Halloween Iowa Style! (FREE Printables & a neat Iowa History Lesson)

I found this Cinderella costume at Goodwill for $8, so Kylie ended up with two costumes in 2012

Kylie (ahem... Snow White)
2012- Age 6

I will never forget 1994 and my first Halloween in Iowa. 

My husband of almost 2 years had to work on Beggar's Night so I was left alone to greet the Trick-or-Treaters. I wished Dan could have been with me, but I was so excited to hand out candy to little ones and to experience my first official Halloween in my hubby's hometown.

Kylie's 1st Halloween
50's baby-7 mo. old

After the first knock on my door, it didn't take me long to pick up on a pattern.  Almost all of the children were telling me jokes! I thought it was cute but wondered why.  I grew up in Illinois and Pennsylvania and we NEVER told jokes on Halloween.  

Kylie's 2nd Halloween
Lady Bug- 19 mo. old

When my husband came home and I asked him about the joke phenomenon, he looked at me as though I were a cyclops with a lone eye on my forehead! In an incredulous tone, he said something akin to "What??  Seriously?? you never told a joke on Halloween?  It is TRADITION here in Iowa!" 

Kylie's 3rd Halloween
Cowgirl-2.5 yrs old

Nope, I have never told a joke on Halloween. 

That was a HUGE disappointment to my corn-fed, Iowa-grown husband.  According to him, I had really missed out. (I think he was secretly thinking that my parents had neglected me where Halloween was concerned. Mom, Dad, you can address this with your son-in-law at a later date.)

Kylie's 4th Halloween
Bride- 3.5 years old

This is a GREAT article written by the Des Moines Register telling the history of Joke-telling in Iowa.  It dates back to 1938 and encompassed a way to deter violence (which, back then, mostly consisted of soaping windows) as well as a way to boost the war effort.  It was so interesting and educational for me!! 

I love Iowa!!

Kylie's 5th Halloween
Cheerleader- 4.5 yrs old

(In 2010, Kylie had 2 costumes!!)

Kylie's 5th Halloween
Elmo- 4.5 yrs.old

Fast forward 18 years and we are now prepping to take our 6 year old daughter Trick-or-Treating this Halloween.  Little did we know then that our future Halloweens were going to be a tad bit more challenging.

Kylie's 6th Halloween
A Cat-5.5 years old

Our daughter is on the Autism Spectrum and experiences special needs.  Lights, sounds, textures (sensory issues), feeding and even speech are difficult for her. So in addition to the level of creativity that is required for such a holiday, we had to shift into Turbo Gear and get Ultra Creative!!

We want her to be able to experience Halloween "Iowa Style" but we needed to figure out a way to make the joke tradition work.   

This year, I came up with the idea of creating Prompt Cards.  Using clip art (free from the web), I made 4 cards illustrating 4 different jokes.  I also typed out the wording so she could use it as prompts if needed.  I then laminated the cards and am allowing my daughter to play with them and read them over and over.  

We also spend lots of time practicing by telling each other the jokes (she needs to hear them and watch the expressions and hear the inflection in people's voices.)

If you would like a FREE copy of these 4 illustrated jokes, please click on the photo and you will be able to print the file.

We are doing Halloween "Iowa Style" this year!!

SPOOKY SPELLING Part 2 - Friends Join the Party (and FREE Printables)

Yesterday, I shared a SPOOKY way to learn and reinforce spelling and vocabulary words.

Today, I am sharing a more advanced way to continue in your SPOOKY SPELLING activities.

My daughter is only 6 so her spelling words will seem super easy to most of you.  But these activities are easily modified for any level of speller.

This activity uses the same tools we used yesterday:
*Bean Box / Sensory Box
*Tongs (if you want to work on improving fine motor strength)
*Spelling Flashcards
*Alphabet Squares (see below)

HOWEVER... Today I am adding in a few more friends to change the scenery and keep things visually interesting. (Spiders, Ghosts, Bats and Pumpkins)

I found these in the Target discount aisle.
I have also seen them in Michael's Craft Store

These fun add-ins also add a level of diversity to the textures you are working with.

Just place them in the bean box and stir everything up.

Kylie adds the ghosts

Kylie adds the purple bats

Kylie adds the orange pumpkins

Kylie adds the Black Spiders

These give me the willies (shiver)

It doesn't seem to bother Kylie at all! Yikes!!

We definitely have more visual interest today

Instead of using the cards with the full words on them, Today I am using laminated squares with individual letters on them.  Click on the photo below of you would like the letters for the first three lessons I shared yesterday.

Next, I have Kylie help me bury each spelling word card and all the letter cards in the bean box.

getting it all stirred up

She is ready to DIG IN!!

Then I have her find a picture card and we begin our search for the letters that spell the word.  This version takes a bit longer so your little one may need a break after each couple of words.

