A Pumpkin Unit - filled with lessons, printables, and more

Teaching Heart's Pumpkin Unit/ Theme!!!
Pumpkin Ideas, Lessons, Printables, and More!!!

Learning about pumpkins is a great way to start October.
Here you will find many ideas for a unit on pumpkins.
This page is updated often in September and October! Stop by to see what is new.
Now grab some Pumpkin Spice Coffee and enjoy the ideas!!!

What to do with ALL those pumpkins?

Have the students estimate the pumpkins weight, then actually weigh the pumpkin. To make it more difficult - use a bathroom scale. First the students weigh themselves and then they get on the scale with the pumpkin. Have the students subtract the first weight from the second to get the weight of the pumpkin!

Estimate the circumfrence of the pumpkin by having the students cut a piece of yarn that they think will fit around the pumpkin. Sort pieces by too short, too long and just right

Carve a Pumpkin Online

Use the five senses to describe the pumpkin...It looks like________. It feels like_______. It smells like_____________. etc.

Compare pumpkins to apples. Use a Venn Diagram to do this!

Pass out cards with numbers on them, have students glue seeds to the given number.

Use pumpkin seeds to make a picture.

make a KWL chart of pumpkin facts.

Making Words:

Give each student the letters
p, u, m, k, i, n

Now ask them to make the following words!

1 ink 2 kin 3 nip 4 pin 5 pip
6 pun 7 pup 8. punk 9. pink 10. mink 11. pump 12. pumpkin

She Swallows a Pumpkin In This Story!

I used the pattern found in this packet to make little old lady puppets for all my students. All I did was print the pattern and glue the body to a small white bag (purchased from Michael’s). I stapled the head to the top of the bag. When the students drop an item into the old lady’s mouth, it falls into the bag. So fun!

I used the printout of the shirt, pants, and pole found in the packet… but I used string for the rope, leaf foam stickers for the leaf, filler for the hay, and a pumpkin eraser for the pumpkin.

Once they retell the story with friends at school they can take it home for so much more fun and retelling practice.

Watch The Pumpkin Grow

When doing a unit on pumpkins it is fun to discuss
how they grow. Our Preschool and Kindergarten Pumpkin Packet
has pocket chart resources, little books, puzzles, and more to help you
teach about the pumpkin life cycle. The pictures show you some examples!

Click here to get these printables and more at our store!

Pumpkin Facts!

Most pumpkins are various shade of orange, but did you know that some varieties are yellow, white, or even other colors?

Most pumpkins weigh about 15 - 30 pounds. Still, some weigh as much as 800 pounds.

Spookly the Square Pumpkin...

Make some Pumpkin Smelly Play-dough!
My Favorite Recipe can be found here: : http://tinkerlab.com/diy-pumpkin-pie-playdough/

The mats seen in this picture are from this packet - click here to learn more!

Meet Spookley
– the friendliest square pumpkin in the patch! He’s not your ordinary pumpkin. Spookley is different from the rest of the pumpkins. All of the other pumpkins teased Spookley until he proved that being different can save the day! Kinda like a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer for Halloween.

Spookly Coloring Book in PDF	Spookly Maze, Word Game, and Word Search Activity Sheets!
Watch the story here.	Other ideas: Pick out rhyming words in the story. Talk about shapes, sizes, and colors. Patterns with different colored pumpkins

Here’s a super easy treat to share after reading the book. Spookly Marshmallow treats! Just dip the mallows in orange candy coating and top with a green tick-tac. Attach this printable to your treat and you are ready to hand out Spookly!

Marshmallows , Green sting Twizzlers (vine), Orange Candy Melts, and Thin Pretzel sticks.

Super Easy… Just melt the Candy Melt. I put the Marshmallows in a Lollipop stick. Dip the Marshmallow in the orange. Add the pretzel stick (halved) and a piece of the green Twizzler for the vine!
They set pretty quickly (about an hour). Then you can wrap them.

