Create simple ghosts crafts out of tissue and craft balls. Wrap a square sheet of tissue or a 12-inch by 12-inch piece of white fabric around a 1-inch diameter craft ball. Gather the tissue under the ball so the ball becomes the ghost's head and wrap a twist-tie around the base. Let the kids decorate their ghosts by drawing or gluing eyes to the front.
Painting is a kid-friendly option to carving and allows the children to decorate their pumpkins themselves. Look for nontoxic paint and small pumpkins for each child. Encourage the children to draw Halloween-related objects; ghosts, spooky faces and bats are simple for them to attempt to draw onto their pumpkin. When the children complete this project, allow the the pumpkins to dry completely before sending them home.
Transform pipe cleaners into spiders by bending and twisting four black and orange pipe cleaners to create spiders. The easiest way to explain this activity to the children is to cross two pipe cleaners and twist in the center to create an “X” shape. Place another pipe cleaner across the center of the “X” and twist, then repeat with the final pipe cleaner. Slide black and orange beads on the pipe cleaners where the legs should bend.
Print out a bat picture from your computer, or find one online. Print it in black and white. Snip the bat wings off and discard; the kids will create bat wings from their hand prints. Trace around each kid's hands on black or orange paper, then help the kids cut their hand prints out. Glue the hand prints to the back of the bat to create bat wings, then let the kids color in the bat picture.
Give each child a white paper plate and two pre-cut triangles and one circle. In addition, give each child one sheet of white tissue paper and tape. Help the children arrange the shapes onto the paper plate – two eyes and one open mouth – with glue. While waiting for the glue to dry, help the children rip or cut the tissue paper into long strips. Flip the plate to the backside when the glue is dry and help the children glue or tape the strips of tissue paper onto the back of the paper plate. The strips will float down, creating a windsock. Punch a hole at the top of the paper plate and string a piece of twine to hang the windsock.