CAUTION! SPOOKY CREATURES CROSSING!! Kinesthetic Halloween and Fall Themed Mazes!
10.07.2014
This delightful Halloween activity is absolutely sure to please young and old alike. We have found children (and adults!) are highly motivated to participate in the task of moving a variety of adorable Halloween “creatures” along the “scary path” to their final destination.
While absorbed in the task of transporting the pumpkin, ghost, spider, and squirrel, children will also have an opportunity to develop the following areas:
- Kinesthetic Awareness - Without the benefit of full view of their own hand, children are challenged to coordinate hand and/or arm movement as they use a magnet to glide Halloween “creatures” along a path. This kinesthetic task requires internal awareness (ex: force, speed, direction) of hand/arm movement.
- Eye-hand coordination - Integrate visual perceptual information with hand movements.
- Visual Scanning - Use vision in a smooth and systematic left to right manner; other subtle eye movements are also expected.
- Bilateral Coordination - The child is expected to use both sides of the body at the same time for different movements.
Materials:
- Pipe Cleaner (Green, Orange, Black, Brown)
- Googly Eyes
- Glue
- Magnet Wand
- Clear Protector Sleeves
- Heavy Paper/Card Stock
- Maze Paths PDFs (found here)
How to Play/Set Up:
1. Print out maze path(s) on cardstock or heavy paper. There are 4 Different Maze Paths:
- Caution! Spider Crossing!
- Speedy Sam the Squirrel
- Caution! Pumpkin Rolling!
- Caution! Ghost Crossing!
2. Place maze into a clear plastic protector sleeve or laminate. This is an important step; it allows for the pipe cleaner creature to glide.
3. Using pipe cleaners create the following Halloween “creatures”: spider, pumpkin, ghost, and squirrel. Detailed directions for assembly are explained below.
4. Once assembled, place the Halloween “creature” on the left starting point of the first maze/”scary path”.
5. Child holds the maze in his/her non-dominant hand. The maze must be held in mid-air parallel to the floor.
6. Hold the magnet wand in the dominant hand.
7. Place the magnet wand on the underside of the maze page; use the wand to make magnetic contact with the “creature”.
8. Child attempts to keep the magnet in contact with the “creature” as he/she slowly directs the “creature” through the “scary path” until it reaches its final destination (end of maze).
9. Repeat steps 4 – 7 for the remaining 3 maze paths on the page.
10. Repeat for each maze path (Spider Crossing, Speedy Sam the Squirrel, Pumpkin Rolling, and Ghost Crossing).
How to Make Halloween “Creatures”
Caution! Spider Crossing!
How to make a pipe cleaner Spider:
- Cut four 1-inch pieces of black pipe cleaner.
- Twist the four pieces together to form the body and eight legs of the spider.
- Add small googly eyes with white glue.
Caution! Ghost Crossing!
How to make a pipe cleaner Ghost:
- Cut a 1-inch piece of white pipe cleaner.
- Bend the white pipe cleaner in half.
- Add small googly eyes with white glue.
Caution! Pumpkin Rolling!
How to make a pipe cleaner Pumpkin:
- Use a 6 &1/2 inch long orange pipe cleaner.
- Bend the pipe cleaner around to form a circle pumpkin shape.
- Twist a small ½ inch green pipe cleaner to the top to create the stem of the pumpkin.
Speedy Sam the Squirrel
How to make a pipe cleaner Squirrel:
- Use a 6 & 1/2 inch long brown pipe cleaner.
- Bend and twist the pipe cleaner to form the tail, body, and head.
- Add googly eyes.
Fall themed Resources can be found here.
Variations:
- Outline maze path with a bright yellow marker
- Use the magnet wand on top of the page
- Adult may hold maze; this eliminates the bilateral challenge
Let’s enjoy the pleasure of some Halloween Kinesthetic Maze fun while giving our children the Tools to Grow!
Kinesthetic Halloween Mazes - Printable Halloween Printable Mazes can be found here.
Related Topics: Bilateral Coordination , Fall/Autumn , Halloween , Hand-Eye Coordination, Kinesthetic Awareness , Visual Perceptual Skills
