1-2-3 Come Do Some Pumpkin Life Cycle Activities With Me

Since the Life Cycle of an Apple packet, was so popular, I decided to make a matching one featuring a pumpkin's life cycle.

You’ll love the versatility, as it’s appropriate for a variety of ages and levels, with lots of options.

The Life Cycle of a Pumpkin emergent reader, is great non-fiction practice that reinforces plenty of sight words, as it includes 37 from the Dolch word lists!  Picture prompts help with the rest.

I’ve included a color copy for teachers, as well as a student copy in black & white.

Children trace and write the life cycle words, read the simple sentences, color the pictures, then cut & collate the pages into a “just the right size” booklet.

There’s a template with 6 on a page, as well as one with 12 mini-pages on a one-page template, so that you have the option to make Itty Bitty booklets, that are a real paper-saver.

To assist with reading, review the life cycle of a pumpkin with the 12 colorful pocket chart cards.

There’s a set featuring wonderful clip art, as well a set with real life photographs.
Use the smaller sets to play a Memory Match or Speed (sequencing) game.

I also made a bookmark-size template (with 4-on-a-page) for your students. 

You can also review the life cycle with a colorful pumpkin poster.  I've included a black line version your kidos can do as a worksheet.

The 6, pumpkin craftivities, also reinforce the life cycle.
Nothing like a hands-on artsy activity to get your kiddos excited, and completed projects make an awesome bulletin board or hallway display.

Because they are quick, easy & fun, and so different from each other, you could do several.

For example, do the flat Jack-o-lantern life cycle as a homework assignment worksheet, and the pumpkin life cycle wheel as an independent center or whole group activity. 

The pumpkin wheel craftivity is my personal favorite; the green stem acts as a pull-tab to easily rotate the pumpkin to show the various stages.

All of the crafts come in full-color so you can make a quick sample to share, as well as black & white for your kiddos to color.

If you do the “Oh My! Pumpkin Pie” craftivity, spritz with pumpkin-cinnamon air freshener! Your room will smell wonderful.

The ”life cycle-circles” come in 2 sizes, as well as black & white, plus full-color options, with and without word labels.

The packet also includes 15 posters featuring real photographs of the various stages of a pumpkin’s life cycle, which make a lovely bulletin board display, or simply share them with your kiddos to introduce or review the stages.

I think photographs really add to a lesson, as it's always amazing to me how many of my little "punkins" have never been to a pumpkin patch to pick out their pumpkin, or are even aware of the fact that pumpkins, like apples, come in more than one color. 

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to take a look see at this 85-pager: Life Cycle of a Pumpkin packet.  It's my sincere hope that you & your sweeties enjoy these activities as much as mine do.

While you're over there, I'd so appreciate it if you'd click the "Follow me" button. That way you'll know when I post FREEBIES, & Diane's Dollar Deals.

Thanks in advance; I'm excited to reach 700 followers.  I always design a special freebie when I hit a "milestone". Speaking of FREEBIES, the featured one today is also about pumpkins. 

I call it "Peekin' in a Pumpkin" because you can literally peek inside the paper plate pumpkin "window", and see "pumpkin guts". 

On the front of the paper plate, students draw a Jack-o'-lantern.  My kiddos absolutely LOVE doing this craftivity, and the results, suspended from the ceiling in the hall, are simply "spook-tacular!"

We get lots of "ooh ahh" comments too.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.  The trees are just starting to turn, so it's time for a nature walk.

My poodle pup, Chloe, will be thrilled.  Wishing you a relaxing day; I hope it's invigorating as well.

"When the wind blows through a wood, its mass is cut and closed by every leaf, forming a train of jittery vortices in the air." -Alice Oswald

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