Midnight Fright
Written
by
Kathryn Heling and
Deborah Hembrook
Illustrated by
Hideko Takahashi
(Cartwheel Books, August 2008)
Book Description
Tick, tick, tock, it’s one
o’clock, eleven hours till midnight...
What will happen at midnight? Find out, hour by hour…
Learning how to tell time has never been spookier!
Tick, Tick, Tock,
It’s one o’clock,
Eleven hours till midnight...
What will happen at midnight?
Find out, hour by hour...
Purchase Midnight Fright at Amazon.com >>
MIDNIGHT
FRIGHT
Extension Activities for Educators and Families
ART AND CRAFTS
Bat Hat — cut a black construction paper headband to fit. Draw half circle bat wings and attach to band. Cut out a circle and create a bat face. Attach triangle ears and tape the bat head to the band. Now make bat noises and “fly” around the room — EEEEK!
Spider Webs — put a black piece of construction paper in a box. Drop a marble in a bowl with white paint. Scoop up the paint covered marble and drop it in the box. Now roll the marble around to create a “web” like painting. Repeat the process until the web design is finished. When the web painting is dry, add a furry spider! CREEPY!
Note: add glitter to the paint for extra sparkle.
Skeletons — use white straws, glue and black construction paper to make bony skeletons. Cut the straws in different lengths for the many bones. Look at the skeleton pages in Midnight Fright for some ideas.
Color Exploration — Use red and yellow food coloring or paint to experiment making different shades of Halloween orange. What happens when more yellow is added? What about more red? Now do the same thing using yellow and blue to make slimy green.
PARTY IDEAS
Pin the Tail on the Black Cat — make precut black tails for each player at the party. Write each player’s name on the tails with white crayon. Have a large cat shape drawn on poster board. Blind fold each player and have them tape the tail where they think it should be. A purr-fect game for a party! MEOOOW!
Make a Mummy — have kids work in pairs and cover each other with toilet paper and tape. Now move stiff and slow! SPOOOOOKY!
COOKING/TREATS
Ghost Suckers — cover a sucker with a tissue. Tie the tissue with an orange ribbon and draw eyes with a black marker. For fun, hang them from a tree and watch them “fly” in the breeze. BOO!
Lizard Stew in a Caldron — create a drink with a “green and gooey glow” by mixing together limeade, green gator aide, reconstituted green jello; any green beverage you can think of. Float lime slices if desired and add green grapes for eyeballs. EEEUUU!
MATH ACTIVITIES
Shape-O-Lantern — use basic shapes (circle, triangle, rectangle, square and oval) to make an interesting face on a real or paper pumpkin.
Make a Halloween Clock out of a paper plate. Write the numbers in orange and black on the plate. Cut the “hands” of the clock from orange and black tag board. Use a fastener to attach the hands. Count down the hours until a midnight fright!
Make a Pattern Necklace out of orange and black noodles or beads. You can also make a paper chain pattern and decorate a doorway with it! SCARY and FUN!
READING/LANGUAGE ARTS ACTIVITIES
Guess the Spooky Guest — have Halloween characters (witch, ghost, robot, etc.) written on cards. One player at a time acts out the character and others have to guess. Whoever shouts out the right answer gets the next turn to act out a different Halloween character.
Guess the Halloween/Fall Surprise — have a decorated Halloween box with an opening at the top. Players take turns reaching inside and feeling one object in the box. The player guesses what is in their hand and then pulls it out to see if they are right. Objects could be suckers, toy spiders, pinecones, leaves, gourds, etc.
Make a Halloween Bookmark by stringing beads in fall colors onto long yarn strings. Tie the strings in a knot at the top, or attach them to a ghost or pumpkin cut-out.
