Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate! The first one said, “Oh my it’s getting late!”.

The second one said, “There are witches in the air!”

The third one said, “But we don’t care!”

The fourth one said, “Let’s Run, and Run, and Run!”

The fifth one said, “I’m ready for some fun!”

My my, aren’t those some chatty pumpkins? It’s that time of year again! Leaves are falling, the air is crisp, and people everywhere are enjoying delicious pumpkin spice…everything. The kids are chattering about costumes, candy, scary movies, pumpkin picking, and trick or treating! For some of our kiddos though, having these conversations isn’t so easy.

Here are some tips and tricks (or treats) on how to encourage conversations about Halloween for those that have a hard time with conversation skills! Enjoy!

• Sit down as a family and come up with some topics that may come up in conversation regarding Halloween
  • Costumes
  • Weather
  • Spooky decorations
  • Candy
  • Parties
• Brainstorm what types of questions (who, what, where, when, how, why) your child could ask their friends about the topics above and their Halloween experience.
  • “What was your costume?”
  • “Where did you go trick or treating?”
  • “What was your favorite candy that you got?”
  • “Who did you go trick or treating with?”
  • “Did you see any spooky decorations?”
  • “Did you go to a party?”
• Talk about comments you can make when someone answers your questions
  • “I liked your costume!”
  • “That’s my favorite candy too!” or “I don’t like those, but I do like ___.”
  • “That sounds so fun!”
• Roleplay! Practice helps put these ideas into action!
  • Write up a script and pretend you are going to make a Halloween movie. Write down the names of family members and the dialogue for having a conversation, and practice together!

Happy Halloween!!