Keeping the Halloween Spirit Alive at B-READY

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By Spike Sommers, Mass Promise Fellow

Behind the masks, smoke, and candy wrappers, Halloween is about community. On Halloween, we explore our neighborhoods with our friends. In past Halloweens, the YLC’s has turned the church of St. Augustine and St. Martin into a haunted house. There, students eat candy, dance, and prank staff. In 2020, although celebration remains as essential as ever, the YLC’s Halloween party looked different this year to protect our community. Nevertheless, despite a pandemic and a snowstorm, our resilient and creative community kept the spirit of Halloween alive. 

On October 30th, the YLC and LEARN gathered in small cohorts at St. Stephen’s and St. A&M for Halloween games and crafts. YLCers not only enjoyed participating in these activities but also grew as leaders, creative thinkers, and team members by leading these activities for their staff. However, due to this year’s smaller numbers, it’s likely that you, the reader, we’re unable to attend. Therefore, in the spirit of building a virtual community, here are three games from this year’s YLC spooktacular your family and friend can play from home next time you’re in the spooky mood:

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  1. The first spooky YLC game you can play at home is a “mummy wrap.” The only material this game requires is toilet paper. Once you’ve found a roll of toilet paper, choose one person to be “the mummy.” This person will get wrapped in toilet paper. The remaining players will either wrap this person up or be the timekeeper. As soon as the timekeeper starts the timer, the wrapper or wrappers will run around the mummy, until this mummy is completely wrapped in toilet paper. Whoever wraps their mummy the fastest wins.

  2. The second game is a skeleton relay. To set up this game, cut out the bones of two skeletons from a printout. Lay the two sets of bones on the floor with a line between the two sets. For the game itself, divide players into two teams. After an “on your mark, get set, go” the first players from both teams will race to the middle, grab one bone, and run to a wall. At the wall, the players will pick up some tape, rip a bit off, and tape the paper bone to the wall. When they’ve taped the paper bone to the wall, the player will run back to their group. The moment they’ve passed the line, the next person from their team can run, grab a paper bone, and tape it to the wall. By the end of the relay, there should be two anatomically correct skeletons on the wall. The first team to finish their skeleton wins.

  3. The final activity the YLC recommends is creating a spiderweb. First, glue three popsicle sticks together at their centers to form an asterisk. Once the popsicle sticks are connected in the middle and look like a snowflake, wrap string over and around the sticks. Our YLCers recommend using plastic spiders and different color strings to make your spiderweb your own. Tie the string off when you’re happy with your spider web’s design.

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Staff, teens, and YLC and LEARN students had a great time playing these games. We hope you enjoy joining in the fun at home! As this blog post evinces, we’re happy to strengthen and expand the community we hold beyond the walls of 31 Lenox. In the covid era, we’re learning the YLC lives first and foremost in our hearts.

Spike was born in San Diego, California. Last school year, Spike taught English in Germany as a Fulbright Scholar. The students and staff he met while volunteering at his college in Minnesota, teaching in Germany, and assisting at Charlestown High School during City Year, inspired him to continue working with young people as a Massachusetts Promise Fellow. Outside the classroom, he enjoys making and listening to music.