Autism Tank: Halloween Party Planning

This is an old post that I did last October, but I find very fitting since we all have Halloween coming up this week! I have updated this post and added in some new ideas that we completed last year. This will be our first holiday party of the school year and we will be having a party pretty much every month of the year from here on out. When approaching a classroom party in an autism classroom, it is super important to have structures in place before hand to make your party a success.

I have tried every type of set-up for parties on my classroom (whole group, small group), and most left me leaving work frustrated and vowing I would never have another party again. Finally, I have found a set-up that works! It works so well, actually, that we use it for every holiday party we have. Basically, we split up our kids into small groups and have stations set up around the classroom with different types of activities (art, cooking, games, etc.) During parties, we combine with another autism classroom. This allows us to have at least 6 adults running stations (usually some of our therapists help run a station as well).
Set Up:
I fill out this sheet and provide each adult (station) with a copy.

To fill this out, you need to...
-Decide which kids will pair well together and split the kids into groups (we make a couple groups smaller for those kids who need more one-on-one attention).
-Figure out which activities you want your kids to complete at each station.
-Figure out where you want each activity to take place (cooking activities may need to be close to the microwave while messy art projects may need to be at a table close to the door for easier access to the bathroom for hand-washing).
-Figure out which adult you want in charge of each activity.

I also make mini picture schedules for my kids to use during the party to keep track of the activities they will participate in. Here is a picture of one from our Holiday Party (I guess I forgot to take one from Halloween).

Activity Ideas:
Here are some of the activities we did last year...

Spooky Sensory Table:
Using edible materials to make "Blood" "Boogers" "Brain" "Worms" "Dirt" "Eye Balls"

Ghost Art Project: Students get their foot painted white. Then imprint it on a piece of black construction paper. We usually glue on googly eyes once they dry.