Countdown to Halloween: Poetry & a Story online (for Junior Infants to 2nd approximately)

We get great mileage out of Halloween in school.

Because the children find it so interesting

it is a great motivator for learning.

Click here for ten poems in English

and two in Irish on the theme of Halloween.

Premade BG 96
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Children may also enjoy this story: 
 
 

EAL; Halloween Fun: ‘We made masks out of brown paper bags’.

BeFunky_078.jpg

 

Today Teacher had some very unusual students.

They might look a little scary, but luckily they were very friendly.

Animoto has a great Halloween template for making slideshows.

They have a selection of Halloween songs too.

We hope you like this one!

We learned a lot of songs and poems about Halloween.

Click here to see them. They are A LOT OF FUN 😀

‘Halloween Countdown’ by Jack Prelutsky

Halloween Countdown

 

 Happy Halloween!
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Schub@ via Compfight

 

There are ten ghosts in the pantry,

There are nine upon the stairs,

There are eight ghosts in the attic,

There are seven on the chairs,

There are six within the kitchen,

There are five along the hall,

There are four upon the ceiling,

There are three upon the wall,

There are two ghosts on the carpet,

Doing things that ghosts will do,

There is one ghost right behind me

Who is oh so quiet . . . BOO!

Jack Prelutsky

Countdown to Halloween: ‘In a dark, dark wood….’ – Traditional

In a Dark Dark Wood…
 

Magic! between the trees
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In a dark, dark wood,

there was a dark, dark house;

And in the dark, dark house,

there was a dark, dark room;

And in the dark, dark room,

there was a dark, dark cupboard;

And in the dark, dark cupboard,

there was a dark, dark shelf;

And on the dark, dark shelf

there was a dark, dark box;

And in the dark, dark box

there was a….ghost!

Day 277/365 - No Ghost
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In a dark, dark wood there was a dark, dark house;

And in the dark, dark house there was a dark, dark room;

And in the dark, dark room there was a dark, dark cupboard;

And in the dark, dark cupboard there was a dark, dark shelf;

And on the dark, dark shelf there was a dark, dark box;

And in the dark, dark box there was a….witch!

Paper Mache Haunted House -
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Countdown to Halloween: ‘Do you want to be a wizard?’ by Wes Magee

I will cast you a spell
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Do you want to be a wizard?

Well, you need a pointed hat

With silver stars and golden moon

And perched on top ……a bat.

 

Do you want to be a wizard?

Well, you’ll need a Book of Spells

and rotten eggs and fried frogs

to make some horrid smells.

 

Do you want to be a wizard?

Well, you’ll need some pickled brains,

A wand, a cloak, and one dead rat,

And great slime from the drains.

 

Do you still want to be a wizard?

Halloween Traditions in Ireland – Especially for our friends in Room 5, Melville Intermediate School, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand.

We got this message from our good friends

in Melville Intermediate School, Hamilton, New Zealand.

Message from Hamilton 1

This is our reply:

 

Hi there,

Most certainly we celebrate Halloween:D

In many ways the more recent additions to our traditions are influenced by the USA,

for example, as you say in your message, dressing up in costumes and going ‘trick or treating’.

Waning Gibbous Moon
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However a celebration at this time of year

goes way back into the ‘mists of time’.

Here in the Northern Hemisphere

we needed something to cheer us up

as the cold, dark nights arrive,

so the Celts marked the end of Summer

and the start of the Winter months, 

with a celebration called Samhain; ‘All Souls’.

Playing With Fire
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It was said that the souls of those who had passed

into the next world came to visit at this time. 

The celebration marked the end of Summer

and the start of the Winter months.

The time of the Celts in Ireland was 2000BC – 400AD.

 

Here are some Irish Halloween Traditions:

Traditionally for dinner there was ‘Colcannon’;

a plate of mashed potato, cabbage and onion.

Pennies were wrapped up in baking paper

and placed in the mash for children to find and keep!

Slow-Cooker Corned Beef & Cabbage with Colcannon: Colcannon with Butter
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: I Believe I Can Fry via Compfight

The traditional Halloween cake is barmbrack which is a fruit cake.

Once again you would have to be careful eating this

or you would break your teeth

because there were ‘tokens’ hidden in it.

 

If you got the rag then the next year would be a poor one.

If you got the coin then you could look forward to a year of riches.

Finding the ring was said to predict an engagement.

Irish fruit brack
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If you wanted to find out who your future partner might be

you were advised to peel an apple in one go.

The single apple peel was then dropped on the floor

to show the initials of this mystery person.

Jack O'Lanterns
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The tradition of Jack O’Lanterns travelled from Ireland to the USA.

But originally the Irish carved out turnips.

When the Irish emigrated to America there was not a great supply of turnips

so pumpkins were used instead. Pumpkins are easier to carve than turnips too!

 

Though the tradition of wearing costumes and ‘trick or treating’

seems to have been imported from the USA,

a tradition of wearing disguise also dates back to Celtic times.

