A simply wonderful Halloween!

Halloween is such a fun holiday!  I love the stories and crafts, the costumes and pretend, and the orange, purple, black and green colors.  I LOVE everything pumpkin, not just the delicious foods made with it, but the decorations and the opportunity to study cool non-fiction subjects along with the holiday. I'm not so sure about knocking on doors and taking candy from strangers, but overall, Halloween is pretty cool!

It would be easy to go overboard on this holiday... well... on almost any holiday.  To do too much, to plan too much, to buy too much, to expect too much... and I'm sure that sometimes I do exactly that.  With only a week to go until I close my school, and an interstate move to plan, organize, etc., this year I had to go simple, and I think it was just right.

Ms. Julie and I helped all the children put on their costumes after nap, and served this yummy snack.  Donuts, fake teeth and two chocolate chips - and a glass of milk.  The kiddos loved it, and it was quick and simple. 

 It didn't take long for the teeth to come out, and we had some lovely snarling princesses!

My only other plan for the rest of our party was to take group pictures, and then to make our first leaf pile of the season.  The photos went well, and I handed rakes to a couple of parents who came to the party...

 Ta-da!  Leaf pile.  Fun.  Simple.  The children were all very excited, ran and jumped in the pile, and appeared perfectly content.

Here's what I didn't plan - and thank goodness, because it was pretty special to see the children take charge of their fun.  Princess Elsa went and grabbed a crate, carried it over to the leaf pile, and made herself a diving board!

 She didn't mind sharing it, and without much help from the adults, the kiddos figured out how to share the leaf pile.

 Yes, there was some negotiating with the children that wanted to sit in the pile, none of the jumpers wanted to land on their friends.  Some waited patiently, some asked their friends to move, and I scooted some of them along when they appeared to have taken up residence.  Still, with only one very small leaf pile, 8 of our school friends, plus 4 more siblings, there was nothing but good-natured play.

 My favorite part is that the children spontaneously lined up and took turns!  Yes, there was a little cutting in line, but not much, and the children took care of that too.  I even saw one child go to jump, more or less slip off, and rethink what to do.  I could see she wanted to climb back up on the box and try again, and I don't think anyone would have stopped her.  She paused a moment, as if thinking about it, gave a tiny shrug, and went to the back of the line to wait for another turn.  Don't you wish more adults could act that way?

Yes, we had a pretty super, and wonderfully simple Halloween!