Autumn Party ideas for 2nd graders?

susiestar

Roll With It
OK. We have gotten so politically correct or whatever that we have to have an Autumn Party at school. NO JACK-O-LANTERNS.

Does anyone have any cute craft ideas? I can do nothing with anything that looks like a halloween theme.

While I respect others rights to object, this is just usually a fun holiday, in my humble opinion. I wish someone respected my kid's rights.

Maybe if I say we are druid I can have something more traditional and dare I say fun? I brought up scarecrows, nope, can't. Someone objected last year.

My dad used to put Druid, Orthodox, Reformed on the registration papers for school when I was a kid. So I have some basis to try that?? (It was bad, I was in CATHOLIC SCHOOL!!! LOL, now!!)

This just seems to get more and more overdone each year around here. At least at our schools. There is to be no costume of any sort, no treats resembling anything that is Halloweenish, no party activity that resembles Halloween, nothing. And these kids KNOW that it is Halloween. All of them.

Anyway, ladies, got any ideas???

Susie
 

mrscatinthehat

Seussical
Leaves are Autumn but I don't know what you could do with them.

I am trying to think of other things.

I am also trying to figure out with you whose rights are allowed to be tramped on and whose are protected. I think sometimes it goes to far. What happened to freedom of speech. Ah well I will not stand on my soap box but will think of anything else fall like.

Beth
 

blb

New Member
Yup, change schools :hammer:

OMG, this is sooo ridiculous. Goes hand in hand with the latest trend to not allow kids to bring cupcakes to school for birthdays because of obesity issues-- as if ONE cupcake is going to be the ticket.

Sorry, not much help. Teaching the kids to make apple pies maybe?
 

mrscatinthehat

Seussical
You could have them make their own little hay bales. Umm or something with corn cobs. I'm thinking fall harvest theme like with apple cider.

Beth
 

AllStressedOut

New Member
Do you know about orientaltrading.com? They may have some great crafts you can use that aren't Halloween themed. I get emails from them with special offers, here is the code for the most recent one (free standard shipping on your purchase of $60 or more, within the contiguous U.S. Shop any link in this email, or enter key code WC86322)

I use them for craft and goodie bag ideas.

What about cupcake or cookie decorating? You can buy cheap white icing and dye it with food coloring. Cut out leaf shaped cookies with pillsbury sugar cookie ready made dough.

I like to do things that are keepsakes, so our first party of the year is usually a magnet with the kids pictures on it. What if you used that foam paper and had the kids cut out the outline of their hands and made it look like a turkey? The thumb the neck and the fingers the feathers? Be sure to put the date on it so when parents look back at it they know how old their kids were.

Good luck!
 
Bobbing for apples? A taffy pull? A nature walk, collect fall leaves, make a collage?

I was thinking about corn cobs too. Except I thought that maybe the school district had some lodged, and needed to remove them...
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Y'all are B-A-D!! I love you!

Blb, if you will come with me I will teach 25 7yo's to make apple pie. Otherwise, NO No NO. I did things like that with my first kid's classes. Let some other first time mom take on crazy projects like that!!

We have to have some stuff left for the Thanksgiving Celebration. Note: This is NOT a party, it is a Celebration. As per the teacher. Not per anyone else, but I have visions of being asked to teach these kids to pull the giblets out of a turkey!!!

BBK, have you ever pulled taffy? I did it with 16 homeschool kiddoes. ABSOLUTELY NEVER AGAIN. Sorry. It wasn't your fault. It got in their HAIR. Taffy is hard to get out of hair.

by the way, our school is completely peanut free. Instead of having an allergy table, we have to have the entire SCHOOL DISTRICT be peanut free. No pb&j's. My kid ate peanut butter crackers every day last year. Except the days the school had pizza or we had leftover pizza. Serious Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) food issues here. They actually told the kids if they brought peanut anything to school they could KILL ONE OF THEIR FRIENDS!!!! (for thank you this was traumatic. For some of the kids it was a game plan!)

I might do something with apples. That might work. I like Oriental Trading for ideas, but I seem to always have time to cut the stuff out myself.

Bobbing for apples is a "hygeine" issue.

Geez, is anything OK? I am really starting to have problems with this teacher. BIG TIME. And we arenot even into Nov.

Her answer if we don't like things is that we should call the school board and tell them we need another 2nd grade class. Then some of the kids could be transferred out.

It will pass. He is the 3rd kid. I have done my room mom stints. Multiple. (Ya think if I keep saying this I will believe it? Wonder what we do for Christmas? Can I argue for Solstice parties? If we have to include everyone???)

