1-2-3 Come Do Some Pumpkin Craftivities With Me

Quite a few of my most popular downloads are those that involve a hands-on craft.  With all of the standards we have to teach, I realize that many teachers don't feel that they have any time left in their day for the "fun" things they used to do. 

With that in mind, I try to incorporate some standards in the crafts that I design, thus the name "craftivities".  I decided to feature  A Baker's Dozen   of my all-time favorite pumpkin craftivities in this article, since the number 13 can certainly be associated with Halloween.  Although I've used the term a baker's dozen for years, I didn't know why it came about.  If you're curious too, click on the link. 

Since Apple Sense was such a huge hit, I decided to make a Pumpkin Sense one.  This is a quick, easy and fun way to review the 5 senses, as well as work on the importance of adjectives in descriptive writing. 

Having a carved class pumpkin isn't necessary, but really helps.  Adding a hand print leaf and photo adds that finishing touch.

Another writing craftivity is the Personal Pumpkin Patch Craft.Family relationship names, (mom, dad, sister, brother etc.) are a part of most teacher's word walls, so I wanted to think of something that would tie into building that vocabulary. 

Via a note home to parents, which is included in the packet,  you'll have the personal information needed to help your kiddo's make a personal pumpkin. 

There are also family word cards that you can use in a pocket chart or for flashcards, plus several worksheets and a Tally Time activity with math extensions.

Pumpkins In The News  reinforces the letter Pp, and has a variety of writing options as well. Students find and cut out shapes to make a pumpkin face, as well as letters that spell their name.  These will be used for the pumpkin's smile.  They can also search for all of the letter Pps on their pumpkin and circle them.

 For writing practice, younger students trace and write the Pp is for pumpkin worksheet and glue it to the back of their pumpkin.  Brainstorm with older students of why pumpkins might be in the news.  They choose a topic and then write about it on the pumpkin template, trim and then glue to the back of their newsprint pumpkin. 

Punch a hole in the stem and suspend from the ceiling. There's also a pattern for a class-made book entitled: The Case Of The Missing Pumpkins. 

The Shapely Pumpkin Packet  reviews 2D shapes and includes a spinner game and worksheet. Sponge painting is a super-fun, non-messy way for little ones to paint with awesome results.

I've been doing the Peekin' In A Pumpkin for 15 years.  It also reviews shapes, as a Jack-O-Lantern face is on the front. The "guts" of the pumpkin are on the other side. 

I put a dollop of Elmer's glue with a bit of yellow paint in the middle and let my students swirl it around with a Q-tip, then glue bits of yarn and real pumpkin seeds on, for an awesome result.

Add a bit of science to your day with the Life Cycle Of A Pumpkin Craftivity.  There are 3 options for this cute pumpkin bowl craft. 

You can review 2D shapes and have students draw a Jack-O-Lantern face on the back, or you can teach some pumpkin facts with the pumpkins ARE, HAVE, CAN writing prompt; (I've included a completed sample.) or you can explain the life cycle of a pumpkin, and have students color, trim and glue that circle to the back of their pumpkin bowl. 

Curling ribbon and a child's hand print leaf add the finishing touches.  These look terrific suspended from the ceiling too.

The  Triple Play Pumpkin  also has 3 options.  

One involves measurement activities, another investigates the inside and outside of a pumpkin and uses adjectives to record findings; while the last one involves writing about things that scare you. 

This is a 3 dimensional pumpkin as students glue 3-4 paper circles together.

We do a lot of singing in Y5's.  It's a fun way to learn all sorts of things, review concepts and the children really enjoy it.  One of their favorite October songs was Pumpkin Round and Fat. 

When I Googled the song, I found a sweet Popsicle stick puppet over at Teacher Mama.  Click on the link for a pattern and my version. Pumpkin Puppet.

If you're a homeschooling parent and looking for an awesome, but easy fall centerpiece that your child can make, then I think you'll enjoy the  Dryer Hose Pumpkin.

