As a child, the time from the beginning of school until Halloween seems to take…forever! As an adult, the time from the start of school until Halloween seems to pass like a “blink of the eye!” In preparation for Halloween, we’ve created Wikki Stix stick puppet ghosts for our kids to use with a song and storytelling trays.
The 5 Little Ghosts chant/song below is a fun song variation to do with young kids for Halloween! The song/chant reinforces basic counting skills, while allowing the children to develop important literacy skills!
5 Little Ghosts – 5 Little Ghosts in a Haunted House
Print the 5 Little Ghosts chant (linked above) and read it to your children. Ask the children to practice holding up fingers for the numbers of ghosts as the chant is read. In our classroom, we sing the chant. I’ve made a short video just so you’ll get the “tune” to the song. I am not a professional videographer or vocalist, but my preschoolers really don’t mind!:)
Practice the song/chant with your children several times. You’ll be surprised how quickly they catch on. Make a tray with materials to craft the 5 Little Ghost Stick Puppets and invite the children to create 5 ghosts (examples of materials: Wikki Stix, straws, foam cutouts, construction paper, crafts sticks, cake pop sticks, cupcake liner ghosts, etc.)
The children may also wish to create a haunted house, a witch, and/or a mummy for storytelling and retelling as they learn the song/chant.
The haunted house can be made from the template using black/yellow Wikki Stix.
Allow the children to play with all of the created stick puppets to tell and retell the song. Once the children learn the song, they will want to sing it over and over again!
For more FUN with 5 Little Ghosts, please take a moment to check out some great resources below! Our thanks to Kiboomu and Mamasmiles!
5 Little Ghosts Song by Kiboomu – This is another great countdown song for Halloween! “Five Little Ghosts is an easy-to-teach and easy-to-learn action song for young learners.” ~Kiboomu
The hand puppets would be a great craft to accompany both songs! No Sew Ghost Hand Puppet by Mamasmiles
Love the songs and activities. I am a former Kindergarten teacher and now grandmother. Signing with children is the best!