One of the longest standing physical education traditions at my school is that of Haunted Gym. Three years ago, I took the place of an outstanding teacher when she retired. She and my co-teacher had been building upon their spooky themed gym for over 15 years. In my three years we have continued to add and improve onto what is now, truly, a sight to be seen.
Every year when the weather starts to cool, there is an inevitable buzz around the school. The students begin to ask on a daily basis “When is Haunted Gym?!” The week prior Halloween, we plan a four day block for the festivities. The night prior to the start, my co-teacher and I stay 4-5 hours after school to set up stations and decorate the gym. We hang up orange lights, strobe lights, spider webs, goblins, ghouls, spider webs, inflatables and more. It’s a lot of work, but always worth it when we see our student’s reactions the following day.
While we do hold Haunted Gym around the time of Halloween, we try to be a sensitive as possible towards students who do not celebrate Halloween. We do not name or decorate anything that is explicitly Halloween related such as Jack-O-Lanterns or Trick-Or-Treating. We also give families and students to opt out if they desire, but that has only happened a handful of times over the years. My co-teacher and I also dress up in costumes every year, but we try to keep them light-hearted and fun for the most part.
During Haunted Gym, we adjust our schedule so that each grade has P.E. for 45 minutes every other day. We generally set up 6-8 stations, depending on what stations, space available, and class sizes. Each year, we change one or two stations, always adding in new equipment we acquire over the year. Last year it was the climbing wall, which we decorated with spiders and webs. This year we added in the Lumo Play interactive wall. We purchased a game in which the students throw gatorskin balls at crawling spiders that splat when they are hit.
Additional Stations
1. “Ghost Riders”- Students ride Razor Scooters around perimeter of the gym, through and around decorations and inflatables
2. “Haunted House”- Students ride stability scooters through an inflatable haunted house
3. “Pennywise Putt-Putt”- Mini 3-hole putt-putt course with red balloons as obstacles
4. “Mastermind”- This activity using toy bats, ghosts, spiders, and skulls
5. “Spider Pit”- Students use a flashlight and tweezers to pick plastic spiders out of a web covered milk crate
6. “Graveyard”- Students use a flashlight to search for polybones on a tarp, then build the skeleton on their designated spot
Every decoration used in Haunted Gym was purchased by my co-teacher, me and my predecessor. Upon looking at our gym, most think we must have spent a fortune. The truth is, in total yes, but only a relatively small amount each year. We shop for our decorations the day after Halloween. Last year we scored two giant inflatables for 75% off at Lowes. This year we added several other pieces of decorations from Home Depot for a great price. I also learned a valuable lesson when I student taught under my predecessor. That is to ASK. She taught me to go into big box stores and ask about their decorations. Ask “What do you do with those inflatables after Halloween? I am a teacher at (____) and we would love to have this at our school”. In the past we have received free or nearly free decorations from stores such as Walmart, Dillons, Menards, Home Depot, etc.
I would like to my fellow P.E. teachers to try this at your school. Other teachers in our district and state have begun their own spooky themed gyms, with great success. Start out small, then use the strategies I gave you, to build upon it each year. It does take extra time, money and effort, but the memories and experience your students will gain is well worth it.
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