7 Fun October Activities You NEED in Your Primary Classroom

October Activities are my favorite activities! Ahhhhhhh! Fall is a lovely season here in Indiana. This is a great time of year for being a teacher as well. The kiddos are finally into the routine (hopefully), your teacher stamina is built up, and things are humming along. Not to mention you can get out all of your cute jeans and sweaters!

I have a few October Activities to help your October be even better! And yes, there are freebies as well!

So, without further ado…

october activities cover with surprised little girllittle girl

7 Fun October Activities You NEED in Your Primary Classroom

  1. Pumpkin Math
  2. October Reading Logs and Challenges
  3. Zombie Math Game
  4. Halloween Cootie Catchers
  5. Pattern Blocks
  6. Monster Menu
  7. October Mini-Missions – Cooperative Learning – SEL

October Activities #1: Pumpkin Math!

This is a favorite in my classroom! Each year around Halloween time (sometimes we do this fun Pumpkin-themed activity before our Halloween Party. The parents are already there to volunteer, they just stick around to party!) We do a TON of fun math activities with pumpkins. I did a blog post with all of the particulars, and there is a freebie involved.

Don’t forget to take a ton of pictures so you can use them later in your writing center for picture prompts!

Fun Activity #2: October Reading Challenges!

We all know that in order for our kiddywinks to become better readers they need to READ! I love to give my kiddos monthly reading challenges to encourage them to read more! These super fun reading challenges challenge your students to “read outside the box”. They have certain types of reading they need to do that include non-fiction, poetry, recipes, biographies, etc… It helps them to discover new reading material that they may not have discovered before! When they complete the challenge I hang their sheet in the hallway to show it off. We also do a class clap or cheer to cheer on those that choose to complete the challenge! These also include more traditional reading logs and reading responses. It also contains some non-traditional reading logs that can be used for at-home or in-class reading logs!

october activities october reading challenges and reading logs image of child reading surrounded by multi colored books

Activity #3: ZOMBIE Math Game

Oh, good gravy is this a favorite in my classroom! This is a “bang” type game. I put all the cards in a paper bag and then we sit in a circle. The first student pulls out a card. They give the answer for the math fact. If they get it correct, they keep the card. If they get it wrong, they put it back. They pass the bag to the next student. If a student pulls a ZOMBIE, they lose their cards and their turn! Whoever has the most cards when the game is over is the winner.

I usually have 3-4 sets of this game at a time so that the kiddos can play in smaller groups. The whole class CAN play, but I find that sometimes the wait for their turn can be a little long. I have the doubles addition ZOMBIE in my store for FREE! I also have a basic addition fact version in my store as well!

october activities zombie math game zombie boy

October Activities #4: Halloween Cootie Catchers

Do your students LOVE cootie catchers (fortune tellers) as much as mine do? Every year I have one or 2 students who are expert cootie catcher makers. I take full advantage and have those students help me teach the others how to fold one! It comes in really handy because I have a ton of hands-on writing prompt cootie catchers that my students BEG to do! For a non-edible Halloween treat I give each of them a Halloween Themed cootie catcher each year (freebie)! They love to tell each other “spooky” stories using their cootie catchers!

They also come with themed writing paper with picture boxes so that the students can write down their stories to share. They love this activity! I like to add it to my writing center as well!

Activity #5: Pattern Block Mats!

I love using Pattern Blocks in my classroom! They are my favorite math manipulative! If the kiddos get them out, I am always down on the floor with them. My students love using them to create their own fun patterns, but they also enjoy doing pattern block pictures! These super fun October Activities Halloween Pattern Block Mats have a picture that the students create on their own (they don’t put the blocks on the picture, they have to recreate it).

october activites pattern block mats for october

Then, the challenge is to try to make the same picture using MORE blocks, and again with fewer blocks! They love the challenge of it. I find that these work best with groups of 2-3. They are perfect for your math center time, morning work tubs, or fast finishers.

Fun October Activity #6: Monster Menu!

I love using poetry in my classroom, and this one is a favorite every year. It is called If A Giant Monster. It is a poem about what you should feed different monsters should you meet them! We read the poem all week (helps us to build our reading fluency), then we create our own Monster Menus! Every year my kiddos go nuts for this activity! Before we start we talk about menus, what we think monsters might eat, and what currency monsters might pay with! We even make up our own monster money symbol! Here is where you can find this scary fun freebie!

october activities monster menu writing activity scary apples

Activity #7: October Cooperative Learning Mini-Missions!

Halloween is coming! You need October activities to get your students out of their seats and moving around, but they need to still be learning right? These super quick, fun, October Cooperative Learning Mini-Missions can help! Perfect for team building and Social and Emotional Learning as your students have a “mission” to complete, but they need help from their classmates.

October activities October mini-missions cooperative learning activities SEL

We do a lot of front loading about how to ask each other for help politely and work together to complete the missions! These are perfect for morning work, right after lunch, before or after a special class, or anytime your students need a few minutes to get out of their seats to move around and talk to each other (but with a purpose). These also include fun witch or wizard hat crafts, and a magic wand craft! Words can’t do this fun little product justice! 🙂

Phew! I hope that you found some October activities that you liked! Don’t forget to grab your freebies. Pin for later if you don’t have time now!

october activities pin with surprised little girl

Thanks so much for stopping by! If you learned something new or found an activity that you liked, please subscribe to my newsletter to stay up to date on all things Primary Planet! Plus if you sign up below you get access to my Free Resource Library! Happy Teaching!

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