I think they turned out pretty cute! I will share them with some of my favorite Pre-K Kids

Spookly the Square Pumpkin Craft using a plastic recycled baby food container

It is filled with pumpkin cloud dough. You can see how to complete this craft by clicking here!

You can click here to get these Spookly Counting Puzzles 1-6 in our Preschool and Kindergarten Pumpkin Packet!

Pumpkin Poems, Songs, and Fingerplays

Song: "Five Little Pumpkins"

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,

The first one said, Oh, my it’s getting late!

The second one said, There are owls in the air!

The third one said, But we don’t care!

The fourth one said, Let’s run and run and run!

The fifth one said, I’m ready for some fun!

Then Woooo went the wind

And out (clap) went the lights

And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater

Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater

Had a wife and couldn't keep her.

He put her in a pumpkin shell

And there he kept her very well.

Mr. Pumpkin
(tune: Where is thumpkin)
Mr. Pumpkin, Mr. Pumpkin,
Eyes so round, eyes so round
Halloween is coming, Halloween is coming
To my town, to my town.

I'm Dreaming Of The Great Pumpkin
(Sung to: I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas)

I'm dreaming of the Great Pumpkin
Just like I do this time each year
When he brings nice toys to good girls and boys
Who wait for him to appear.

I'm dreaming of the Great Pumpkin
With every pumpkin card I write.
May your jack-o-lanterns burn bright
When the Great Pumpkin visits you tonight.
~Source unknown~

Activities to match "Five Little Pumpkins"

The poem below is loved by Preschool and Kindergarten Students.
Our Preschool and Kindergarten Packet which can be purchased here,
has many activities, pocket chart pieces, little books, and more to go along with this poem.

Click here to see the packet with the items below...

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,

The first one said, Oh, my it’s getting late!

The second one said, There are owls in the air!

The third one said, But we don’t care!

The fourth one said, Let’s run and run and run!

The fifth one said, I’m ready for some fun!

Then Woooo went the wind

And out (clap) went the lights

And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

Three free printables to match BIG PUMPKIN!!!!

Big Pumpkin is a fun Halloween story about a witch’s big pumpkin and the creatures that try to help her pick it. It has a fun, repetitious rhyme and a cute message about the importance of working together.

I wrote this little poem to summarize the story:

The Witch Planted a Seed.
The Pumpkin Grew like a Weed.

It grew and almost touched the sky.
The witch wanted to make some pumpkin pie.

She said, “This pumpkin is mine.”
But it was too big for her to pull off the vine.

A ghost tried.
A vampire tried.
A mummy tried.
No luck, and the witch sighed.

Along came a bat.
He saved the day just like that.

Working together is so much better!

Then I created a cut up sheet. Students can cut out each sentence and glue it to another sheet to make their own poem. Or have them copy the poem into their poem journal and illustrate. Have children highlight the words that rhyme in the poem.

Click here to print the cut-up.

Big Pumpkin Report: Fill this out after students read the book in small groups or as a class. Independently for grades 2-3.

Click here to print the report.

Here is a book report for PreK-First. Click here to dowload.

Need more pumpkin themed ideas???

TEACHING HEART’S FALL & HALLOWEEN PACKET for Kindergarten to 2nd Grades...
Below are some of the files found on the packet - to learn more and purchase, click here...

And our Pumpkin Patch Packet for Preschool and Kindergarten Classrooms - Click here to purchase and learn more!

