What to watch: Vampirina S1: E24 Hauntleyween /Frankenflower
Where to find it: Disney+ and Disneynow.com
Run time: 25 min (the Halloween-themed portion is only about 12 min)
Best for ages: 4 and up
Why We Recommend Vampirina
Vampirina is a great show to watch all year round but it's especially fun around Halloween. It's about the Hauntley's, a vampire family from Transylvania that is acclimating to their new life in Pennsylvania. My four-year-old daughter Everly loves the different monsters that pop in to visit the Hauntley's "Scare B&B" and the adventures Vamprina gets into with her human friends, Poppy and Bridget. I appreciate its recurring themes that teach kids to be proud of who they are, celebrate their family's traditions, and be open to new ways of doing things.
Here is a guide to help you quickly find the Vampirina Halloween episodes:
S1: E24 Hauntleyween / Frankenflower
S2: 15 Trick or Treaters / Play It Again, Vee
S2: E16 Jumpin' Jack-o-Lanterns / Freeze Our Guest
S3: E5 Double Double Halloween Trouble / The Creepover
Seasons 1 and 2 are available on Disney+ and the Halloween-themed episodes from these seasons are also available for free on disneynow.com. The third season is currently airing on Disney Junior.
We started with Hauntleyween which inspired two fun activities for Everly and me to do together. Since this episode is about a Halloween party that Vamprina's family throws for their monster friends, we decided to do a monster mash dance party. This got us talking more about mummies, which led to our mummy nightlight craft.
Monster Mash Dance Party Spinner Craft
At Vampirina's Halloween party, we see several different kinds of monsters dancing in the background. This got Everly thinking about how monsters might dance differently than humans. So we decided to combine a quick craft with one of our favorite gross motor activities, dancing. First, we had to make our dance party spinner.
Estimated activity time: 10 minutes to create the spinner (dance for as long as you want)
Materials needed:
Dance party printable (see below)
Scissors
Piece of cardboard
Tape
Thumbtack
Safety pin, paper clip, or bobby pin
Eraser
Step 1: Have your child cut out the pentagon and tape it to the box. (Take this opportunity to talk about pentagons and count how many sides it has.)
Step 2: Carefully place the safety pin, paper clip, or bobby pin around the thumbtack. Hold the eraser in one hand on the backside of the cardboard. As you poke the thumbtack through the center of the pentagon and cardboard, insert it into the eraser on the other side. This will not only help keep the spinner in place but it will also prevent the sharp point from sticking out and creating a boo-boo hazard.
Step 3: With the music playing, take turns spinning your spinner and dancing like the monster it lands on.
Bonus: Looking for kid-friendly music that won't drive you crazy? Check out our Halloween Dance Party playlist on Spotify. This playlist was created based on Halloween-themed songs that Everly and I enjoy listening to together. She is a little old for a lot of the kiddie Halloween songs out there so we pulled these together. (While none of these songs are explicit, we recommend you take a look through the list to make sure you are comfortable playing these for your child.)
Mummy Nightlight
Since we had monsters on the brain, we kept the fun going by creating a mummy nightlight.
Estimated activity time: 20+ minutes
Materials needed:
Jar (I used an old jam jar)
Paper towels
Googly eyes
Hot glue gun or super glue
Tape
Electric tealight
Step 1: Glue the eyes to the jar. I did not have any spare googly eyes on hand so I pulled them off of an old craft that Everly did several months ago and was no longer enjoying. (I never recommend letting a child handle a hot glue gun or super glue. This step is for adults.)
Step 2: My Viva paper towels worked perfectly for this as they are more of a fabric-like material and do not have a design on them. If you are using paper towels, you will need to help your child cut them length-wise into 1-inch strips. For smaller jars, you will need about 5-6 strips. For larger jars, you may need up to 10. (You can achieve a similar look by using strips of plain white printer paper or tissue paper.)
Step 3: I found that Everly had an easier time getting the strips on the jar when they were pre-taped. So I recommend putting a piece of tape on each end of every strip.
Step 4: Have your child tape one end of the first paper towel strip to the jar, wrap the strip around the jar, and secure the other end in place. Repeat until your child has achieved his or her desired mummy look but be sure not to cover the eyes.
Step 5: Turn on your electric tealight, place it in the jar, and watch your mummy nightlight glow.
Share the fun you are having with us on Social Media! Tag us @curiouscouchpotatoes when you try any of our activities.
Jeanette's Educational Insights:
Children are naturally drawn to music and movement. It's a great time to throw off inhibitions, both for adults and children! Movement activities allow children to get to know their bodies and how to control them. Some children will naturally get very creative and experiment with many dance moves. Some children will want to “follow a leader." Either way, the goal is to create large motor movements. The outcomes are multiple:
1. Learning how to control muscles
2. Learning to coordinate their body with the rhythm of the music
3. Learning to adjust from fast to slow, up and down, back and forth
4. Creating characters through movement
5. Just having fun and getting their wiggles out!
Learning to coordinate gross motor movements, also contributes later to developing fine motor movements. Additionally, movements that incorporate alternating arms and legs, and learning to cross over the midline of the body, build essential brain development and connections that later support brain activity necessary for reading. So dance away!