By disguising themselves people superstitiously believed

that the souls who were visiting would leave them alone.

 

Halloween Games include ‘Snap Apple’.

An apple is suspended from a string and children are blindfolded.

The first child to get a decent bite of the apple gets to keep their prize.

A variation of this game involves hanging a bar of soap with the apple.

The risk was then that one would get a mouthful of soap instead of apple.

‘Bobbing for Apples’ can be played by placing apples in a basin of water

and trying to get a grip on the fruit!

halloween party 030
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The Halloween bonfire is another tradition

and a more modern addition is the use of fireworks,

though they are illegal in Ireland.

It is important to be safe on Halloween.

halloween's harvest

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It may well be that Halloween is a Celtic Tradition from Europe

that travelled with the emigrants to the USA.

In the ‘New World’ these traditions took on a new lease of life

and were re-exported back to Ireland

repackaged perhaps in a more commercial way.

 

Thanking you for your continuing comments and interest in our blog

all the way from New Zealand 🙂

 

We wonder does New Zealand have a Halloween Tradition?

 

With every good wish …

‘If Only The Best Birds Sang’.

 

UPDATE1: If you click on the ‘KEEP READING’ button below, you can see Mr. Webb’s reply 🙂

UPDATE2: Thank you to Mr Webb who put a link about our blog

on Room 5 Melville’s page HERE.

Halloween in Ireland

Countdown to Halloween: An bhfaca tú an chailleach?

An bhfaca  tú an chailleach?

 

An bhfaca  tú

an chailleach?

Chonaic mise í,

Lena srón mór fada,

Is a fiacla gránna buí.

 

Hubail rubail bubail,

Hubail rubail bubail.

Vintage Halloween Postcard
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Dave via Compfight

 

An bhfaca tú 

an chailleach?

Chonaic mise í,

Lena cat mór fada,

Ar an scuab ina suí,

 

Hubail rubail bubail,

Hubail rubail bubail.

Vintage Halloween Postcard artist Ellen H Clapsaddle
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Dave via Compfight

Countdown to Halloween: Poem: ‘I saw a ghost that stared and stared’.

OOOOoooooOOOOOooooo!
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Valerie via Compfight

When it is late

 

When it is late

and it is dark

and everybody sleeps.

Shhh!

 

Into our kitchen

a small ghost creeps.

Shhh!

 

Then he clatters and clangs,

batters and bangs.

 

So we pull up the cover

over our heads

and we block up our ears

and

STAY

IN

BED.

 

I saw a ghost.

 

I saw a ghost

that stared

and stared.

I stood still

and acted scared.

But that was just

a big pretend.

I knew that ghost.

It was MY FRIEND.

Countdown to Halloween: Poem: ‘The skeletons are out tonight’.

Strike Up the Band
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The skeletons are out tonight,

They march about the street,

With bony heads and bony knees,

And bony hands and feet.

Bony, bony, bony, bony,

Nothing in between,

Up and down and all around

They march on …

 

HALLOWE’EN.

 

Traditional

 

A goblin lives in our house

in our house

in our house.

A goblin lives in our house

all year round.

 

And he bumps

and he jumps

and he thumps

and he stumps.

 

And he knocks

and he rocks

and he rattles

at the locks.

 

A goblin lives in our house

in our house

in our house.

A goblin lives in our house

all year round.

 

Anon

 

Countdown to Halloween: Poem: ‘Witch, witch, where do you fly?’

the most beautiful witch of the world
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Witch, Witch

Witch witch,

where do you fly?

Under the clouds

and over the sky.

 

Witch, witch,

what do you eat?

Little black apples

from Hurricane Street.

 

Witch, witch,

what do you drink?

Vinegar and good red ink.

 

Witch, witch,

where do you sleep?

Up in the clouds

where the pillows are cheap.

 

Traditional

 

The Smallest Witch

 

The smallest witch,

I ever did see,

Just peeked through the window

and looked at me.

I waved once or twice

but very soon,

She jumped three times

and flew to the moon.

 

Anon

Countdown to Halloween: ‘Sa choill dhubh dhorcha… bhí teach dubh dorcha…’

Sa choill dhubh dhorcha…

a forest (for invisible children)
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bhí teach dubh dorcha…
Haunted House
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Sa teach dhubh dhorcha,

 

bhí seomra dubh dorcha…

there is an old manor
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Sa seomra dhubh dhorcha,

bhí cófra dubh dorcha…

Bare
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Sa chófra dhubh dhorcha,

 

bhí tarraiceán dubh dorcha…

96-nikonFE-400kodak100-caffenol644C5-1815-018zfiSH
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Sa tarraiceán dhubh dhorcha,


bhí bosca dubh dorcha…

519 Hidden Treasure
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Sa bhosca dhubh dhorcha,

 

bhí mála dubh dorcha…

 

Satchel

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Sa mhála

dhubh

dhorcha,

 

bhí ……………

 

TAIBHSE !

Ghostie!
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