Page 6. Five Little Pumpkin Manupulatives to use to retell the poem found on page 7.
Page 7. Five Little Pumpkins Poem with coloring page.
Page 8 and 9. Five Little Pumpkins Counting Flap Book. Students color and trace.
Page 10. Counting Puzzle to print.
Page 11 and 12. Counting puzzle to color and glue to page 12
Page 13. Number writing and one to three worksheet.
Page 15 and 16. Pumpkin Sequencing Pocket Chart Pieces to use when teaching about the pumpkin life cycle.
Page 17 and 18. Pumpkin Sequencing activity. Students sequence the cycle in order.
Page 19. Cut, Count, and Graph the Pumpkin Life Cycle Worksheet
Page 20 . Pumpkin Life Cycle Mini Book for students to color.
Page 21 and 22. Once I Planted a Pumpkin Seed Mini Book. Students Color and Trace and bring home to share and read.
Page 23. Pumpkin Pals Glyph Activity.
Page 24. Pumpkin cut and paste 10 frames worksheet.
Page 25 26 and 27. Pumpkin Rhyming activities.
Pages 29 and 30. Pumpkin Themed Play-dough Mats.
Page 31. Five Pumpkins on a Gate Dice Game. Have students take turns rolling the dice and matching the picture to the number rolled. First person to roll the gate and five pumpkins, wins!
Page 32. Square Pumpkin Counting Puzzles one to six.
Page 34 and 35. Life Cycle Sequence Puzzles one to six. Great for an independent center.
Page 36. Beginning Sound Pumpkin Patch Match Up—Students match the pumpkin Page 37 to the picture that matches the beginning sound
Page 36. Student covers the picture with the pumpkin letter. When finished the patch is filled with pumpkins.

Ejunkie Store – Click Here

Great Books To Make Your Pumpkin Unit Perfect!

Pumpkin Pumpkin Click here for ideas to match this book! Another Lesson Idea	Too Many Pumpkins
The Biggest Pumpkin Ever Click here for a storyboard Click here for more ideas!	Jeb Scarecrow's Pumpkin Patch
Apples and Pumpkins	Patty's Pumpkin Patch
Pumpkin Day, Pumpkin Night	Pumpkins : A Story for a Field
Pumpkin Circle : The Story of a Garden	Pumpkin Soup
Kids' Pumpkin Projects: Planting & Harvest Fun	The Pumpkin Book
Five Little Pumpkins	Pumpkin Eye

Pumpkin Things to print

Peter Coloring Page With Poem	Oct-Dec. Printables - Look for the free sign
Print and Make A Pumpkin Mask	P is for Pumpkin Coloring Page
Pumpkin Pattern Activity	Pumpkin Concentration
The Pumpkin Patch	Make a Pumpkin Pattern
Pumpkin ABC Dot to Dot	Pumpkin Dot to Dot 1-10
A file Folder Game to Print and Use	Check out The Teaching Heart Packet!

Recipe:
Many teachers look for this recipe. It has been a hit in my classroom. I found it was easier to use the paper cups.

Pumpkin Pudding Cones:
1/3 can of pumpkin pie filling with spices
8 oz. prepared whipped topping
2 packages of instant vanilla pudding
milk
ice cream cones

Let the children help mix the pudding with the milk according to instant pudding directions.
Add the pumpkin pie filling and stir well (or use electric mixer). The children then spoon the mixture into ice cream cones.
"Frost" the tops with whipped topping. This works weel with small paper cups rather than
the icecream cones!

Here is an Easy Pumpkin Pie in a Cup Recipe - Click Here and you can download a free printable to match as well!

Be sure to read the book below when having fun with this recipe!!

Check out the playdough below. It is Pumpkin Pie Playdough! Click here to learn how to make it, Learning Fun will show you how!

Pumpkin Water Bottle Craft!

We had the best time making these pumpkin head discovery bottles.
I saw the idea first on Teach Preschool (click t o view her post)! I modified it a bit and it was a hit!
Like in the Teach Preschool post we started the lesson with reading the story Pumpkin Heads by Wendell Minor.
We then discussed the life cycle of a pumpkin using the visuals in the Teaching Heart Pumpkin Pack.

We started by discussing what was inside a pumpkin.
We carved a small pumpkin and looked inside.
I was surprised how many kids did not want to feel the inside of the pumpkin.

Those that did want to feel the inside, took out a seed to use in their bottles.

