Writer's Workshop: Halloween Decorations

I come from a long line of educators ... the kind who decorate their classrooms and change themes every month. In fact, I was one of those teachers for 8 years before I became a mom. Ever wonder what happens to all that stuff when a teacher stops teaching? Well, I have all of my stuff plus all of my mom's stuff (who recently retired after 25 years of teaching!) and it's all got to go somewhere ...

So ... much of it helps decorate our home during every conceivable holiday! Back before Halloween became taboo in schools, my mom could decorate with seasonal icons, so I have lots of the traditional stuff -- witches, ghosts, mummies and the like. While I was teaching, most Halloween themes were not allowed, so we focused more on the acceptable items ... human anatomy (skeletons), mammals (bats), a literary study of Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (spiders), and harvest (pumpkins).

All of that to say ... not only did I inherit much of my mom's fun decor, I also inherited her love of fun decorations at Halloween! ** You can read about her crazy fun Halloween party under the blog Annual Halloween Hayride.

At my house, we decorate most of the house for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Lesser decorations are reserved for Valentine's Day and 4th of July (much of my house is already "Americana" anyway!).

Enjoy these photos of our 2009 Halloween decorations! We had a lot of fun putting them together and can't wait for Trick-or-Treat!

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