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Ah, the spooktacular season is upon us! It’s that magical time when the air gets crisp, the leaves turn golden, and our homes fill with enchanting decorations. But what if, this year, instead of just hanging the usual store-bought decorations, we added a sprinkle of creativity and a dash of hands-on fun? Introducing the Bean Ghost Craft! It’s where the humble navy bean transforms into a charming (and not-so-spooky) ghost, ready to haunt your Halloween decor in the cutest way possible.

At first glance, it might seem like an unusual pairing – beans and ghosts. But trust us; when these tiny beans come together on paper, the result is pure magic. So, gather your little ones, roll up those sleeves, and let’s embark on this hauntingly delightful crafting journey.

WILL YOU TRY CRAFTING A BEAN GHOST CRAFT THIS HALLOWEEN WITH YOUR CHILD? PIN IT FOR LATER!

Tips for a Boo-tiful Bean Ghost

Bean Bowl: Use a bowl to keep your beans in one place. It prevents them from rolling away and makes it easier for little hands to pick them up.
Steady Hands: If your preschooler is new to crafting, guide their hand initially as they place the beans. It’s teamwork at its best!
Imagination Unleashed: Let your child imagine their ghost’s personality. Is it a giggly ghost? Or a curious one? It adds depth to the activity.

Materials Needed

Navy beans
Black beans
Card stock or cereal box cardboard
Glue
Bowl for the glue
Paintbrush

Crafting Your Bean Ghost

Ghostly Outline: Start by drawing a simple ghost shape on your card stock or cereal box cardboard It doesn’t have to be perfect; a quirky ghost has more character! Draw the eyes and mouth.

Bean Bonding: Pour some glue into a container. Dip the paintbrush into the glue and paint inside your ghost outline, ensuring it’s a thick layer but not too drippy. Remember to not put glue around the eyes and mouth.

Bean Placement: Now, it’s bean time! Carefully place the navy beans onto the glue, covering the ghost shape. Press them down gently so they adhere well.

Eyes and Mouth: Put glue on the eyes and mouth. Now use the black beans to create the eyes and mouth.

Drying Time: Set your ghostly creation aside to dry. Depending on the amount of glue used, it might take a few hours.

Skills Cultivated with Each Bean

Fine Motor Skills: Picking up and placing the beans is excellent for refining those tiny hand muscles.
Creativity: From the ghost’s shape to its facial expressions, it’s all about creative choices.
Hand-Eye Coordination: Aiming and placing each bean correctly improves coordination.
Pattern Recognition: Encourage your child to create patterns with the beans, like lines or zigzags, to make the ghost even more unique.

The Bean Ghost Craft is more than just an art activity; it’s a celebration of imagination, creativity, and the joy of hands-on learning. So this Halloween, let’s create memories, one bean at a time. And who knows? Maybe, just maybe, our bean ghosts will float around and whisper tales of their crafting adventures!

Age Suitability

This activity is good for toddlers aged children 3 years old and up with adult assistance.

Mess Level

The mess level for this activity is medium.

Difficulty to Create

Easy.

Toddler and Preschooler Curriculums, Books & TV Show!

Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers

There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!

But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.

Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.

Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again!

These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!

Click here for more information: Play2Learn

Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.

Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids

Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon.

Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.

Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.

Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids

Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more.

Find out more and grab your copy here.

Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.

Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids

Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles tha. t show them how to think outside the box.

350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.

Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!

Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.

TV Show: Curious Crafting

I’m so excited to share my crafting TV show Curious Crafting which launched in July 2022 on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube! Season 2 aired in August 2023! My show was also nominated in 2023 for Best Live Action Preschool Series by the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence.

Curious Crafting Season 1 is also now airing in Australia on ABC! Watch it here!

Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.

In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create.

Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.

This show designed for toddlers and preschoolers 2.5 years old and up.

The Best Sensory Play Kits for Kids

Play is at the core of learning during the early years and it can take many forms. One of the most important of these is sensory play because it engages all of a child’s senses (taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing) and has a enoumous positive impact on brain development.

Our Sensory Play Kits are some fun and easy ways to keep your child engaged while at the same time using sensory play to nurture their mind!

Shop our ready made play kits here.