It's Playtime: This is Halloween!

I'll admit it, Halloween is my favorite day of the year.  I love dressing-up, I love Candy, and I love all things spooky that go bump in the night.  This week It's Playtime features my favorite Halloween activities from the past week so read on....IF YOU DARE!

Who doesn't want to serve up these Cheesy Witchy Fingers! from Mud Pies and Marmalade at their next Halloween party?  Once I checked out the recipe I realized how easy they are to make.  I bet they would be great served with some "bloody" pizza dipping sauce!

These adorable Tissue Paper Mummies from happy hooligans double as finger puppets.  What's better is they are so simple, your little one won't have any trouble putting them together.  

Make, do & friend put together this cute jack o' lantern sensory bag made with red lentils, foam shapes, and....well check out their site to find out more!

Develop some fine motor skills and sharpen creativity with these Styrofoam Monster Sculptures from The Chocolate Muffin Tree.  

Don't forget to include music and rhymes into your child's playtime!  Playing with words 365 posted these 10 Fall & Halloween Songs & Fingerplays for inspiration.  

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button."  

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEYKQj4S7oHoLKfsA3PoeXgaNMJ5dxkdUxIphbmwXOlbFg78Gwl73-rT8AdMTgmqYmIJZrkJRYOqOEItkCbR_exui4YhZqLlwZaBHXhC5slGyqPScnxvq-zrQezw9-MdIUiecgW3fxKg/s1600/featured-messykids.jpg" width="150/" /></a>

Now, on to this weeks play date! 

It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)
* Anna : The Imagination Tree
* Rachel : Quirky Momma
* Jamie : hands on : as we grow
* Jenny : Let the Children Play

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.

* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWLA7lm_Fqc/TaNHGpGSuVI/AAAAAAAAEX0/DGSvqIT7fyU/s320/RED-itplaytime.jpg" width="150" /></a>

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.

It's Playtime: Monstrous Fun

Halloween is my favorite time of year, so for the next few weeks, I plan to feature all sorts of Halloween-type activities.  This week, I begin with monsters.  For kids, monsters can be scary creatures, hiding under beds and in closets. But as parents and teachers, it's our job to take the scary away and make monsters fun.  The following posts capture the spirit and fun that monsters can be.

Sense of Wonder created some Monster Madness in their house with several monster themed activities, including magnetic monster creations and wiggly-eyed goo.  

Who says you can't play with your food?  These adorable Noodle Monsters! from playdrmom are created from rice noodles and colored glue.  Rice noodles are cheap and great for exploratory play, and it seems, make fantastic little monsters!  

More Monster Madness! can be found over at Creative Connections for Kids where kids can create their own monsters from paper plates and/or construction paper.  

If you don't want to play with noodles, then my own co-hostess from hands on: as we grow has a fantastic alternative: Yarn Monsters!  These cute creations can decorate your home as well as provide some artistic fun for your little one.  

And don't forget to check out these fabulous monster related books!

Go Away Big, Green Monster! by Ed Emberley  

If Your a Monster and You Know It by Rebecca Emberley

Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Anne Miranda

Bye-Bye, Big Bad Bullybug! by Ed Emberley

The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone

Do you have more monstrous ideas?  Join our linky!  

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button." 

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEYKQj4S7oHoLKfsA3PoeXgaNMJ5dxkdUxIphbmwXOlbFg78Gwl73-rT8AdMTgmqYmIJZrkJRYOqOEItkCbR_exui4YhZqLlwZaBHXhC5slGyqPScnxvq-zrQezw9-MdIUiecgW3fxKg/s1600/featured-messykids.jpg" width="150/" /></a>

Now, on to this weeks play date! 

It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)
* Anna : The Imagination Tree
* Rachel : Quirky Momma
* Jamie : hands on : as we grow
* Jenny : Let the Children Play

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.

* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWLA7lm_Fqc/TaNHGpGSuVI/AAAAAAAAEX0/DGSvqIT7fyU/s320/RED-itplaytime.jpg" width="150" /></a>

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.

It's Playtime: Let's Get Silly!

This week on It's Playtime, I celebrate silliness!  Parents and teachers, admit it, some days we just want to scream!  It's those days you need to pull out fun ideas that will give you and your child (or classroom) a good laugh.  Sometimes only laughter can turn those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days around in an instant.      

What could possibly be more fun then googly eyes?  How about Magazine Googly Eye Faces?  Play Create Explore took a bag of assorted googly eyes and simply laid them on the faces in a magazine.  The picture above is what inspired my post today; you can't get much sillier!    

Beyond a hat, did you ever think newspaper could be silly?  Having Fun at Home found several ways to have Fun With Newspaper Inserts, including a newspaper shower!

Over at Mess for Less, little ones created their own silly version of Monsters vs. Aliens with some straws, feathers, and of course, googly eyes.  Creative, fun, and silly; my favorite combination!  

Need an instant giggle?  Check out Tiny Reader's Our Little Musicians.    

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button."

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEYKQj4S7oHoLKfsA3PoeXgaNMJ5dxkdUxIphbmwXOlbFg78Gwl73-rT8AdMTgmqYmIJZrkJRYOqOEItkCbR_exui4YhZqLlwZaBHXhC5slGyqPScnxvq-zrQezw9-MdIUiecgW3fxKg/s1600/featured-messykids.jpg" width="150/" /></a>

Now, on to this weeks play date! 

It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)
* Anna : The Imagination Tree
* Rachel : Quirky Momma
* Jamie : hands on : as we grow
* Jenny : Let the Children Play

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.
* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWLA7lm_Fqc/TaNHGpGSuVI/AAAAAAAAEX0/DGSvqIT7fyU/s320/RED-itplaytime.jpg" width="150" /></a>

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.