Homeschool Halloween Activities That Are Educational & Fun!

Halloween homeschool activities have become a favorite part of our fall routine, even though Halloween was never really my thing until my son got completely obsessed with it.

Over the years, I’ve found that leaning into the excitement with themed lessons, spooky books, and hands-on projects actually makes our homeschool days smoother, and a lot more fun.

Whether we’re reading about bats, sneaking math into pumpkin activities, or using writing prompts with a Halloween twist, these ideas help us stay on track academically while still enjoying the season.

This post pulls together the Halloween-themed lessons, worksheets, and creative activities we’ve used in our homeschool, sorted by subject to make planning easy.

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Halloween Books for Kids

Reading is one of our favorite ways to bring the Halloween spirit into our homeschool. Whether your child loves gentle ghost stories or can handle a scarier tale, there are so many seasonal books that make October feel special.

Here are a few Halloween-themed books we’ve enjoyed, grouped by age level:

These are the best Halloween books for preschool to grade school:

• Big Pumpkin – This picture book has a great rhythm for read-alouds and a fun twist ending. Perfect for grades K–3.
• Little Blue Trucks Halloween – A sweet and simple board book that’s just right for preschoolers who love the Blue Truck series.
• The Halloween Tree – A bit more advanced, this Ray Bradbury classic is beautifully written and works well for grades 3–7. Great for discussing the origins of Halloween.
• A Small Zombie Problem – A quirky, funny chapter book with a bit of spookiness but nothing too intense. Good for 3rd–6th grade.
• The Witches – A classic with a creepy edge, this one’s a favorite for kids who like magical mischief.

These are the best Halloween stories for middle school:

• Roald Dahls Book of Ghost Stories – We got this last year, but my son was too scared to finish it, so we’re trying again this October. It’s best for ages 12+.
• Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark – A collection of eerie, short tales. These are definitely spooky, but perfect for older kids who want just the right amount of chills.

Free Halloween Activities for Preschoolers

Some of our favorite Halloween homeschool activities have been the simplest, especially when my son was in preschool. Themed printables were an easy way to keep him learning while still feeling part of the holiday fun.

Here are a few free preschool Halloween activities we’ve actually used and enjoyed:

• Halloween alphabet printables – These were great for letter recognition, especially with familiar images like pumpkins and bats tied to each letter. We’d often use them as a morning warm-up.
• Fall-themed alphabet worksheets – A nice seasonal option that blends Halloween and autumn vocabulary. They worked well when we wanted something a little less spooky but still festive.
• Halloween dot-to-dot pages – These were a big hit for working on counting and fine motor skills. My son always wanted to guess what the picture would be before connecting the dots.
• Color by number Halloween printables – Perfect for a quiet time activity that still builds number recognition. I’d often pair these with an audiobook or story time to stretch our focus.

These low-prep activities were easy to rotate throughout October and made learning feel like part of the celebration.

Halloween Language Arts Activities

Adding a Halloween twist to our language arts lessons has always been an easy way to keep things fresh, and fun. Whether we’re writing spooky stories or solving word scrambles, these themed activities help build real literacy skills without feeling like typical schoolwork.

Here are a few language arts printables we’ve used over the years:

• Halloween writing prompts – These are perfect for getting creative juices flowing. We like using them as warm-ups before more structured writing.
• “If I Were a Witch” printable – A fun exercise in perspective writing. My son once wrote about turning his teachers into frogs!
• Halloween acrostic poem template – Great for spelling practice and creative thinking. We often write one together and then do our own versions.
• Halloween word scramble – A quick way to review vocabulary and spelling. It becomes a game when there’s a timer involved.
• Spooky Mad Libs – These always lead to laughter. It’s one of the few grammar activities my son asks to do again.
• Halloween word search – Simple, quiet, and perfect for reinforcing seasonal vocabulary.
• Words within words activity – A surprisingly challenging way to stretch those language skills. We compete to see who can find the most!

For even more interactive options, Live Worksheets has some great Halloween-themed games that work well for kids of all ages.

And if you’re looking for everything in one place, check out our full collection of printable Halloween word games for students.

Free Halloween Math Printables

I’m always hunting for fun math worksheets we can use outside of our main curriculum, especially during holiday seasons when attention spans get shorter and enthusiasm gets higher.

With how expensive homeschool programs can be, I’m all for finding free resources that still feel meaningful.

These Halloween math worksheets have been a great way to keep things festive without losing momentum:

We’ve used Halloween counting worksheets for early math practice, they’re simple but effective when you want to squeeze in a little number review.

Halloween graphing worksheets with spooky themes are another fun option; my son loved creating bar graphs based on Halloween candy or costume data.

One of our go-to activities has been the Halloween patterns printable, which helped reinforce sequencing and logic in a playful way.

And for something a bit more challenging, the Halloween word problems from Math-Drills are surprisingly good. I was worried at first when I didn’t see the answers, but they do show up when you print the full set, which saved me from having to solve every problem myself.

These work well for a range of ages, from kindergarten up through middle school, and they’re especially helpful if you need a break from your usual routine but still want to keep math skills sharp.

You can also explore more in our collection of Halloween activities for middle school students.

Halloween Science Activities

October always seems to be the perfect time for spooky science, especially when we’re learning about bats, spiders, and pumpkins.

These Halloween-themed STEM activities have been an easy way to sneak in biology, observation skills, and classification practice while still leaning into the season.

We’ve used the life cycle of a bat printable to explore animal development, and it paired really well with some of our favorite bat books.

The pumpkin life cycle worksheet gave us a hands-on way to talk about plant growth, we even dissected a pumpkin while working through it.

For insect lovers (or kids who just like creepy crawlies), the parts of a spider and spider life cycle worksheets were surprisingly engaging.

We also spent time comparing different types of bats and types of owl species, which turned into a great conversation about nocturnal animals.

If your kids are into bugs and beasts, the types of spiders printable is a fun one to pull out, they might even want to look up a few real ones!

These activities are a great way to keep science going through October while still making it feel seasonal and fresh.

Halloween Art Projects

Art always gives us a break from structured lessons, and Halloween is the perfect excuse to get a little extra creative.

Whether we’re coloring together at the table or working on something more detailed, these simple projects have added a festive touch to our homeschool days.

We’ve had fun designing our own spooky keepsakes with Halloween coloring bookmarks, they make great gifts for friends or easy decorations.

Halloween coloring pages are our go-to on quieter afternoons, especially if we’re listening to an audiobook or winding down from more focused subjects.

And when we want to add a personal touch to the season, color-your-own Halloween cards are a fun way to combine creativity with writing practice.

These projects are low-prep, screen-free, and easy to adapt for different ages, which makes them a win in our house every October.

Halloween History Activities

Learning about the origins of Halloween turned out to be one of the most engaging parts of our October lessons. We used articles from History.com to explore how ancient traditions like Samhain eventually evolved into what we now know as Halloween in the U.S.

It sparked great conversations about how holidays change over time and how different cultures have honored the dead, like All Souls Day, soul cakes, and even how black cats became part of Halloween lore.

One resource we really enjoyed was an interactive Halloween history quiz we found online. After reading together, it was a fun way to test what we remembered and brought in just enough challenge to keep things interesting.

If your kids enjoy maps or timelines, this is a great time to trace how Halloween spread and shifted across countries. You can even compare Halloween traditions to other October celebrations around the world.

Last Updated on 14 July 2025 by Clare Brown