Little Aggies prepare for Halloween
Potential Aggies created creepy spiders, bats and Halloween jewelry at the Utah State University Bookstore Saturday.
The creations were part of the Little Aggie Activities which the Bookstore features the third Saturday of every month. This month’s theme was “Haunted House.”
Although a haunted house did not appear this month, the children had stories read to them and participated in other Halloween-themed
activities.
Six-year-old Hallie Brunson said it was fun to hear the Halloween stories.
“I liked the rhyming book one we read,” Brunson said. “The book always said ‘who said boo’ and it has a monster in it.”
Her cousin Kallen Brunson, a 5-year-old participant, said she loved that story, too.
“I like books that rhyme and ‘Is Room on the Broom’ rhymes,” she said. “It’s about a witch and a kid with animals [that] come to the broom [until] it gets full. And they have little seats to sit on.”
Storytime was one of three activities. The children and parents divided into three groups before the activities began.
Another activity was taking an Oreo cookie apart pushing pieces of a cherry Twizzler into the cream, creating legs for a newly-made edible spider.
“You have an Oreo and get to make eight legs and eat them [here] and take one home to eat there,” Kallen said.
KaeDee Jewkes, a volunteer and a freshman majoring in elementary education and special education, was in charge of the activity. She said her job was “messy but well worth it.”
“You have to get your hands dirty to enjoy life,” Jewkes said.
She said she gave each child a chance to make two spiders. One boy decided his second time he was going to make a bat out of the Oreos.
“A great part is to see the light bulbs turn on for the children,” Jewkes said. “They are cooperative and work together while using imagination skills.”
Stefani Carroll, a junior majoring in elementary education, said it was her second time volunteering, and she loves it.
“This is so much fun,” she said. “Little kids are characters. Especially when you have them do things they really like to do. It’s great that they care about other people’s opinions even if they don’t know who you are.”
Carroll was helping with the crafts during the activities. She said they could string beads to necklaces or bracelets and also make a little candy bag.
Kallen said when she made her bracelet she put a ghost on it.
“My mom helped me,” she said. “And it says ‘Happy Halloween.'”
Carroll said they used foam characters for the children to glue onto the bag.
Images like a witch, Frankenstein and Dracula were featured on some of the children’s candy bags.
Dora Brunson, employed at the department of economics, said she brought her daughter Kallen and niece Hallie this month.
“They love it and were looking forward to it,” she said.
When she was signing Kallen up for dance, she said she looked for a schedule that would work with the Little Aggie Activities so Kallen wouldn’t miss it.
“She has been coming to these activities for about a year,” she said. “It’s a good act to get kids involved and especially into reading.”
Rachelle Holmes, an undeclared freshman, was in charge of the activities this month. She said because the theme was “Haunted House” a lot of guests expected an actual haunted house.
“I would have made one if I knew that’s what they were expecting,” she said. “Maybe next year.”
The activities were enjoyed by the children and the parents, Holmes said. She researched the Oreo project online and discovered the jewelry in a magazine where she ordered them, she said.
Holmes said to be added to Little Aggie Activities e-mail list, to be informed of upcoming events, write her at rachelleruth@cc.usu.edu.
The Little Aggie Activities theme planned for November is ‘Harry Potter Hysteria.’
-srkrebs@cc.usu.edu