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Welcome to our “Spooktacular Stories Week” – a collection of days filled with relaxed learning and fun activities all themed to the spooky stories! Perfect for Halloween, late night camp fires, or just plain old spooky fun, this week is perfect for keeping little ones entertained and learning while they enjoy some not-too-scary days devoted to some ghost stories!
For our fourth day, we learned all about Hawaii’s Night Marchers, spirits of ancient warriors walking the islands at night! Read on to check out a fun filled day of learning, reading, crafts, and activities all themed to these ghostly legends!
TYPICAL DAY
All kids are different and you can definitely vary your day with whatever works for you 🙂 Our relaxed & learning fun day kicks off with an introduction to the day’s theme. Then, we move onto videos and themed activities (reading, writing – or story telling – time, crafts, food crafts/snacks, and games or experiments). Feel free to pick and choose whatever works for you 🙂
INTRO
Although the Legend of the Night Marchers has been around for quite some time, it wasn’t until we watched a family movie that we’d heard of it! So, we of course, had to add it to the week and learn more about it!
If they haven’t or aren’t familiar with the Hawaiian Night Marchers, these sites are great introductions with interesting facts, images, and related content! They’re perfect for providing a brief intro for your little ones (or to gather up some knowledge as well!)!
- The Hawaiian Night Marchers by Astonishing Legends
- Friday Night Frights: The Legend of Hawai‘i’s Night Marchers by Honolulu Magazine
WHAT TO WATCH
We find that mixing in a short video themed to our day is a great way to add some learning fun! We try to pick informative videos OR mix in a cartoon favorite (where they don’t even realize they’re learning). Below are some of the videos we picked from for the day:
- The Legend of the Night Marchers by PBS Hawai’i
- Finding Ohana 2021 Film
FOOD CRAFTS / SNACKS
What’s more fun than taking a break and having a simple snack??? Including the snack in your theme of the day! We find that our kiddos are more than happy to eat the snacks they create especially when they can arrange them into fun shapes and scenes!
For our snack of the day, we picked a few Hawaiian snack favorites: macadamia nuts, pineapples, and shaved ice!
READING
It’s no secret that reading is an important part of learning, which is why we pick out a handful of books that are fun and filled with some learning tidbits. For our older ones, we have them fill out some worksheets (or let them create some of their own comics) to describe what they read and/or learned! These are a few we picked from for the day:
- The Night Marchers and Other Oceanian Tales (Cautionary Fables & Fairytales) by Kate Ashwin (Editor), Sloane Leong (Editor)
- Mystery of the Haunted Trail by Janet Lorimer.
WRITING & WRITING PROMPTS
Just like reading, writing is a great way to keep kids learning by both encouraging their creativity and thought process as well as helping them practice their motor skills and penmanship.
If you’ve got a little one, have them trace words related to the theme: GHOST, SPOOKY, STORIES, HAWAII, NIGHT MARCHERS
If you’ve got older children, have them write a sentence or two up to a page or two (depending on their age). Encourage them to be creative AND give reasons for why they made certain choices. This was our writing prompt of the day (and we offered up some examples as well) but definitely pick something your kiddo might be interested in writing about!
- Imagine camping by the beach one night and hearing the conch shell of the Night Marchers. Write a short story about how you try to escape their path!
- Imagine visiting the Hawaiian Islands but having no notion of the Night Marchers. What would be your first reaction if you heard the drum beats and saw the torches? Write a short story about being drawn to what you think is a party!
CREATE & CRAFT
If you’ve got a crafty little one, a simple craft is a great way to keep them interested in the topic. While their creative juices are flowing, you can also chat about what they’ve learned so far or ask them what else they’re excited about learning! Below are some of the crafts we looked at:
- Draw a picture that represents the three tell tale signs of Night Marchers: blowing of a conch shell, flickering torches, and the beating of a drum
- Super Easy Tissue Paper Torch Decoration by Crayons & Spice
- Easy Origami Conch Shell Tutorial: Create Seaside Magic by Nishiegami
STEM & STEAM ACTIVITIES
While crafting and writing get their creativity and imagination flowing, we also like to add in an activity that gets them thinking along the lines of science, technology, engineering, or math! These engaging activities or experiments are a great way to keep them learning!
- Drum Sound Exploration: Experiment with different types of homemade drums to create the most “Night Marchers” sounding drum beat!
- Conch Shell Exploration: Investigate how conch shells work (Why do we ‘hear the ocean’ when holding them to our ears? What happens when we blow into a conch shell?)
THANK YOU
Thank you so much for checking out our ghost story week! If you did enjoy this, please let us know below or follow us on Pinterest. Also, If you’re still looking for more Halloween Learning Fun, check out our other days in our Spooktacular Stories Week, Halloween Week, or Halloween Ideas!
Happy Learning & Happy Halloween!
MORE SPOOKTACULAR FUN:
Trick or Treat: It’s Halloween Week!
15+ Family Friendly Halloween Parties!
