It's easy to turn an ordinary brown bag into a festive pumpkin with a second grader. All you will need is a paper lunch sack, construction paper, old newspapers, paint, and green yarn. Keep messes to a minimum by covering the work space with newspapers and have the kids use paint smocks. Show the students how to paint the bag orange and then glue on faces cut from black construction paper. Once the bags are dry, the kids can stuff them with newspaper, then tie them shut at the top with green yarn.
Invite your second graders to make Halloween pet rocks. Supply a variety of small, clean rocks in various shapes for the students to select. Show the kids how to paint the rocks to resemble white ghosts, pumpkins, black cats or even green ghouls. Show a few finished rocks to give the kids a better understanding of how the rocks look when painted, or hang pictures of different Halloween decorations for reference. Acrylic paints work well for this project.
It's easy to make ghost lanterns using recycled milk jugs and paint. Cut a 4 inch square section out of the back of the jug, then add a pile of sand and a votive candle. Let the children paint the jugs white and then add eyes and mouths with black paint. Send a baggie of sand and a votive candle home with each student's finished project. For a fun variation, paint the jugs orange for pumpkins or green for ghouls.
Second graders can easily turn ordinary paper plates into ghosts. Punch a hole in the top of white paper plates, then invite the children to add ghost faces with crayons or markers. Paste white streamers across the bottom of the paper plate to give the ghost a "body." Supply a length of string for the kids to tie to their finished ghosts from the window or ceiling to make the room haunted.