Halloween 2020

I started thinking about how this Halloween is going to be so different than other Halloweens. Trick or treating in my neighborhood is almost nonexistent anyway. It seems it isn't safe anymore like when I was a child. When I was a child, we knew most of our neighbors but I still remember my parents going through my candy. Anything not wrapped was thrown away unless we knew the person well that gave it to us. 

When my children were growing up, they did a little trick or treating in the neighborhood but we didn't have a lot of neighbors so it was quick and painless (from a parent's perspective). Then the local malls started having Trick or Treat in the mall and it was so nice to see all the children in the mall stopping at each store for candy. It didn't matter what the weather was like because it was all inside. 

Over the past few years, our city has closed off our Main St. and how they have a "Trunk or Treat" which means the children walk up and down Main St. to stop at all the stores for candy. There is no traffic on the street and lots of people show up. It was fun to see friends and neighbors that you never have time to visit with during the rest of the year. 

This year I expect it will be somewhat different. I think our city is doing the Trunk or Treat again but everyone will be wearing masks. I know some places plan on having a table out with the candy on it so children can pick up their own candy instead of someone placing in their bags. This helps people keep social distancing in place. It will be hard to hold long conversations with friends because let's face it, it is hard to hear and understand people easily while they have their masks on. Elderly people who look forward to this day because it brings visitors and short conversations with others, won't give out candy because it is too risky for them. 

I see having conversations with young people about how we used to do it in the "olden" days. 

Yet, overall, it may be a good thing. Halloween has become way too commercialized with the price of costumes and candy increasing. 

Maybe now, it is a good time to think about decorating your classroom instead of focusing on candy. Have a neighborhood contest for the best decorated scary classroom. Have a separate winner for each grade level. Have students vote on the best decoration for each grade (great practice and lead up to the discussion on voting.) The winner of the contest is announced on Halloween.  Maybe have some kind of prize for each student in each winning class. 

What is something fun you can do in the classroom for Halloween? Please share. 

Photo by Bekir Dönmez on Unsplash