Halloweeeeeeeeen!

The count-down has begun. There are costumes to make (or, in our family's case, search for frantically online), pumpkins to carve and trick-or-treat itineraries to map out.

Meanwhile, the classrooms at CCC are bustling with activities to celebrate the season. Front-yarders are enjoying Halloween-themed books and songs, roasting pumpkin seeds, making pumpkin pancakes and painting their own faces. Allyssa will be sharing a favorite book, Go Away Big Green Monster, a great selection for this time of year that helps take the scariness out of monsters. And on the Friday before Halloween, kids can hunt for pumpkins on the hill!

Back-yarders are also busy with DIY activities, Lara reports—making costumes and masks, decorating mini pumpkins and learning about witches, including the historical role of witches as women with knowledge of herbs and medicine. The kids have even been concocting their own potions. The Back Yard is also celebrating Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) with an altar in the classroom and sugar skulls for the children to decorate and take home.

Outside of CCC, families are enjoying all kinds of spooky fun. Kate (Milo, BY) writes, "Halloween has traditionally been the only holiday we spend at our own house. And we love it for that. The kids can hardly wait to decorate and it's all we can do to wait till October 1st to bring out the bins of bats and skulls and costumes." Milo's family also enjoys an annual trip to Sebastopol to go pumpkin-patching with friends.

On Halloween night in years past, Ravi (FY) and his family hit popular streets like Mariposa (near CCC) or Belvedere in San Francisco. "We used to call these streets the Castro, but for kids," says his mom Promita. But as the kids have been getting older, their traditions have changed. Now they have Arizmendi pizza and spooky snacks with a few friends before trick-or-treating in their neighborhood.

And finally, Alex (FY) and his family have found a great way to let the magic of Halloween live on... and on. His mom Annie tells us, "One of our traditions is to let our jack o' lanterns decompose in our veggie beds. It's fun to watch them get all smooshed and crumble into the dirt. And then in the spring, up come little baby pumpkin plants!"

How is your family celebrating Halloween? Share your favorite pumpkin patch, trick-or-treat destination or a special tradition your family enjoys in this "spirited" season!