Free Library Centers for October

Hi friends! Free October library centers are just what I need right about now, as I plan for book fair, reading challenges and research projects. How about you?

smiling pumpkin

Free Halloween Listening Centers

Just print out these QR codes, place them in a pocket chart. At a nearby table,  put out iPads with a QR code reader installed and with headphones. I-nigma is my favorite QR code reader.

pocket chart October listening center

One of my librarian colleagues showed me this handy way to display the QR codes in a pocket chart at the end of a bookshelf. Students scan the code, then replace it in the chart so someone else can use it! Clever, right?Free Halloween QR Code Listening Center

Click here for the free download of Halloween story video QR Codes!

These do link to YouTube read-alouds, so they won’t work if YouTube is blocked on your campus.

Draw bats on bookmarks

Use these printable bat drawing instructions to let your students draw bats on bookmarks. Just cut printer/copy paper into fourths lengthwise and add crayons. (My students like to create multi-colored bats, so I put the whole tub of Twistables crayons out for them.) Boo Bat DrawingDisplay your bat books on the table, too! It’s a great way to highlight nonfiction books in your October library.

Pumpkin Pages to Color

When your students need a brain break, they can relax and color one of these printable pumpkin pages.  Free for you and fun for your students! You might want to save some of these to use for library decorations.

Pumpkin Printables to Color

Watch Pumpkins Grow

Do you have a spare pumpkin around the house? Cut off the top, scoop out the insides and pour soil into it. Then watch what happens!

Pumpkin prediction library center

Here’s the blog post where I tried this before, partly to test my teacher co-workers’ hypothesis that the pumpkin shell would rot before the pumpkin seeds sprouted. Just remember to add water occasionally, and you should have a happy result.

What if a student writes bad words instead of a prediction? I just cut it out with scissors and move on.

Create a Creepy Story

Your students can write their own creepy story with this free download.

Just add dice and pencils so that your students can create their own creepy stories! You can “publish” them in a binder to share, if you’d like.

Creepy Carrot Library Center

If you share Creepy Carrots with your students (highly recommend!), this October library center will be perfect for your students!

creepy carrots activity directions

You’ll need orange and green paper, scissors, and markers to draw faces. Students will have fun being creative and finding a place for their creepy carrots in your library.

October Library Read-Alouds

Draw and tell the story of The Ghost of Peterson’s Farm, as shown in this video:

With Storytime Online, you can share Rita Moreno reading I Need My Monster! and Lily Tomlin reading the sequel, Hey, That’s My Monster!

If You’re a Monster and You Know It by Ed Emberley has song lyrics. Your students can get up and move as they sing this version on YouTube, illustrated by kindergarten students.

Happy Fall!

If you’d like school library ideas and freebies delivered straight to your inbox a few times each month, please take a minute to subscribe to the Library Learners Journal.

I hope you’re enjoying cooler autumn weather and time to read good books just for yourself. The school year is getting busy, isn’t it? You and your students need time to re-charge and enjoy the season!

Note: this post does include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra charge to you.

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    11 Comments

    1. These are great! Just what I needed to get me through the ” what do we do during book fair” time.
      Thanks!

    2. Cari,
      Thanks for the freebie Halloween Centers. I’m a new librarian that has been following you throughout graduate school, and this couldn’t have come at a better time for me. I just want you to know how inspiring you are to me. What you do in your library shows how valuable you are to your school. Love your work. I am so glad I found you!

    3. These resources are wonderful, thank you for the great ideas! Do you by chance have any centers you recommend for other holidays? I will check your TPT store, too!

    4. Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful ideas for October! You are such a great help to Librarians, both experienced and novice. I am so appreciative of all that you do to keep our School Libraries exciting and fun!!

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