This idea has been around for decades, but I just learned of it a few years ago when I met a crafty gal at Hobby Lobby.  I actually made these with my Y5's.  Their mommies were really impressed, as they turned out so cute.  They cost about $1 each to make.

If you haven't made puffy paint by mixing shaving cream, Elmer's glue and tempera, then you're in for a treat. 

This photo doesn't do justice to how absolutely awesome these turned out, as our pumpkins puffed up to over an inch high when they dried.

We also revisit this technique in January when we make snowmen.  Click on the link for the Puffy Pumpkin.  To see a photo of our snowmen click here. For some reason, you can see the puffiness much better in the snowman pictures.

Finally, to round out my baker's dozen, I wanted to share 3 outstanding pumpkin crafts that I found Online. 

Tammy's Kool Aid Pumpkins from over at Housing a Forest, has been pinned over 1,000 times from my pumpkin Pinterest board.  She has a quick tutorial of how to make these terrific-looking pumpkins that smell scrumptious.

Mrs. Withrow, over at Garden of Praise, makes these adorable Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater nursery rhyme pumpkins with her kinders, and substitutes their name for the word wife.  LOVE the pictures she took of her kiddos to place inside.

Lastly, but not "leastly" is a sweet paper plate pumpkin Mask, from over at DLTK Kids. 

If you don't have time to have each child make one, whip 5 different Jack-O-Lanterns up yourself, and have students use them as manipulatives to act out the popular 5 Little Pumpkins Sitting On A Gate poem.

Mrs. Alvarado over at Learning Safari does this with 5 large tag board pumpkins.  Too cute!

Whew! That's a whole "lotta" pumpkin stuff. Hopefully you found a few things to add some extra fun to your pumpkin activities. 

I'm off to do some much-needed grocery shopping.  Maybe my grandson and I will make a stop at the farmer's market to pick out a pumpkin!  Wishing you a fun-filled day!

"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Nine Fine Pumpkin On The Vine Math Activities With Me

I have so many fun pumpkin activities to share, that I thought I'd feature 9 of my favorites that I use to teach all sorts of math standards.

A quick, easy and fun way to review numbers from 1-30, counting backwards from 20 or 10 to 0; plus skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's & 10's is with the pumpkin slider. There are 3 different pumpkin patterns for children to choose from. 

So that you can also review upper & lowercase letters, I included those traceable strips as well.  Sliders are a great way to whole group assess as you play an "I Spy!" game.

If you're working on telling time with your kiddos, the Pumpkin Time cards are perfect for a pocket chart or use as flashcards.

They review analog and digital time to the hour as well as time to the half hour.   Make extra sets for students to play Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has?" games. I've included a tip list of other things you can do with the cards, plus a Kaboom game.

For more telling time reinforcement, your kiddos will enjoy the  "It's Pumpkin Time!" games.  There are dice as well as spinner games. 

Both reinforce digital as well as analog time.  I've included blank templates to use as an assessment tool, or for students to make mini time booklets.

Have you started working on money?  Then I think you'll enjoy Pumpkin Payment. 

Several standards are covered in this easy-reader pumpkin coin booklet that reinforce coins and shapes. 

Students trace and write the coin word, the value of the coin, plus the shape word.  They trace the shape and then draw it on the pumpkin; cutting and gluing the coin(s) to the matching numbered boxes.

Are you looking for some measurement activities? Help students practice measurement, by using apples and pumpkins.

You can run this packet off as an entire booklet for each child to work on, or use one worksheet each day during your math or science time. 

I have pages where students measure with blocks, and other worksheets where students measure with a real scale and a yardstick.  Click on the link for Pumpkin & Apple Measurement Activities

More measurement activities can be found in the Pumpkin Investigation Booklet. 

Students measure height, weight, width and circumference of a pumpkin. They trace and write vocabulary-building words, predict, answer questions, + collect and analyze data.

I think most teachers cover the life cycle of a pumpkin to add a bit of science into their day. 