The Aqua Pod water bottles are the perfect size for this craft. I also love that the labels are taped on and not glued on. They are easy and quick to remove.
I wrote each child’s name in a sharpie on the bottom of the bottle before we began.
I also drew the outline of the face for them to color in later. In teach Pre-k’s post she let them draw the face…
which is probably better when normally it is about the process and not the finished product… but I focused more on the process of adding the materials to the bottle.

They each added the real seeds to their bottles and some other fall items.
A pumpkin shaped eraser, fall themed confetti, and some fall beads.
They enjoyed guessing which items would float and which items would sink as they added them to the bottle!
After that they shook some glitter into their bottles. Then they added one drop of yellow food coloring and two of orange.
I quickly put the lids on their bottles and they shook the bottles to turn the water orange.
They enjoyed trying to find the items in the bottle once they shook it up. After that they filled in the faces with a sharpie marker.

Finally I used a glue gun to seal the lids on tightly so there would be no spilling on the way home!

This craft was lots of fun, easy set-up, and a BIG hit with the kids!

PUMPKIN MATH IDEAS

PUMPKIN MATH WITH SEEDS: Do not throw away those seeds, you can do many math activities with them. Try one of these great activities!
Estimate how many seeds are in the class pumpkin, graph the estimate. Count the seeds to see who was the closest. Guess how many cups your seeds will fill. Measure with unifix cubes how long your seeds will line up on the floor.

(place value counting)

As you are cutting into the pumpkin discuss the possible number of seeds it may contain. Record predictions and determine the "range" of student predictions. (Take this opportunity to review the life cycle of the pumpkin and point out the relationship between the flower and the pumpkin fruit they now see.)

Once the top has been removed, students will enjoy the messy fun of feeling the pulp and seeds as they help to clean out the pumpkin. Direct students to separate the seeds from the pulp.
Provide each group with portion cups and some seeds. Students should count by groups of ten and place each group in a portion cup. (The excitement in each group as they realize how close they are to reaching 100 or more is fantastic!)
Place a large sheet of butcher paper on a table. Divide into three sections and label: hundreds, tens, ones.
Have each group place their portion cups in the tens’ column and any leftover seeds in the ones column.
Regroup the ones’ column first, if possible.
Counting by tens, regroup the portion cups into a larger container (called the hundreds cup) and place in the hundreds’ column.
Record the number of seeds on the paper. (Our last year’s pumpkin yielded over 300 seeds!)
Compare the actual number of seeds with their predictions.

Make a pumpkin counting book to "10 Little Pumpkins" use the small chart stickers. Pumpkin shaped chart stickers can be bought in bulk at Staples or your local teacher store. You could give each student 10 white squares. On page one they would write one little pumpkin and stick a pumpkin sticker. On the next page they would write, two little pumpkins and stick two pumpkin stickers on the page...

To make the above activity more difficult. You could have the students write math problems and then illustrate them with crayons and the pumpkin stickers.

Pumpkin Seed Math
Place some seeds from a pumpkin in a ziplock bag. Give each student a bag and a sheet of paper. Have them write a math problem using their seeds.

Pumpkin Counting Fun!

O, I love the dollar store all year long… but during the Holidays you can find the best stuff for learning. Here is a simple hands-on counting idea. Grab a pack of small pumpkin containers and a pack of pumpkin erasers.

On the outside of each pumpkin write a number. The student must count out the number of pumpkin erasers and stick them in the pumpkin.

This makes a great math center for PRE-K to K. Also fun to do at home to practice counting. You can make the numbers in different formats.

You could also make an addition problem and the student must place the answer in pumpkin erasers into the pumpkins. Great for K and First.

Pumpkin Glyph and Math Center

Here is an activity sheet to have students complete before you create a pumpkin glyph. It asks students to circle answers and shows the students what parts they need to complete the glyph. After they finish this sheet, they may draw a pumpkin using the parts they circled or you may have the pieces of construction shapes available for the student to create the glyph using precut pieces.