Using the Tweezers/Tongs to work on strengthening fine motor muscles

For breaks, I had Kylie either do physical exercise (example: Hop like a bunny) or, to add variety, I switched to math/listening skills (example: hand me 3 ghosts, 2 bats and 4 pumpkins)

Finding the letters for each spelling word

I am also including these links to the FREE activity sheets I made to go along with the Alphabet Cards. (week 1, week 2, week 3)  Note: be sure to print all the slides in week 1 as you will need all the letter squares for week 2 and 3.

Halloween Helpers - A Love Beyond Measure

Halloween was successful for our Kylie ONLY because we had so many gracious and sacrificial helpers.  These are people who literally poured themselves into our Kylie. 

Proverbs 18:24 says that "...There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother"

That verse applies to this situation - especially since Kylie does not have any siblings.  Our friends and helpers have become our family.  I don't care if that is a conflict of interest in some areas (such as with therapists).  These key people are as close to us as family.  And it is no wonder!!  We are with them up to 4 times a week.  They know intimate details of our lives and we trust them.

These special people in Kylie's life have helped us in so many ways.  They walk with us daily in our Autism Adventure!

Here are a few of the many people who love on our precious girl.  How I wish I could picture them all.


Miss Kimberly - a friend and also one of Kylie's Respite Providers. 
Kylie looks unhappy because she didn't like the sound of the helium machine.
Kylie loves that Miss Kimberly can make her balloon animals - especially pink puppies.

Kylie's friend, Anna. 
Anna has been so patient and sweet with Kylie.  Kylie has had to learn how to be a friend, how to tolerate people in her personal space, how to enjoy the squeals of little girl laughter and delight.  These things don't come natural for our girl, but Anna continues to be such a good and patient friend to our Kylie. 

Kylie's Papa and Grammy Stout
Papa and Grammy's home has become a haven of peace for our Kylie.  She is with them weekly and enjoys every minute of her time with them.  It has been neat to watch their relationship grow and develop over time.   They allow us to dress Kylie for her Halloween Adventures every year at their house.

Kylie and her friend Rebecca. 
Kylie and Rebecca share the same speech therapist.  We often run into Rebecca and her family when we are out and about at various community events.  It is always so much fun to find friends in common.

Amelia and Lauren are sisters and they share an Occupational Therapist with Kylie.  They are also in a social group together.  Amelia, Lauren and their parents have become good friends of our family this year.  We have (too) much in common  =0)
I also LOVE this pic as it looks like Kylie is wearing a fur bra!  (oh, don't be fuddy duddies - it's funny!)

These three (Ellen, Chloe and Elizabeth) are Kylie's helpers at Dance Without Limits (we love them all).  DWOL is a ballet program sponsored by Ballet Des Moines specifically designed for children with special needs.  This program has been such a blessing and joy to our family!  Kylie has class every week at the School of Classical Ballet and Dance and it happened to fall on Halloween so the class was invited to wear their halloween costumes!  It was great fun!  They even did a spooky dance! Monika Peltz is Kylie's Dance Instructor and she is so wonderful with these kids!

And then there is all the staff at ChildServe.  If I have not mentioned it before now, we LOVE, love, love Childserve and all they have done and continue to do for our family!  These are just a few of the special things they did to make Halloween fun for all the children.

Erin (dressed as "Slinky Dog") is Kylie's Occupational Therapist, Julie (dressed as a friendly witch) is Kylie's Speech Therapist and Mary (dressed as Cookie Monster) is Kylie's Feeding Therapist (also an OT)

One of the other therapists (I wish I could remember her name) allowed Kylie to play Tic Tac Toe.  Kylie had a "Cat's Game"... How fitting for a "Pretty Kitty"  =0)

This is Marsha (as Minnie Mouse).  She is another of Kylie's Occupational Therapists.  Marsha is really creative.  You can't see her shoes, but she took old croc shoes and covered them in yellow duct tape and then used yellow glitter glue to make Minnie Mouse Shoes.  Marsha is also the one who came up with the game "Lucky Pumpkins"

And THIS, by FAR, was the best part of Kylie's day...

This is two therapists and one of the gals who work the front desk. 
(I wish I knew their names so I could rave about them).
These gals were so gracious to my Kylie.  They aren't even her therapists and they took precious time out of their day to make her feel special!  Yep!  This is why we LOVE Childserve.

One of the princesses let Kylie wear her crown -
It was a sacred moment for Kylie.

To top off Kylie's day, Her therapists invited her to play her favorite game: Duck Duck Goose!!  Kylie was in Heaven!!

It literally took a village to make Halloween a success for Kylie, but all these people and so many more helped to make her weekend special!!

Thanks to everyone who lavishes their love on our baby girl!  Our meager Thanks will never be enough but know you hold a special place in our hearts and we will never forget!

Halloween Highlights - Our Pretty Kitty

Yes, I am a Christian and I DO "celebrate" Halloween.

(I think the big debate between fellow Christians is how they define the word "celebrate".)