With that in mind, I designed From Seeds To Pumpkin Pie: a quick, easy and awesome looking life cycle of a pumpkin craftivity.  Ever mindful of standards, I included some shape & fraction fun to go with it. 

The front of the pumpkin reviews all of the 2D basic shapes, including the hexagon, as students design their Jack-O-Lantern. (K.G.2)

The back of the pumpkin converts into a pie and is divided into quarters that show the pumpkin's life cycle. To make it look like a "real" pie tin, I covered a paper plate with aluminum foil. 

Two fraction worksheets are included, to work on dividing circles and rectangles into two and four equal shares. Students describe the sections using the words halves, fourths & quarters. (1.G.3) Completed projects look terrific suspended from the ceiling.

Finally, the Seed Sorting packet, helps you to continue with a bit more science, while covering all sorts of math standards:  Data collection & analysis, sorting, comparing & contrasting, predicting, guess-timating, counting, sequencing, greater than, less than & equal to, plus graphing. 

You can do these activities as a whole group, or set things up as a center and have students work independently on their own seed worksheets.

The easy reader My Seed Booklet, is a matching activity. You can simply make a booklet to share with your students, so that they can see the different kinds of popular fall seeds, or have each child make their own booklet by drawing the seeds. 

Since you can buy packages of popcorn, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, you may want your students to glue some real ones to their booklet as well.  You can always use the leftovers for all sorts of counting and sorting activities.

If you're looking for a few more math-related pumpkin activities, scroll down to another blog article filled with even more fall FREEBIES.

That's it for today.  Thanks for visiting.  I hope you found a few things to get your kiddos excited about math, while learning a bit of science too. 

I'm off to the farmer's market to buy a few small pumpkins and gourds; I love decorating for fall.   Wishing you a colorful autumn day filled with ed-venture!

"Those who live in the past limit their future."  -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Pumpkin Math With Me

I'm really enjoying fall.  Love the wonderful weather, and the leaves are just starting to turn here in Michigan. 

I've had a few requests for some simple pumpkin games that teachers can use as an independent center. Several visitors have also asked for some pumpkin-themed number word activities.

With that in mind, I just finished the cute Pumpkin Fun Number Packet. It's 22 pages, and includes a seed counting game, where students match the stem with a number on it, to the pumpkin with the number word on it. 

From there, students count to find the matching "pumpkin guts".  These are circles with pumpkin seeds on them from 1-20. 

To make the game self-checking, write the number on the back of the seed circles and pumpkins. 

If you want, run off copies, so that students can make their own Counting Pumpkin Seeds booklet. They glue the stem to the pumpkin and then staple the edge of the seed circle so that it flips up. 

I've included a cover for them to staple to the front.  This would involve quite a bit of cutting, so you may want students working on this for several days, or simply have them do numbers 0-10. This is a nice fit for Daily 5 word work.

For more practice matching numbers to their number word, I've included 2 trace and write worksheets.  These are great for early finishers, your sub folder or homework.

A slice of pumpkin, is another worksheet, where students trace and write the number and dot that many seeds in the appropriate section.  When they are done, they color the picture.

There's also a "Show Me The Number" activity.  These can be done as a separate table top worksheet for your math block, or run off and staple into a booklet and have students work on a new number each day. 

Before you work on any of these activities, I suggest reviewing numbers and number words. 

I've included a set of pocket chart cards and a poster to help you.  Students can refer to them as they work independently.  

Click on the link to view/download the Pumpkin Number Fun packet.

For another pumpkin-themed number word game click on the link. 

This one helps strengthen finger muscles, as students use clothespins to make matches. 

Seven Pumpkin Games is  another FREEBIE that reinforces numbers. 

As a teacher, I incorporate games because my students really enjoy them, and I can cover a variety of math concepts, while helping them improve their "life skills" at the same time. 

If you want to work on higher numbers, click on the Pumpkin Math packet to practice numbers 1-120. 

