation of different leaves using magnifying glasses, plastic tweezers, a plastic jar or container to store them and watch them in a controlled environment.

Take a "seasonal" Fall walk in a group or just with a friend collecting leaves, acorns, tree bark, etc and pay attention to the smells and sounds of what Fall is like in your minds eye and use the data collected to write a poem or short story.

These hands-on activities are an enriching process for children, helping them become aware of sensory development, learning new skills and having a curious and inquisitive approach to a life time of learning.

Part 3 - Parenting "Fostering Creativity Through Seasonal Traditions"

Preparing for a seasonal holiday such as Halloween, it is always fun to join together as a family for the inspiration to create and maintain traditions that bring families and friends together for years to come.

When I was a young girl, days before Halloween, my family and I enjoyed carving pumpkins and making scarecrow mini's using a pair of old jeans, a slightly used torn shirt (usually one of my brother' flannels) and a pumpkin head we propped on a chair on the front porch to greet the Trick or Treaters as they rang the bell for their candy.

I enjoyed making those things along with my costume year after year. Together with my Mom's gift of sewing and crafting, we used an assortment of fabrics and materials to create the best costume.

Doing these activities together helped me to maintain that tradition of family life and I was eager to show my children the fun and creativity of working together to inspire them to do these same activities in our family. Having a hand made costume was far more interesting than a store bought one. The time spent together for a few weeks prior to the big event was amusing and gave much anticipatory feelings about how it would look when finished.

Each of these traditions paves the way for lots of room to tell stories and write them down for future generations. Hosting a family story telling night with seasonal snacks like apples and caramel, cider, donuts and cinnamon popcorn can be a great family bonding activity as well.

So often, many people are asked by their children what they did on certain holidays when they were young, or what was their family traditions when celebrating holidays? Being able to share these experiences that can be easily passed down from one generation to another through journaling, short story writing or a photo collage that is preserved in an album or shoebox is rewarding for everyone who will read it. Family traditions encourage bonding and teamwork and is inspiring to others when it creates a lifetime of memories.

Hoping everyone has a safe OCTOBER and a Fun and Happy HALLOWEEN! Boo!

Singing Pumpkins!

*Next blog for November will focus on "Giving thanks and Gratitude"