Plymouth Childcare Center Provides Halloween Alternatives to Trick or Treating
At the age of 3, there’s still a lot that kids have to learn about the world.
But 3-year-olds at Little Newtons Early Education Center in Plymouth were definitely old enough to know about Halloween.
In fact, some of the children in a class visited by CCX News already had their costumes picked out.
“A witch,” said one girl.
“A dragon,” said another girl.
“I’m going to be T-Rex,” said one boy.
Yet whether those kids will actually go trick or treating in those costumes is another question altogether. The CDC is advising against collecting candy door-to-door this year amidst the pandemic.
“I think it’s gonna be up to the parents. The families know what they’re comfortable with,” said Krissy Finco, COO of Little Newtons Early Education Center. “So you’ll probably see some parents who do trick or treating with their children maybe just in their own neighborhoods because of their friends and things like that. And there’s gonna be some families who will choose not to.”
For the families who choose not to go door-to-door collecting candy, Finco says there are still things parents can do to keep their kids entertained.
For example, families can do fun activities with the fall leaves in their back yards.
“Whether it’s making leaf people and they can put googly eyes, or arms and legs,” Finco said. “They can paint with leaves, the different texture, things like that. So a very cheap, easy, grab from your back yard and be able to bring nature in.”
Arts & Craft activities involving fall leaves are one way to keep kids entertained on Halloween instead of trick-or-treating.
If the children are dying to get outside with their costumes, another suggestion is Halloween bingo in their neighborhoods.
“I can tell you in my neighborhood, there’s a lot more decorations than I think I’ve seen in the past,” Finco said. “So when you’re taking a walk, the children can X off some of the decorations they’ve seen.”
Other ideas include scavenger hunts in your home or yard using glow-in-the-dark items, or making Halloween-themed slime for children to play with.
Whatever option families choose, the bottom line is that there are fun and safe alternatives for kids in this unusual year.
“I think with having different options like this to be able to give them so they still can feel like they’re celebrating Halloween, it’s just in a different way,” Finco said. “And then hopefully next year we can kind of get back to normal.”