You can cover quite a few Common Core State Standards with this "Let's Count Pumpkins" packet, which includes an easy reader where students read, trace and write the numbers, plus circle them in a sequence. 

To cover more standards, children circle capital letters, add end punctuation to the simple sentences, plus count the pumpkins in the group/set and color the puffy numbers as well.

The packet also includes trace and write worksheets for counting from 0 to 120, plus skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's, and 10's.

Click on the link for a larger set of pumpkin number cards, that you can use in a variety of ways: pocket chart cards, a number line, games such as "I Have; Who Has?" and Memory Match; plus students can practice making up equations, and showing greater than or less than.

Finally, if you use 10 frames with your kiddos, I've made a pumpkin-themed 10 frames set. 

That's it for today.  Thanks for visiting. 

I'm off to the dungeon (also known as my basement) to haul up some autumn decorations.  Wishing you a fabulous fall.

"It might be hard at times, but hard is not impossible." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Fall Writing With Me

Since the "Apple Sense" craftivity was downloaded quite a bit, I decided this format would also work well for Pumpkin Sense.   No matter what grade your students are in, they need to be reminded to use their senses to make their writing "come alive."  The use of adjectives is equally important, and such a simple thing to explain using examples.  I find that if students can add a bit of art to their creations, writing is more fun and completed projects make wonderful bulletin boards that build self-esteem.   

Run off the pumpkin template on orange construction paper.  Students add a bit of color to the the stem, with a green crayon.  You can make this even cuter, by having students trace their hand (with their fingers spread) onto a sheet of green construction paper, trim and glue their "leaf" next to the stem.  Adding a photograph gives things that finishing touch.

Run the "pumpkin guts" off on yellow construction paper.  Students trim and fill in their answers.  Before hand, discuss the 5 senses, as well as what an adjective is, explaining the importance of using both to write better.  

Brainstorm words that can be used to describe a pumpkin using the various senses and write them on the board.   Students can draw from this word bank when they write. 

So that they are practicing starting a sentence with a capital letter, have students write a complete sentence, rather than filling in their answer.  Review proper end punctuation.  To make sure that they use adjectives, encourage students to underline them.

You may want children to write a rough draft, checking to make sure that every noun has a descriptive word before it.  Can they think of a better word to describe what they are seeing, feeling, tasting, smelling, etc?  When they are satisfied with their final draft, they can write it on the yellow insert.   Click on the link to view/download the Pumpkin Sense craftivity.

Continuing with adjective practice, I designed a Describing Fall packet. 

Students think of words that describe the various fall themes: school, apples, leaves, pumpkins, spiders, bats, scarecrows, sunflowers, turkeys and Pilgrims, and then fill in the appropriate boxes with adjectives.  Once they have done that, students incorporate several words into 1 or 2 sentences that they write on the back of their worksheet. 

Children can add a bit of color with crayons or markers.  When everyone is done, have them share their work.  I've also included a definition of an adjective anchor chart. Click on the link to view/download the Describing Fall Adjective Writing packet.

If you're looking for more activities involving the 5 Senses you may like Sam's Senses craftivity.  Children cut and glue the labels to Sam the pumpkin man.  What makes Sam special is that his hands are the traced hands of the student.  Click on the link to view/download Sam. 

My Fall Senses, is a quick and easy candy corn graphic organizer that again helps students practice their writing skills.  Click on the link to view download this fall writing activity.

Thanks for visiting today.  I design and write daily, so I hope you can stop by tomorrow for the newest FREEBIES.  Feel free to PIN away.  To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button on the burgundy menu bar.   If you'd like to take a look at all of the wonderful-educational items that I PIN, click on the heart button to the right of the blog. 

"Strength: A river cuts through a rock not because of its power, but because of its persistence." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Sort Pumpkins With Me

If you're looking for some seasonal math centers, you've come to the right place.  Two scarecrows, with the ever-popular names Even Steven and Odd Todd, each have an empty field waiting to be filled up with pumpkins.  There's a catch though.  Todd only wants odd numbered pumpkins, while Steven wants only even numbered ones. 

