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halloween tricks and treats (& boo at the zoo giveaway!)

home / Activities / holidays / halloween tricks and treats (& boo at the zoo giveaway!)
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Not being a fan of scary movies–or being startled, scared, or frightened–in the least bit, Halloween is not at all one of my favorite holidays.

Rather than focus on the creepy, I try to keep things on the cute, sweet, and tricky side over here. So when the good folks at the National Zoo asked if I wanted to offer my readers a family four-pack of tickets to Boo at the Zoo this Friday, I thought it would be right up my alley.

And this giveaway would also give me a chance to solicit some great snack, craft, and game ideas for my new job as a Halloween Party Planner for Maddy’s 1st grade class. I’ve got a fab parent Co-Room Parenting with me, so we’re sure this party will go down as one of the coolest ever, but we’re new at this, so we can sure use some help.

So here are just two ways we ring in Halloween over here, one not-at-all spooky decoration treat and one pretty funny trick:

  • Halloween Not-So-Spooky Ghosts: Our Halloween Ghost decorations are so simple and are so, so cute.

We had medium-sized styrofoam balls that we stuck into gardening sticks we broke in half. We cut an old, old sheet into squares, covered the styrofoam lollipop, and tied a string under the ball as a ghost sheet.

our not-so-spooky Halloween ghosts

Then we drew on eyes and a ghost mouth, and we were finished! The ghosts line our ‘needs-to-be-weeded’ front garden and greet us as we come and go.

  • Halloween Googly-Eye Trick: Googly-eyes always make us laugh over here, so around this time of year, usually the last 10-15 days leading up to Halloween, I get googly-eye crazy.

Just for fun, I put googly eyes in funny, secret spots each day and see who will be the first to find them and giggle.

One day the eyes might show up in the ‘O’ on a placemat. . .


. . . or they might end up on somebody’s breakfast spoon.

I really thought myself waaaay clever when they landed on our pencil sharpener, but the most laughs came on the day that the googly eyes were on the bathroom counter door.

They’re so inexpensive, they stick with the teeniest dot of glue, and they pop off and on like nothing. Happy googly-eye spotting!

GIVEAWAY: 4 tickets to Boo at the Zoo!

Do you want to head over to the National Zoo this Friday night, 10/22/10, for a fun family night at Boo at the Zoo? (Tickets are $30 each, and Saturday is already sold out!)

  • All you need to do is leave a comment here with a suggestion for a fun, not-so-spooky treat, game, or craft that might work for a 1st grade Halloween Party. We don’t have a lot of time or money, so keep that in mind! (And please leave your email address so I can reach you!)

This contest is quick! For planning purposes, this contest will close at midnight on Wed., 10/20/10. Winner will be notified and will pick up the tickets at the gate on 10/22.

(And even if you aren’t local to the DC Metro area and can’t use the tickets for Boo at the Zoo, I’d sure love to read any of your Halloween Party ideas! Thank you, thank you!)

Many thanks for your ideas, friends, and many, many thanks to the great people at the National Zoo for giving a teach mama reader the 4 tickets to this event. This is an unsponsored post, but we love the National Zoo so much, we’re happy to share our zoo love with others.

Thanks for subscribing to teachmama! Have a good one!

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About amy mascott

teacher, mother, dreamer. lover of literacy, fun learning, good food, and three crazy-cool kids. finder of four-leaf clovers | dc metro ยท http://about.me/amymascott
tweet with me: @teachmama

Previous Post:new for us friday: homemade dog treats!
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Quick! Thereโ€™s still time to see if your area is registered to participate in this yearโ€™s National Civics Bee! #ad

Click the link in my bio to learn more and to grab a TON of free resources for families and educators. 

This yearโ€™s registration deadline is approaching, but you still have time! 

What better way to get students to engage in civics and contribute to their communities? 

https://teachmama.com/bring-the-national-civics-bee-to-your-community/

#CivicsBuzz #strongcommunities #middleschool #civicsbee #teachersofIG
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Have you heard of The National Civics Bee? #ad 

The National Civics Bee is an initiative aimed at encouraging more young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities. 

Organized in partnership with The Civic Trust of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the competition in your community will inspire middle schoolers to become better informed about American democracy, to engage respectfully and constructively in the community, and to build greater trust in others and institutions. 

Learn how to bring The National Civics Bee to YOUR community now: https://teachmama.com/bring-the-national-civics-bee-to-your-community/

Iโ€™m thrilled to have partnered with @mom_select and @civicsbuzz for this exciting campaign! โ™ฅ๏ธ๐Ÿค๐Ÿ’™

#CivicsBuzz #middleschoolers #teachersofIG #communitypartners
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(Itโ€™s what Rusty the ๐ŸฆŠ is currently reading.) 

Find it at your favorite bookstore or order here: https://amzn.to/3Pu3tWs

(This is my affiliate link, so when you use it, I will earn a small percentage of the sale, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using my link and supporting my small business!)

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Lately when I find four leaf clovers, Iโ€™ve been leaving them. ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿคท๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ

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View
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Okayโ€”how do we know if someone has dyslexia? 

Which professionas are able to make that important determination? 

โ–ถ๏ธ Watch to find out. 

Hit me with the questions you still have about dyslexiaโ€”and know we have a few more posts to go!

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #teachreading #readingteachersofig
View
Open
What are some of the common signs of dyslexia?

Watch to learn and find out!

#demystifyingdyslexia #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading #dyslexia
View
Open
True โœ… or false โŒ?

#demystifyingdyslexia #dyslexiaeducation #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading
View
Open
What do you know about dyslexia? 

What questions do you have about dyslexia? 

For the next few weeks leading up to my own start to the school year I am sharing a new series called โ€œDe-Mystifying Dyslexiaโ€ and I would love for you to join me! 

Follow in my stories or on the highlight above!

#dyslexia #teading  #readingteacher #raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia

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