Left-Right Games for Halloween

Left-Right Pass the Pumpkin

• Create a Halloween story of your own that repeatedly uses the words 'left' and 'right,' or use the story listed in the Resources section. Have the children sit in a circle and give one of them a hollowed out jack o' lantern filled with candies. Read the story and have him pass the pumpkin to the child on his left or right as soon as either word is read. Continue in the same way as the story progresses, allowing whoever is holding the pumpkin to take out a candy. The person left holding the jack o' lantern at the end claims the remaining candy.

Left-Right in the Dark

• Have the children pair off into two's. Give one child from each pair a blindfold and the other a flashlight. Let each pair have a trial turn before playing the game for real. Choose a destination point in the room, such as an armchair or the sofa, and have the person with the flashlight guide her partner to it by telling her to go left, right, take six steps forward and so on. Write destinations around the play area on slips of paper and have each pair take one from a hat. Now turn off the lights, put on some spooky music, and have everyone play the game for real at the same time. The first pair to reach their destination wins a Halloween candy. This game can also be played outside in a dark yard.

Pin the Body Parts on the Skeleton

• Draw a simple skeleton on legal sized paper or find one online and print it out. Cut out the body parts, such as the left leg, right leg, left arm, right arm and head. Glue the remaining torso to a sheet of posterboard and hang it on the wall. Prepare another game board in the same way so that two teams can play. Divide the children into teams of five or six. Blindfold the first player from each team and spin him around. Have the other members of his team direct him to the board by telling him to turn right or left, go forward and so on, and then direct him to position his piece correctly when he reaches the board. The first team to complete their skeleton wins. The pieces are unlikely to be in the correct positions, which makes the game humorous for all involved.

Spooky Gift Swap

• Have everyone bring a spooky gift to exchange. Sit the children in a circle while you read out a left-right Halloween story -- find one online, or write one yourself. Every time the word 'left' or 'right' is read, the players pass their gifts in the appropriate direction. At the end of the story, all the players keep the gift they are holding.