To make the game, print and laminate the scarecrow sorting mats, along with pumpkins numbered from 1-120 and then trim. Children grab a fist-full of pumpkins and place them in the appropriate pumpkin patch.  The numbered pumpkin tiles can also be used for sequencing activities, or to play an "I Have; Who Has?" game.

I've also included 2, trace and write the number worksheets. The 1st one goes from 1-50; the 2nd one from 51-100.

Click on the link to view/download the Odd and Even Pumpkin Patch game.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything from my site.  I LOVE Pinterest; it's such a wonderful way to share.

To ensure that pinners return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button on the burgundy menu bar.  If you'd like to take a look at all of the wonderful educational items that I pin, click on the heart button to the right of the blog.

"The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows." -Sydney J. Harris

1-2-3 Come Get Organized With Me!

I'm a visual person.  I need to see things to help make sense of whatever I'm learning.  I'm also a maker of lists.  I have zillions for all sorts of reasons, so you can only imagine how a graphic organizer makes my life a whole lot easier.

I found that when I helped my elementary kiddo's, as well as my college students, design graphic organizers to get their thoughts together, writing became easier for them, and things flowed better and were more concise as well.

I use them for a variety of reasons and wanted to design some with Common Core State Standards in mind.  If children are able to jot down specific details in a certain order (beginning-middle and end) they are better able to re-tell a story, and then later, write one themselves.

With that in mind, I made an apple and pumpkin graphic organizer, to help students retell a story on those themes, and then practice writing what they learned in the appropriate boxes.  I used pictures that represented the beginning-middle and end of the apple and pumpkin life cycles as well.

Click on the link to view/download the Apple and Pumpkin Graphic Organizers. I blog every day, so I hope you can pop back tomorrow for the newest FREEBIES.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything from my site that you think others might find helpful.  To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button located on the burgundy menu bar.  If you'd like to take a look at all of the wonderful educational items that I pin, click on the heart to the right.

"If education doesn't prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives, then it is a failure, no matter what else it may seem to have accomplished."  -Sydney J. Harris

1-2-3 Come Do Some Apple and Pumpkin Activities With Me!

One of the much-needed skills for little ones, is the ability to cut.  Just learning how to hold a scissors is quite an accomplishment for some.  To help my Y5's strengthen their hand muscles and increase dexterity, I incorporated cutting practice in some form or another every day.  To make this less tedious and frustrating, many of the activities revolved around creating a craft that included other skills as well.

Keeping this in mind, I designed "A-peel-ing Apples" so children could practice cutting in a circle.  This is a wonderful opportunity to add the term spiral to students' vocabulary as well.  Giving a red, yellow or lime green color choice for the apple, also reinforces that science fact. 

To add a bit more pizzazz, older students can glue two different colors together.  The thicker paper lessens the drop of the spiral, and the double-sided colors add interest to the dangler.  Students glue a stem and leaf to the top.  Punch a hole; add a yarn loop and suspend from the ceiling, or as a border against a hallway wall.  Click on the link to view/download the A-peel-ing Apples activity.

Cutting on a straight line is also not that easy for some little ones. These apple and pumpkin "strip" puzzles, will not only give your students practice with that skill, but review and reinforce sequencing numbers from 1-10, skip counting by 10's, or counting backwards from 10-1. I've used a dashed-line font, for the numbers on the apples and pumpkins, so that students can get some writing practice in.  Encourage children to count quietly as they trace the numbers.

Simply choose a number concept you want to work on and run off the puzzles on construction paper.  Children choose a puzzle; trace the numbers; cut the strips, lay them in the proper sequence on a sheet of black construction paper, and then glue them down. 

Remind students to keep a small space between the strips.  Students add a stem and leaf to the top.  You can make the pumpkin more of a keepsake, by having children, or a room helper, trace their hand, with their fingers spread, onto green construction paper.  They trim and glue next to their stem.  Completed projects make a sweet harvest bulletin board.