OK. I will stop being ornery. For a few minutes.

Susie
 

muttmeister

Well-Known Member
I have done this at school: Go on a walk and collect fall leaves. Paint them with tempera paint and while they are wet, use them to print with. You can do it on paper, or, have them all bring a T shirt and use fabric paint instead of tempera and print on the shirt. This is a fun thing to do outdoors on a nice day so there is not so much paint clean up. Also, you can cut slices of apples, pumpkins, and gourds and use them to make prints.
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
I was going to suggest what muttmeister said about usine the cut gourds, apples and leaves to paint with.

Also, you could make suncatchers with leaves. The kids all collect leaves of varied colors and place them between two pieces of waxed paper, then add crayon shavings of different colors. Next, YOU, or someone you designate irons the pieces of waxed paper together by placing it on towel covered ironing board and covering it with another towel, then iron (use old towels) together. When it's all melted together, you can use a paper hole puncher and the kids can string yarn through the hole and hang in the windows of their classroom. It's a fun project, does not take long and the kids love thier creations.

Instead of bobbing for apples from a bucket, you can hang them from trees instead and each child is assigned his/her apple. It's a lot of fun and cleaner than using a bucket.

You can have the kids make bird feeders using fallen pine cones (or some you provide) and peanut butter and bird seed and yarn. First they tie a piece of yarn to the top of the pine cone. Then they slather on the peanut butter, roll it seed and hang it from a tree (or you can wrap it in plastic baggies for them to take home).

I'm trying to think of some type of project you could do that would include the story of the Mayflower and the pilgrims, Thanksgiving dinner, meeting the Indians, etc. That would be cool.

Okay, so that's all I have. Too bad kids aren't allowed to just be kids and have fun. I CANNOT believe the school district banned a Halloweenie party. What a bunch of jerks! I'd be at the next school board meeting for sure to voice my opinion. Whose rights are they protecting??
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
How about making real dream catchers with yarn and two sticks?

You just form the sticks into a plus sign and tie them off with the yarn and weave around with the yarn...over and under, going completely around the stick each time. You can attach some feathers or little shells or even beads from someplace like Micheals that you pick up cheap.
 

goldenguru

Active Member
No no Janet~

Dream catchers represent Native American religion. Separation of church and state you know ... (LOL ... sorry couldn't resist)

When my kids were little we would collect fall leaves and press them between contact paper ... and cut into the shape of book marks. Hole punch the top and thread a pretty ribbon through.

Read the story of Johnny Appleseed and then pick apples at a local orchard? Visit a cider press??

Carve pumpkins and bake the seeds (leave out the jack o lantern part).

Make pumpkin pies.
 

SRL

Active Member
I did the autumn leave with crayon shavings with a 3rd grade class some years back and I DON'T recommend it within the time alloted in a class party, especially with kids that young.

A really cute craft is to make a candle holder for a tea light size candle out of a baby food jar. The cheap route is for them to paint on glue and then add cut up pieces of fall colored tissue. The way I've done it is to have them paint on Tacky Glue to the rounded part of the jar with a foam paintbrush, roll in tiny glass beads (fall colored) and then add an orange satin ribbon around the edge. Have them work on a small paper plate which they write their name on and set out to dry overnight. I've done this twice and the kids really like it. Give the teacher the candles and some tissue or bags to wrap them in and take home the next day.

Snacks--Go to the bookstore and look at this month's magazines. They have all sorts of cute ideas for cookies, cupcakes, etc. Martha Stewart has a Halloween mag with one side "good" and the other "wicked". One year a friend and I made caramel apple sundaes using homemade apple pie filling done in a crockpot served over ice cream. It was the only snack she brought and her class loved it and ate it up to the last drop. My co-coordinator insisted we have regular ice cream toppings and the kids were so afraid to try something unfamiliar they all went for that and I served the apple stuff to the teachers the next day. It's a really nice fall treat.

Games--don't ask me, I always delegate.

http://familyfun.go.com/

Our school has gone back and forth between fall and Halloween.

SRL, who has officially resigned from class party coordinator duty!
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dammit Janet</div><div class="ubbcode-body">How about making real dream catchers with yarn and two sticks?

You just form the sticks into a plus sign and tie them off with the yarn and weave around with the yarn...over and under, going completely around the stick each time. You can attach some feathers or little shells or even beads from someplace like Micheals that you pick up cheap.</div></div>

I remember doing that in 5th grade!! When I brought it home, so proud of my artistic creativity, my mother flipped out...she thought it was some kind of satanic symbol!! :smile:

I made them with my kids when they were little - it's a fun project.
 
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