A Halloween Word Search for kids is a great way to reinforce some vocabulary words in a fun way.
It can be an activity for kids that is done at home or at school, either way, kids will enjoy searching for words.
This worksheet should be fairly easy for kids to complete. All of the words run horizontal and none of the words run backward.
However, since many of the words are six letters or more, it will be a fun challenge for early readers.
Jump to:
- How do You Teach a Child to do a Word Search?
- Halloween Parties at School
- Get Crafty This Halloween with Easy DIY Ideas
- Fun Halloween Food for Kids
- Equipment Needed / Helpful Tools for Printables
- Creative Ways to Use This Printable
- Download the Printable Halloween Word Search for Kids
- Printable FAQs
- Additional Halloween Printables
How do You Teach a Child to do a Word Search?
Word search puzzles can help improve working memory, which can in turn affect a child’s learning and achievement. So, it’s important to make sure they know how to do a word search.
Some tips for solving a word search include scanning the grid, looking for lesser-used letters (B, V, K, Q, J, X, and Z), and paying attention to empty spaces.
Some kids can have a difficult time scanning the grid, so you can suggest that they use a ruler under each line so they can focus on looking for words in just one line at a time. They can also use their finger, a pen/pencil or bookmark to keep track of where they’re looking.
Having them look for lesser-used letters like B, V, K, Q, J, X, and Z makes it easier to find words because there are usually not too many of those letters in the puzzle so they’re easier to find.
After they’ve found some words, they can use the empty space strategy. They should look for letters that haven’t been circled yet, especially a group of letters, because there’s probably a word in those letters waiting to be found.
Halloween Parties at School
Since this word search is a fun activity that can be done at school, it’s a great idea to make it part of a Halloween party.
School Halloween parties have always been a fun way to celebrate this spooky fall holiday. Many of the parties I have helped with have been put solely in the care of some of the classroom parents.
It is wonderful for the teacher to be able to sit back and let the parents take charge of the holiday parties. They have too much to handle as it is.
If you are helping organize a classroom Halloween party here are some tips to make it a success:
- Get the basic details from the teacher such as what day and time the party will be, how long the party should last, how many children are in the class, and any other relevant information (if any children have food allergy issues).
- Find out who else will be assisting with the party.
- Provide a good variety of snacks and treats for the kids. Make sure to have some healthy snacks so that not everything is a sugary dessert.
- Plan some fun games and activities. This Halloween Word Search for kids is perfect for older elementary-aged children.
- Be ready with extra activities because sometimes things don’t take as long as you think and unstructured time can lead to chaos especially on a holiday.
- Remember to keep in mind the age of the children so that the foods and activities are age-appropriate.
- It is always fun to have some kid-friendly Halloween music playing in the background. Halloween Jams is a fun CD for kids.
Get Crafty This Halloween with Easy DIY Ideas
Looking for simple, creative ways to make this Halloween extra special? Check out my Easy Halloween Crafts eBook! It’s packed with fun, low-cost ideas that are perfect for families.
Whether you’re planning a spooky party or just want to keep the kids entertained, these crafts will add a festive touch to your Halloween celebrations. Grab your copy here and get ready for some ghoulishly good fun!
Fun Halloween Food for Kids
When you are planning the school party start thinking early about what kind of food you want to serve. Remember that it is nice to have some foods individually packaged so kids can take the snack home if they don’t eat it during the party.
Here are some great ideas:
- If the party is in the morning serving Spider Donuts is always fun. Spider Cupcakes would be good for afternoon parties.
- Kids love friendly ghosts and these Nutter Butter Ghosts are great for snacking on while coloring some ghost coloring pages.
- A simple but delightful snack is cheese and crackers. Cut the cheese slices with small Halloween cookie cutters and the kids will gobble them right up.
- Put some snack mix into small Halloween cups for an easy finger food.
- Don’t forget cute Halloween plates, cups, and napkins.
Equipment Needed / Helpful Tools for Printables
Printer: This one is a great budget printer. If youโre willing to spend just a little more though, this is a better option. And if youโre looking for an all-in-one home office machine, this one does it all, has high reviews and includes 2 years of ink.
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Printer paper or cardstock: If youโre printing for one-time, quick use, print on regular printer paper. If you need the printout to hold up to being handled often or if you plan to laminate it to use it multiple times, choose cardstock.
Laminator: Laminating your printable is an inexpensive way to use it multiple times. Just use dry erase markers and wipe off when youโre done so you can use it again! Alternately, you can cover the printable with clear contact paper to achieve the same thing or place the printable in clear page protectors.
Binder or Folder: If you’re using page protectors for your printables, binders are such an easy way to keep them together and organized. I love this colorful set. If you prefer to stick with standard white though, this set is highly rated and very affordable. And if you need larger binders, this set is terrific. If you go with folders, I like these.
Storage boxes: I like to keep a collection of coloring pages and activity sheets for kids in these plastic storage boxes that I pull out whenever I need to keep kids occupied.
Hole punch: If you don’t use page protectors but want to use binders to organize your printables, a hole puncher will be your best friend. This is the one you want if you’ll be punching holes in several pages at a time and want to do so easily. And this bargain option is ideal if you don’t mind limiting your hole punching to 2-3 pages at a time.
Creative Ways to Use This Printable
There are many ways to get creative with the word search for your class or at home. Here are some ideas:
Write a Sentence
When the kids finish the word search, you can have them write a sentence using the words from the word search.
They can either write one sentence using several of the words, or write several sentences using one word from the printable per sentence.
Make it More Challenging
If you have students that prefer a challenge, you can remove the word list from the bottom of the word search and just have them find what words they can find in the word seek.
Time it
You can decide if you want the kids to either see how many words they can find in a set time or race against each other to see who finishes the fastest.
Download the Printable Halloween Word Search for Kids
This printable is completely free. To download and print the Halloween Word Search for kids, simply fill in the form below.
Printable FAQs
Fill in the form above. After you submit the form, you’ll receive an email from “Wondermom Wannabe” with a direct link to the printable. If you do not see the email in your inbox within a few minutes, check your spam folder.
The most likely place will be in your computer’s Downloads folder. You can also select “Downloads” in your browser menu to see a list of your downloads, then simply select “Show in folder” below the file name to see where it is stored on your computer.
You’ll need a program that supports PDFS, likeย Adobe Acrobatย (which is free). Open the program, click File > Print. Select your printer and set the number of copies you want to print. Double check your print preview, then click print.
Additional Halloween Printables
If you loved this printable be sure to check out these other fun ideas:
- Free Printable Halloween Tags for Treat Bags: These free printable Halloween treat bag tags are so cute and it includes ideas for Halloween goody bag fillers.
- Printable Halloween Coupons for Kids: These coupons make a great alternative to sugary sweets and encourage kids to voluntarily trade in their candy. Perfect for trick-or-treating, parties, or post-Halloween candy management.
- Free Printable Halloween Lunchbox Notes: Spook-tacular surprise for your little ones. Add a dash of fun to their lunchboxes and let them know youโre thinking of them.
- How To Draw Halloween Characters: The kids are going to love to learn how to draw a vampire! This fun Halloween activity will get them geared up and excited for the big day!