Let me be clear. I do not celebrate witchcraft or Satan. Satan does not "get" a day in my family. We love Jesus, we teach Jesus and we follow Jesus.

To us, "celebrating Halloween" is defined as a big costume party with lots of candy.




This was the first year Kylie was interested in "checking out" her candy.  After every deposit, she would peer into her bag and announce what she was given.  I think she picked this up from the Charlie Brown Halloween special where the kids all do this and Charlie Brown sadly exclaims "I got a rock" - Poor Charlie Brown.
 In any event, Dan and I were tickled to see her do this.


I could go on and on about my personal conviction or position regarding Halloween, but you all are not here for a soap box sermon.

I will however share a link to a really good article that I recently read.  If you choose to comment on it or disagree with it, that is absolutely fine, but please be respectful to me and to my wonderful readers in the way you choose to comment. 

Here is the link to the article: "Hallowing Halloween"  (I think the author makes some really great points.  It certainly made me think)

On the flip side, a friend (and one that I really respect) suggested that I read the pamphlet "The Truth about Halloween". While I am interested in reading it, I really don't think it will change my mind about how our family chooses to "celebrate" Halloween or more specifically "Trick or Treat". 

I have come to realize that this topic is more of a "cultural" issue based on how one was raised or influenced even more than a "religious" issue as I know many truly faith based people who do and who do not "celebrate" Halloween and every single one of them has a very real faith. 

Each of us will be held accountable for our decisions and if we did the right thing for our particular family.  We had ALL better base our decision making on solid foundations.

Can God be glorified in and through the vehicle of Halloween?  I believe he can.

***stepping down from the soapbox***

Hopefully, you are here to see pics of my ADORABLE and super sweet baby girl and to hear about all the cute things she did while Trick or Treating.

This year, Kylie's costume was a cat. You can read about how we came up with this idea and how we made her costume here. We called her a "pretty kitty".

To finish her costume I actually found the perfect mask at Michael's Craft Store the day before trick or treating. It matched her outfit perfectly and was the best $3 I could have spent.

Here she is all warm, cozy and ready to get some candy.

I have to share a story about this next pic.  All evening long, we had been prompting Kylie by saying "What do you say?" she would reply "Trick or Treat". 

Well, we came to this house where this older man was wearing a Jack Sparrow hat (The one from Pirates of the Caribbean.) It was a little intimidating as it had dreadlocks, but as he was not wearing any makeup, Kylie decided he was ok. 

As she approached the house, he stepped out onto the porch and we again prompted her with "What do you say?" She hesitated and you could just see her looking him up and down.  We again prompted her "What do you say?"  

 Kylie stepped up to him and said "Arrgghhh" in her best Pirate voice. 

All three of us adults burst into laughter.  Kylie had totally caught us off guard - it was PRICELESS!!  Such a funny and precious memory!

I just love looking at her little kitty tail!  ha! ha!

After trick or treating at the very last house. 
Chilly and ready to snuggle!!

I'm sure I'll share a few more memories in my next few posts.  I'm so proud of my girl.  Autism makes everything harder and the fact that she had such a successful time is monumental for us!!

Hope you enjoyed this little peek into our life!

Pumpkin with a Purpose (Alternative to Pumpkin Carving)

I loved this idea of putting our Christian beliefs into Fall and its' celebrations.

 (ok, so maybe I'm a little warped in my desire to make Satan mad). 

 I found this project to do with Kylie here 

(I so LOVE free printables)

I had Kylie paint the pumpkin and then cut it out.  Her painting and cutting skills have REALLY improved the last few months. 

I had previously cut out the eyes, nose and mouth as their specific shapes are vital to the project and the poem. 

We then pasted the poem (that Kylie cut out) on the back of our pumpkin paper.  I don't know if you can tell, but Kylie attempted to write her name - we need some work on that one.

Here is a close up on the poem, but since you can't read it very well, here it is:
 (note: I'm not sure who actually wrote the poem.  It might have been the owner of the blog 1+1+1=1 . I want to be sure to give credit to the artist)

I am a Jack o' Lantern
My lights will shine so bright
For I'm a Christian pumpkin
My symbols tell what's right.

My nose is like the cross
On which our Savior died
To set us free from sin
We need no longer hide

My mouth is like a fish
The whole wide world to show
That Christians live in this house
And love their Savior so!

The story starts at Christmas
My eyes are like the star
That shone on baby Jesus
And wise men saw from far

My color it is orange
Just like the big bright sun
That rose on Easter Day
Along with God's own son

And so on Halloween
Let's set our pumpkins out
And tell the trick or treaters
What God's love is all about.

Here is Kylie's finished pumpkin (Kylie glued on the eyes, nose and mouth as we read the poem). 

We hung it on our refrigerator and were sure to show it to Daddy and then again to Kylie's caregivers so they could all read the poem aloud to her and reinforce the message.

Another Great resource to reinforce this message is The Pumpkin Patch Parable book.

Be sure to file all these resources away for next year and make your fall purposeful!