You may want to laminate one of each kind, to keep in your math center.  Each puzzle has its own Baggie.  Children can work indepently, or pick a partner to play "Speed" against.  The first one who completes their puzzle, is the winner.  Click on the link to view/download the Apple and Pumpkin Number Puzzles.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.  To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button located on my menu bar.  If you'd like to take a look at all of the wonderfully creative stuff I PIN for school, click on the heart to the right of the blog.

"Imagination is the highest kite one can fly." -Lauren Bacall

1-2-3 Come Make a Pumpkin Slider With Me!

Making a hands-on craftivity, is a fun way for students to learn about, and review the basic 2D shapes and the shape words associated with them.  I tried to do at least one shape activity a week with my Y5's. The more exposure they had to shapes, the better the chances of their light bulb going on, in an interesting and non-stressful way.

My "sliders" have always been extremely popular, so I wanted to make a pumpkin one with shapes.  They are called sliders, because students pull(slide) their strip through slits, to reveal whatever I want to teach.  Sliders are a quick and easy way to whole-group assess.  Simply call out a shape and have students find it on their slider and then hold it up.  You can also individually assess with a slider; the game-like activity, lessens a child's apprehension when being tested.

Here's how to make the Pumpkin Shape Slider:

• Run off the sliders on white construction paper and the pumpkin on orange.
• For younger kiddo's, you may want to pre-slit the lines on the pumpkins, where the sliders will be pulled through. I use an exacto knife.
• Students trace and color the eyes. Encourage them to use different colors, so you can also review that standard. For a bit more pizzazz, have students add some color to the stem, nose and mouth sections.
• Teacher asks students to make their pumpkin’s eyes triangles. Children pull their “slider” ‘til they have located the triangle eyes, and then pull the mouth strip ‘til it says the word triangles.  
• Everyone “reads” their pumpkin together as a whole group.
• There’s a teachable moment for fractions (cut and glue 1/2 the strip) as well as plurals: The pumpkin has 2 eyes so the shape word needs to have the letter s on the end.

Click on the link to view/download the Pumpkin Shape Slider. I also made a Pumpkin ABC-123 Slider that has different strips, so you can review: upper and lowercase letters, numbers from 0-30, skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's and 10's, as well as counting backwards from 10 to 0 and 20 to 0. Run off whatever strips you want your students to work on.  Make a laminated one yourself to use as a demonstration, review, or assessment sample. 

So that the strip is easily managed, students can fold the ends up. Have children TRACE the letters/numbers with two different colored highlighters in an ABAB pattern. Click on the link to view/download the ABC-123 Pumpkin Slider. There are 3 pumpkin templates to choose from: students can draw on their own face, add wiggle eyes, or use the pumpkin that has a face on it. TIP: Decorate the pumpkin on both sides and glue 2 slider strips back-to-back for double duty.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything from my site. To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top of the page; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button located on my menu bar.  If you'd like to take a look at all of the wonderful items I pin, click on the heart button to the right of the blog.

"The only place success comes before work, is in the dictionary!" -Vidal Sassoon

1-2-3 Come Make A Pumpkin Craft With Me!

Hi Ho!  it’s pumpkin time don’t ya know! At least that’s what my Y5’s always told me when I asked them what month it was.  Children come up with the cutest things! One of my all-time favorite activities with my little "punkins" was "Peekin' In A Pumpkin".  We'd do this "craftivity" on the day that we carved our class pumpkin. 

So that I could orchestrate the lesson, I always sent a newsletter home asking for an adult volunteer to come in and do the honors.  My kiddo's would vote what kind of face they wanted, and could choose from a variety of shapes for the eyes and nose, as well as an emotion: happy, sad, scary.  I probably don't need to tell you that the "scary" pumpkin won 90% of the time.

