Halloween Math Craft for Kindergarten and First Grade
Looking for a fun Halloween math craft that combines creativity with meaningful math practice? This adorable ghost craft helps kindergarten and first grade students build number sense, explore place value, and represent numbers in different ways!
Students create a friendly ghost holding a pumpkin trick-or-treat basket filled with base-ten blocks. Then they complete a recording page to show what they know about their chosen number. It’s an engaging October math activity that also makes a cute classroom display.
Watch how this Halloween ghost math craft comes together and see how students practice place value!
A Hands-On Halloween Place Value Activity
Learning tens and ones can be challenging when children are just beginning to understand how numbers are composed. This Halloween place value activity gives students a visual way to explore numbers while creating something they can proudly display.
Students begin by choosing a number or working with one assigned by the teacher. They represent it using base-ten blocks inside their pumpkin basket. For example, a student working with 26 would use two tens rods and six ones cubes. The finished craft shows the number visually, while the recording sheet lets students demonstrate their understanding in other ways.
Number Sense Skills Students Will Practice
One of my favorite things about this ghost math craft is that it brings several early math skills into one activity. Depending on the recording page selected, students can practice:
- Number recognition and writing: Identifying and writing a chosen number.
- Place value: Understanding how tens and ones combine.
- Base-ten blocks: Building numbers with tens rods and ones cubes.
- Tally marks: Representing numbers in groups of five.
- Expanded form: Breaking a number into its tens and ones values.
- Number words: Writing numbers in word form.
These skills make the craft useful for kindergarten number sense lessons and first grade place value review.
How to Make the Halloween Ghost Math Craft
1. Choose a Number
Assign each student a number or let students choose their own. Select numbers that match their current math skills.
2. Assemble the Ghost Craft
Students color, cut, and glue the ghost and pumpkin basket pieces together. The pumpkin basket becomes the place to display their base-ten blocks.
3. Build the Number
Have students represent their number with tens rods and ones cubes, connecting the written number to its place value.
4. Complete the Math Recording Page
Students represent their number using the skills on their selected recording page. For example, 26 is two tens and six ones, or 20 + 6 in expanded form. It can also be written as twenty-six or shown with five groups of five tally marks and one additional mark.
5. Display the Finished Crafts
Display the completed ghosts on a classroom bulletin board or hallway wall for a festive math showcase.
Three Recording Page Options for Different Math Skills
Every classroom includes students working at different levels, so this Halloween math craft includes three recording page options. Choose the version that best matches your learning goals. Kindergarten students can focus on number recognition and building numbers, while first graders can extend their learning with tens and ones, tally marks, expanded form, and number words.
Ways to Use This Halloween Math Craft
- Halloween math centers: Let students complete the activity during center rotations.
- Small-group math: Reinforce tens and ones with students who need extra practice.
- Whole-group activity: Model a number together before independent work.
- October math review: Revisit number sense skills already taught.
- Halloween math bulletin board: Display the ghosts under a heading like “No Tricks, Just Place Value!”
Why Combine Math and Crafts?
Hands-on activities help young learners connect abstract math ideas with concrete representations. Building a number with base-ten blocks helps children see how tens and ones work together. Showing the same number with expanded form, tally marks, or number words encourages them to think flexibly about number relationships. Cutting and gluing also provide opportunities to practice fine motor skills and following directions.
Grab This Halloween Math Craft Printable
Ready to bring a little Halloween fun into your math lessons? My Halloween Math Craft: Ghost Place Value and Number Sense Activity includes printable craft templates and three recording page options for kindergarten and first grade. Have fun combining number sense practice and place value review with this adorable October classroom display.
