I want to thank the Frenzied SLPs and Doyle Speech Works for hosting this linky party. Halloween in the preschool classes, I work in, means a week or two of bats. It also means I get to bust out one of my best and favourite circle activities (I’m in the classrooms 100% of the time). During circle time, I’m always introducing or reviewing different vocabulary. During bat week, my “word” is upside down. It’s kind of a strange concept to teach but it is a concept that comes up throughout the school year and hey it’s important to expand children’s vocabulary.
Now not all of the children will want to go upside down. I give them the option of making the bat go upside down. It always amazes me how quickly children will learn and use this phrase. For some children it has been the best communication temptation ever. As a carryover activity the children make a craft where they put the bat upside down. An example of one of the crafts I’ve done is below.
WARNING: Be careful when doing this activity as there is a chance that the children might fall and hurt themselves. Also, some children cannot be flipped over. Make sure you go over who can and cannot go upside down. Children who have shunts or have Down Syndrome should definitely not go upside down. Those children get to make the bat go upside down. Also, this can be very hard on your back. If you have back problems, I wouldn’t recommend doing this activity. I do it with 2-4 year olds so usually they are fairly light. I will also lift the heavier children towards the beginning of the activity. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
