Consider this your sign to go get your Halloween classroom supplies NOW.

Because you know how this works.

You see the cutest little pack of spiders at Target and think, Oh, I'll come back for those.

No.

You will not.

Because when you come back, they will be gone and somehow the Christmas trees will already be out.

This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

So if you're planning Halloween sensory bins, preschool centers, fine motor activities, or just want some fun Halloween supplies to pull out throughout October, these are the things I would grab now.

And my biggest tip?

Don't overthink it.

Here are the Halloween supplies I use over and over again.

Halloween Rice Sensory Bin 🎃

Orange and purple rice is one of my FAVORITE Halloween sensory bin fillers. Add some scoops, little containers, and a handful of Halloween loose parts and you’re done!

If you don’t want to buy a million different things separately, I highly recommend this Halloween sensory pack from Amazon.

It’s pretty affordable and comes with a mix of Halloween loose parts, pom-poms, tweezers, and other little goodies that you can use over and over throughout your Halloween centers.

Throw some into your rice sensory bin, add them to Play-Doh, use them for sorting or counting, the same supplies can easily work across a bunch of different activities.

SHOP THE HALLOWEEN SENSORY PACK

Cauldrons

If you buy ONE Halloween container, make it a cauldron.

Actually...buy a big one and some little ones.

A large cauldron is perfect for sensory play, counting activities, pom-pom “bubbles,” Halloween potions, dramatic play, and basically anything involving scooping and pouring.

Then grab some mini cauldrons too.

Kids can sort into them, count into them, fill them with Play-Doh, make potions, or use them as little containers in a sensory bin.

I pull mine out constantly during Halloween.

AMAZON LARGE CAULDRONS

AMAZON MINI CAULDRONS

Potion Bottles

If you give preschoolers a cauldron, you obviously need potion bottles.

I love little plastic potion bottles because you can add them to a sensory bin and suddenly regular scooping and pouring becomes potion making.

Use them with rice, water, pom-poms, slime, or whatever sensory material you're using.

AMAZON POTION BOTTLES LINK

Scoops, Tongs & Tweezers

These aren't technically Halloween-themed, but you need them.

Tongs and tweezers are great when you're using spiders, pom-poms, eyeballs, mini pumpkins, or other little manipulatives.

And anytime I can make little hands pinch, grab, scoop, squeeze, and pour, I'm happy.

Halloween Preschool Centers — Skip the planning and grab a week of Halloween activities ready to prep and play! 👻

Spider Webs

Grab those bags of stretchy spider webs!

I usually find mine at Dollar Tree, and they're SO good for sensory bins.

Stretch the webbing across the top of a bin and hide plastic spiders inside. The kids have to reach through the web and pull them out.

I use this setup for one of my Halloween counting centers. Students pull spiders from the web, count them, and add them to their counting mat.

AMAZON SPIDER WEB LINK

Halloween Preschool Activities Pack — A full week of hands-on Halloween centers already planned for you! 🎃

Plastic Spiders 

Get spiders in every possible form.

Little plastic spiders are great for counting, sensory bins, Play-Doh, sorting, and fine motor activities.

AMAZON SPIDERS LINK

Halloween Sensory Toys 🎃

If your house is anything like mine, you already know squishies are EVERYWHERE right now. 

I found the cutest little pumpkin sensory squishy toys, and I’ll definitely be adding these to our cozy corner for Halloween. They’re festive, fun to squeeze, and an easy little seasonal swap for October!

SHOP THE PUMPKIN SQUISHIES

Googly Eyes

Buy the googly eyes. You WILL use them.

Add them to Play-Doh, Put them in sensory bins, Use them for monster crafts.

Make weird little Halloween creatures with them.

I chose these ones specifically because they come in so many fun Halloween colors! 🎃

Amazon googly eyes link

Stretchy Halloween Toys

I found stretchy mummies in the Target Dollar Spot and I LOVE them.

Basically, if it's stretchy, squishy, weird, or slightly creepy, I'm probably putting it into a Halloween sensory bin.

Look for:

• Stretchy mummies

• Stretchy skeletons

• Stretchy spiders

• Squishy eyeballs

• Fake worms

• Little snakes

• Bats

• Halloween fidgets

These are especially fun for open-ended sensory bins because the kids can just explore and PLAY.

AMAZON STRETCHY HALLOWEEN TOYS LINK

Slime

I know slime can get MESSY, which is why I personally love the mini slime containers. I put a couple out for the kids to play with, and when we're done, they go straight in the trash. I don't try to save or reuse my slime.

The smaller containers also make it way easier to control how much slime is out at once, which means less slime everywhere and a much easier cleanup.

For Halloween, throw in some spiders, eyeballs, or other creepy little toys and you're done!

AMAZON SLIME LINK

Halloween Mini Erasers

If you see Halloween mini erasers, grab them.

Pumpkins, ghosts, bats, spiders, candy corn—whatever you can find.

They're perfect little manipulatives for:

• Counting

• Sorting

• Patterns

• Ten frames

• Sensory bins

• Play-Doh

• Fine motor activities

They're tiny, cheap, and ridiculously useful.

AMAZON HALLOWEEN MINI ERASERS LINK

Halloween Books We Love 📚

Don't forget to grab a few Halloween books!

Some of my favorites:

• How to Catch a Monster — Adam Wallace

• How to Catch a Witch — Alice Walstead

• There’s a Witch in Your Book — Tom Fletcher

• Ladybug Girl and the Dress-Up Dilemma — Jacky Davis — a FAVORITE!

• Five Little Pumpkins — Tiger Tales

• The Wheels on the Bus at Halloween — Sarah Kieley

I'll link some of my favorites on Amazon, but honestly, go to your local library!

Grab whatever Halloween books they have and switch them out throughout October. They don't need to perfectly match your theme or lesson plans.

SHOP MY FAVORITE HALLOWEEN BOOKS

My Halloween Preschool Supply Checklist

Before Halloween hits, here's what I would have ready:

• Spider webbing
  

• Large cauldron

• Mini cauldrons

• Potion bottles
  

• Googly eyes

• Plastic spiders
  

• Stretchy Halloween toys

• Slime
  

• Halloween Sensory Toys 
  

• Halloween mini erasers
  

• Halloween Books

You absolutely do not need everything on this list.

Start with a sensory bin filler, grab a few fun Halloween manipulatives, add some tools for scooping and pouring, and you're good.

Don't overthink it.

Basically...Buy the Random Halloween Stuff

This is probably my biggest takeaway from this entire post.

When you're walking through Dollar Tree or the Target Dollar Spot and you see a bag of tiny skeletons and think:

“What would I even do with these?”

Buy them.

We'll figure it out later. 😂

Need Ideas for What to DO With All This Stuff?

Now that you have the Halloween supplies, I have the activities ready for you!

My Halloween Preschool Activities Pack includes 10 hands-on Halloween centers for math, literacy, fine motor skills, sensory play, shapes, counting, patterns, cutting, Play-Doh, and more.

A lot of the supplies on this list can be used right along with the activities in the pack, so you can grab your Halloween goodies and actually put them to use instead of letting them live in a classroom cabinet until next October.

Halloween Preschool Activities — 10 hands-on Halloween centers for math, literacy, sensory play, and fine motor fun! 🎃

And if you want even more ideas, check out my 10 Hands-On Halloween Preschool Activities & Centers blog post to see exactly how we used these materials during our Halloween week.

Read The Halloween Centers Blog Post

Now go check the Target Dollar Spot before everything turns into Christmas. 🎃