Halloween Trick or Treat Projects for Kids
Use Leftover Halloween Candy to Teach Educational Lessons
Aug 19, 2009
Candy is associated with many holidays throughout the year, but none so much as Halloween. According to The National Confectioners Association, Halloween candy sales top $2 billion each year and 93 percent of children in the United States go trick-or-treating. With so many sugary confections available, parents often fear the volume of Halloween candy received and are left wondering what to do with leftover candy. With planning and a little creativity, parents can put Halloween candy to good use.
Excess candy creates an opportunity to teach children valuable educational lessons, from science experiments to the concepts of donation and saving. When candy is seen as having value, it can become a powerful teaching tool.
Create Educational Halloween Candy Projects for Kids
Halloween presents an opportunity to educate children by complementing their studies through a variety of economic, scientific and craft activities.
Candy can be assigned a monetary value to teach children economic and bartering lessons. Household chores are associated with varying value that children can sign up to do each week. For example, one chocolate can be awarded for vacuuming the living room. Likewise, children can use the candy as an item of trade, giving five pieces of candy for 30 minutes of extra television viewing. A chart showing a list of rewards or trade-in values is allows kids to assess their options and plan for earning or spending their candy.
Science experiments are also engaging activities which teach basic scientific concepts. Fun and interesting science experiments can be performed using a variety of different candies, from creating a Mentos Geyser to understanding the chemical properties of marshmallows.
Craft projects are not only fun but educate children on success and failure, as well as exploring creativity. Projects abound and are a good way to use smaller candies. Hard candies work well in making mosaics that can be shellacked and framed for long-term enjoyment.
Teach Kids to Share – Share or Donate Halloween Candy
Not everyone gets the opportunity to trick-or-treat so Halloween creates the chance to share a child’s privilege with others. Candy can be used as a thank you gift or as a care package.
Brighten someone's day by sharing leftover candy with a police or fire station as a thank you for the hard work these organizations perform. Or, donate candy to a nursing home or local food bank where a small treat can bring smiles to many faces.
Care packages are also a great way to surprise someone and offer a morale boost. Military forces welcome care packages and provide a great place to send harder candies which won’t melt during shipment to warmer climates. Additionally, care packages are a great way to surprise a college student and provide much needed chocolate to assist in late night studying.
Teach Kids to Save – Save Halloween Candy for Future Use
Teaching children to save is also a helpful lesson as it demonstrates how to plan for future events. Halloween candy can be set aside for filling advent calendars in December or to decorate a Christmas gingerbread house. If a birthday or special occasion in occurring in the upcoming months, wrapped candies can be saved to fill a festive piñata.
Although leftover candy may seem like a nuisance, it doesn’t need to be. Halloween candy can be used to teach important bartering, planning and sharing concepts. By following these leftover candy suggestions, Halloween trick-or-treating can be turned into an annual educational lesson. For more lesson plan ideas, A Dozen Candy-Coated Classroom Activities provides classroom exercises that can also be done at home.
Additional Halloween Reading:
Halloween Costume Care and Storage
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