• Fingerplays are one way to help kids to celebrate Halloween.Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  Fingerplay games, often taught to younger children, include simple rhymes or songs that employ the use of the fingers. Holidays, such as Halloween, present occasions in which the incorporation of fingerplays helps to underscore the occasion. These plays help students to learn about music and culture while developing their fine motor skills. Introduce young students to multiple fingerplays during the Halloween season to help them get into a celebratory mood.
  
  

Five Little Skeletons

• Incorporate skeletons in a fingerplay. Have the class show five fingers at the beginning of the poem. As the skeletons dwindle down, the children will show the number of skeletons for each verse on their fingers. Or select five students to act out the parts of each skeleton. The children will have fun yelling "Boo!" at the end of the fingerplay. The lyrics are as follows: "Five little skeletons dancing in the door. One tripped and fell, and now there's only four. Four little skeletons happy as can be. One fell apart, and now there's only three. Three little skeletons stirring up some brew. One fell in, and now there's only two. Two little skeletons looking for some fun. One got lost, and now there's only one. One little skeleton, nothing left to do. It's Halloween, and he's coming for you. Boo!"
  
  

Five Little Pumpkins

• If you don't want to use a scary figure for a fingerplay, choose the poem "Five Little Pumpkins." Teach the children to use their hands to show movements of the pumpkins. For instance, they hold their hands down flat for "sitting on the floor." They perform a climbing motion for the second verse and a rolling motion for the third verse. Demonstrate a fanning motion for "got too hot." At the end of the song, everyone creates his own hand motion for "Happy Halloween." This fingerplay has the following lyrics: "Five little pumpkins sitting on the floor. One went to hide, and now there's only four. Four little pumpkins leaning on a tree. One climbed up, and now there's only three. Three little pumpkins, don't know what to do. One rolled away, and now there's only two. Two little pumpkins sitting in the sun. One got too hot, and now there's only one. One little pumpkin pretty orange and green. He's here to say, 'Happy Halloween!' "
  
  

Where is Pumpkin?

• This fingerplay is set to the tune of "Where is Thumbkin" and incorporates multiple Halloween characters. Have the students hold up one thumb as they sing, "Where is pumpkin?" and the other thumb as they sing "Here I am." Alternate thumbs as you sing the parts, "How are you today sir. Very fine, I thank you. Run and hide. Run and hide." For the index finger, sing, "Where is scarecrow?" followed by the same lyrics for the rest of the verse. Sing, "Where is ghost," for the middle finger. For the third finger, sing, "Where is witch?" and sing "Where is black cat?" for the pinky finger. Divide the class into two groups and have students sing a call-and-response as they perform the fingerplay. One side sings a section of the verse, followed by the other side singing the next section and so on.