In just a couple of weeks, people in many parts of the world will be celebrating Halloween. Even in Australia, where the festival has only recently begun to take hold, merchandise now fills our (mainly discount) stores, and children look forward to a night of fun, knocking on doors and collecting treats from family and friends.
The festival dates back two thousand years to its origins in what is now Ireland, England and France. Irish immigrants took the festival to America in the 1800s. Halloween arrived in Australia with immigrants and through its portrayal in movies and on television. Always looking for an excuse to party, Australians are ready to join in.
Originally, the festival celebrated the end of summer harvests and marked the beginning of the long dark northern winters. The festivities have evolved over the centuries with changes to focus and traditions.
I have always thought that adding a bit of fun to the school day helps the learning go down. If the children are going to be distracted by thoughts of their Halloween costumes and what booty they might score in an evening of trick or treating, why not harness those distractions and channel them into learning?
To combine fun with learning, this week I have uploaded three new interactive Halloween themed maths resources for use on the interactive whiteboard. The resources help to develop number concepts up to ten and are available to subscribers. As do other readilearn resources, they acknowledge that it is the richness of discussion occurring between teacher and children that helps to consolidate children’s learning.
Continue reading: readilearn: Engaging mathematics learning with Halloween themed resources
Norah Colvin 
Wonderful, Norah!
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Thank you, Jennie. 🙂
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You’re welcome, Norah! 😀
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I didn’t really know the origins of Halloween and I’m Irish. Interesting that Australia has taken on the holiday. Great resources for early childhood teachers. Halloween isn’t the same as when I was a child. We had costume parades around the school, lots of treats, and we went trick-or-treating with a group of friends — no parents.
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I found the origins interesting, Patricia. I also find it interesting that many Australians are anti-Halloween ‘because it’s American’ or ‘because it’s not Australian’ or for whatever reason. The history shows it wasn’t originally American but probably arrived here from there via the media, if it hadn’t already with English and Irish immigrants. Christmas, Easter and so many others aren’t ‘Australian’ either. Traditions do change over the years and from continent to continent. It’s fascinating.
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RT, Norah. This is great.
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Thanks so much, Jacqui. ❤
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Such great resources for early childhood! I’ve always enjoyed adding in a little bit of this idea as well.
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Thank you. I’m delighted you like them. 🙂
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