Display the finished glyphs and then you have a math center. Students answers question based on all the displayed glyphs. Students record their answers on the center sheet.

Click here to download the pumpkin glyph question sheet.

Click here to download the math center sheet

Here is another one
Pumpkin Glyph

Start with the outline of a pumpkin.
Rule 1 Which kind of candy do you like best? If it is chocolate, make circle eyes on your pumpkin. If it is candy corn, make triangles for eyes. If it is licorice, make rectangles for eyes.
Rule 2 What kind of Halloween stories do you like best? If you like scary stories make a square nose. If you like gross stories make an upside down triangle. If you like funny stories make round nose.
Rule 3 How many books have you read this week about halloween? Make a mouth with one tooth for each book that you have read.
When the glyph pumpkins are completed the students can trade and try to decode what the pumpkins represent. The possiblities are endless.

Another Pumpkin Glyph Lesson

Objectives: Each student will create a jack-o-lantern glyph that accurately represents his or her answers to a series of questions. The completed jack-o-lanterns will then be displayed in the classroom and the data will be interpreted by the class.

       Procedures:
       1-Review what a glyph is with the class. Explain that a glyph is a way to represent data pictorially.
       2-Pass out the blank pumpkins. Discuss that each student will be creating a jack-o-lantern face on the pumpkin by answering a series of questions about Halloween activites and favorite treats.
       3-Begin asking the questions listed below allowing enough time for each student to complete his or her answer before asking the next.
       Q1: Have you ever eaten pumpkin seeds? (The stem color needs to be colored brown if the answer isyes and green if it is no.)
       Q2: Do you like pumpkin pie? (Draw a smile if yes, a frown if no, and a sqiggly mouth if you do not know.)
       Q3: Do you like scary or happy jack-o-lanterns? (Draw a square nose if you like scary ones or a triangle nose if you like happy
       jack-o-lanterns.
       Q4: What is your favorite fall treat? (The eyes need to be triangles for carmel apples, circles for popcorn balls, upside down triangles for candy corn, and square if the answer is other.
       4-Allow students to color their jack-o-lanterns.
      5-The next part of the lesson requires each student or the class as a whole to interpret the data. Older students should do it on their own, while a whole class discuss would be more beneficial for younger students.
       6-Ask questions during the interpretation such as: which students like pumpkin pie/how do you know, how many students have eaten pumpkin seeds, which fall treat is liked the most or least/what is an easy way to keep track of the count (tally marks for example),etc.

Extending the Lesson: This lesson can be made larger by including questions that require students to color the face different colors or the pumpkin yellow or orange and more.

Closure/Assessment: If the students interpreted the glyphs individually assess their ability to accurately interpret them. You can also assess the students glyph. I suggest doing a glyph each month. It can either relate to a holiday or event during the month or relate to the student (especially good at the beginning of the year as a getting to know you activity).

Pumpkin Cover-Up

This is two Pumpkin cover-ups. You can use a Bingo Dauber or you can cover it up with a pumpkin marker (dollar store Halloween erasers). The first set is for K sight words and numbers. The second set is for ‘op’ and ‘an’ family words. Say a word or number and the students finds it one their card to cover it up! You can click here to download this actvity is PDF.

Pumpkin 10 Frames Fun -

Click here to download the free pumpkin printable!!

Pumpkin Counting to 10 Puzzles

Make Pumpkin counting puzzles or download the ones seen above from this packet - click here to learn more.

The Stubborn Pumpkin	The Pumpkin Patch (Picture Puffins)
Early Themes: Apples, Pumpkins, and Harvest (Grades K-1) A good resource for teachers!	Pumpkin Eye

Kinder Themes this site has some great ideas that you will not find at other sites. Check out the idea for the small pumpkin candy holders!	Pumpkin Story Books & Ideas
KinderKorner Victoria does it again with a great unit on pumpkins!	Try a Web Quest The Great Pumpkin Detectictives