Witches’ Brew Counting Activity for Preschool & Kindergarten
We love Halloween! There are so many fun ways to make the spooky season exciting for little kids, and this Witches’ Brew counting activity is one of my favorites.
It’s a simple, hands-on Halloween activity that gives preschoolers and kindergarteners a chance to practice counting while they pretend to make their very own witches’ brew. And let’s be honest… the skeleton hands and spooky ingredients make it so much more fun!
What Kids Practice With This Witches’ Brew Activity
This activity is a fun way to combine play-based learning and early math skills. Kids can practice:
Counting
One-to-one correspondence
Following simple directions
Number recognition
Fine motor skills
Imaginative play
The best part is that it doesn’t feel like a math lesson. Kids are busy making a silly witches’ brew while they’re practicing their counting skills.
Supplies You’ll Need
Here’s what we used for our witches’ brew counting activity:
A divided tray
Skeleton hands
Plastic eyeballs
Spider rings
Bat rings
Small plastic bones
A bowl, container, or cauldron
Optional: a witch hat
We found most of our supplies at Dollar Tree during Halloween season, but you can easily substitute whatever spooky items you have on hand.
Safety note: Some of the small items used for this activity can be choking hazards. If you’re doing this activity with a child who still puts things in their mouth, use larger items instead and supervise closely.
How to Set Up the Witches’ Brew Counting Activity
First, cut out the Witches’ Brew Recipe Cards. You can laminate them if you’d like to use them again.
Next, put your spooky ingredients into a divided tray. We used plastic eyeballs, spider rings, bat rings, and little bones.
Set out the tray along with the recipe cards, skeleton hands, and a bowl or cauldron.
And if you have a witch hat for your little learner to wear, be sure to grab that too!
Time to Make Some Witches’ Brew!
Now for the fun part!
Give your child a recipe card and have them gather the ingredients listed on the card. They’ll count out the correct number of eyeballs, spiders, bats, bones, or whatever ingredients the recipe calls for.
Then they can use the skeleton hands to pick up the ingredients and add them to their bowl or cauldron.
Once everything is in the bowl, let them stir up their witches’ brew!
I don’t know if it was the extra-fun skeleton hands or the fact that we pretended each recipe had a different magical result, but this was one of the most fun activities we’ve done at our house. One of our recipes even supposedly turned my daughter into a frog!
That’s the beauty of an activity like this. Kids are practicing important early math skills, but they’re also using their imaginations and having a genuinely fun time.
More Ways to Make This Activity Fun
You can easily turn this into a longer Halloween learning activity by adding some extra pretend play.
For example, have your child:
Give each witches’ brew a silly name.
Pretend each recipe has a different magical power.
Make up their own recipe.
Draw a picture of their finished brew.
Practice counting the ingredients again as they clean up.
You could also pair the activity with a Halloween book for a fun seasonal learning time.
Some books that would pair well with this activity include:
Pig the Monster by Aaron Blabey
The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat by Stan and Jan Berenstain
How to Catch a Witch by Alice Walstead
Gustavo the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago
Get the Witches’ Brew Recipe Cards
If you want to make this activity even easier, I’ve created printable Witches’ Brew Recipe Cards that you can use with your own spooky ingredients.
The recipe cards give kids a fun way to practice counting while they create their own pretend witches’ brew.
[Grab the Witches’ Brew Recipe Cards on TPT →]
They’re designed for PreK and kindergarten and are perfect for a Halloween math center, sensory table, preschool activity, or learning activity at home.
More Halloween Learning Fun
If your kids enjoy this Witches’ Brew counting activity, you might also like my Halloween Handprint Craft & Pumpkin Activities. This printable pack includes 13 no-prep activities for preschool and kindergarten, including pumpkin crafts, counting activities, matching, coloring, and more.
It’s a great option if you’re looking for more Halloween and pumpkin activities to use throughout October.
[Check out the Halloween Handprint Craft & Pumpkin Activities on TPT →]