I'd give everyone a chance to feel the pumpkin "goop." Surprisingly, some of my kiddo's never had this experience. I'd write their "describing" words on the board, and encouraged them not to repeat an answer that someone had already given.  A few wipes would expedite cleaning sticky fingers.

We'd don paint shirts and enjoy painting our paper plate pumpkins orange.  While they happily made their "mess-terpieces" my helper would wash the seeds, set some out to dry, so that each child got a scoopful to glue to the "inside" of their pumpkin. 

The rest were salted, drizzled with butter and then popped into the cafeteria oven, for later taste testing.  Every year about 50% of my Y5's liked pumpkin seeds and the other half didn't. Then we'd graph the results.  (Included in packet.)

Here's How To Make A Peekin' In A Pumpkin:

• I took 2 days to do this project. On the 1st day, have children paint their two paper plates orange.
• Before hand, cut a circle out of the center of one of the paper plates. 
• The seeds were washed and dried over night.  On the 2nd day, give a scoopful of pumpkin seeds to each child. If you can't carve pumpkins in your school, buy a package of them at the grocery store.
  
• Have them swirl some paint, mixed with Elmer’s glue, on the non-cut plate with a piece of yarn.
• Kiddo's arrange the yarn and pumpkin seeds on the plate to look like “pumpkin guts”.
• When the plates are dry, staple them together. Staple the cut out “window” plate on top of the “pumpkin gut” plate so that it is inverted and 3-dimensional.
• Insert a green rectangular strip of construction paper, punch a hole in it and tie a piece of yarn from it. 
• If you’d like to include a little rhyme time, run off the poem-stem on green construction paper.  You also need to make sure students have a square on their pumpkin, so I made one with “Peekin’ in a Pumpkin” written on it. Have students glue this to the back of their poem stem. Children write their name above or below.
  
• Students can make a Jack-O-Lantern face on the back of their pumpkin with a black marker. So that I could review shapes again, I pre-cut a variety of shapes of black construction paper, for children to choose, arrange and then glue to make the face.  If you're school is not into Halloween, and do a Harvest theme instead, simply leave the back of the pumpkins plain.  
• You don’t need a leaf, but if you have time, students can trace their hand (with their fingers spread) on green construction paper, cut out and glue next to their stem. 
• Another bit of pizzazz can be added, by punching a hole at the top of the plate, wrap a green pipe cleaner around a pencil and poke it through.  This is a quick way to reinforce the fact that pumpkins grow on vines and is wonderful fine-motor practice. 
  
• Suspend your pumpkins from the ceiling and watch them twirl in the breeze.

Click on the link to view/download the Peekin' In A Pumpkin craftivity.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.  If you'd like to take a "peek" at the awesome educational things I spend way too much time pinning, click on the heart to the right of the blog.  I blog daily, so I hope you can pop back tomorrow to see the newest FREEBIES.

"The teacher who is indeed wise, does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom, but rather, leads you to the threshold of your mind." -Kahlil Gibran

1-2-3 Come Study Shapes and Graphs With Me

Because I incorporated shapes into a themed picture, you are able to cover several standards, while students practice their graphing skills.  Besides the 4 seasonal graphs, there are answer keys included, so you have a sample to show students. Point to the various shapes on the sample, and have children identify them.

Use the discussion questions, to help kiddo's further understand data collection and analysis.  I tried to think of a variety of themed-shapes for fall, so there's an apple graph, a pumpkin graph, a leaf graph and a spider graph.

I design quite a bit from teacher requests, so if there's a theme you study in the fall, that you'd like a graph for, simply shoot me an e-mail and I'll see what I can whip together. diane@teachwithme.com

Click on the link to view/download the Shapely Fall Graphs packet.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.  To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black.  Now click on the "Pin it" button located on my menu bar. 

If you'd like to take a look at all of the wonderful-educational items I pin, click on the heart button to the right of the blog.  I'm grateful to all of the teachers and parents out there who share their creativity, to help children have fun learning.

"The task of the modern educator, is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts." -C. S. Lewis