Pumpkin Centers for Preschool | Morning Tubs / Bins

Pumpkin Centers for Preschool | Morning Tubs / Bins

The Pumpkin Preschool Centers contains 18 games and activities intended for use in centers and small groups with children in Preschool, Pre-Kindergarten, Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten (Prep).

Contents and Directions for use

Following is an outline of the activities included in this unit and suggestions for preparation and use.

1. Pumpkin fine motor practice mats (5 mats)
To prepare the mats for use, print and then laminate them for durability. You will need to supply children with pom-poms, gems, buttons, beads, beans or other small objects that will fit inside the circles.
The aim of this activity is for children to place a small object in each of the circles.

2. Pumpkin Write and Wipe pre-writing tracing practice (9 cards)
To prepare the pre-writing tracing cards for use, print and then laminate them for durability. The cards can be kept in a book-like format by making a hole in the top left corner and securing together with a key ring or a pipe-cleaner.
Using a white board (dry-erase) marker, children are required to trace the lines on the card starting on the left and progressing towards the right.
Other ideas: have children trace the path on a given card using play dough, pipe cleaners, yarn or sequins.

3. Pumpkin alphabet tracing practice – upper and lower case (26 cards)
To prepare the alphabet tracing cards for use, print and then laminate them for durability. The cards can be kept in a book-like format by making a hole in the pumpkin stalk and securing together with a key ring or a pipe-cleaner.
Children use a white board (dry-erase) marker to trace the letters on the card, following the directional arrows.
Other ideas: have children trace the letters on a given card using play dough, pipe cleaners, yarn or sequins.

4. Pumpkin seeds upper and lower case match (26 pages)
To prepare the activity for use, print and then laminate the pages for durability. Cut out all the pieces. Attach velcro to each pumpkin seed and pumpkin (optional).
The aim of this activity is for children to identify and match all the upper and lower case letters to the correct pumpkin. Introduce only a couple of letters to begin with and, once children are familiar with the activity and have gained confidence, more letters can be added.
Other ideas: glue the seeds on to clothes pegs to make it a fine motor building activity.

5. Pumpkins to wagon beginning sounds (13 pages)
To prepare the activity for use, print and then laminate the pages for durability. Cut out all the pieces.
The aim of this activity is for children to identify the beginning sound for each of the pictures and sort them to the correct wagon. Introduce only a couple of letters to begin with and, once children are familiar with the activity and have gained confidence, more letters can be added.
Other ideas: glue the pumpkins on to clothes pegs to make it a fine motor building activity.

6. Pumpkin rhyming match (10 cards)
To prepare the activity for use, print and then laminate the pages for durability. Cut out all the pieces.
Children say the words for each picture and find the pair that rhyme.

7. Pumpkin sight words spelling (40 pre-primer sight words cards)
To prepare the activity for use, print all the pages, laminate them for durability and then cut out the cards. Secure the sight word cards together by making a hole in the corner and putting them on a small key ring (optional).
Children pick a sight word card and spell out the word using the pumpkin seed cards included. Alternatively, children can spell the words using Scrabble letters, magnetic letters, mini alphabet erasers, play dough, or simply write the word with an erasable marker.

8. Pumpkin number tracing practice 1-10 (10 cards)
To prepare the number tracing cards for use, print and then laminate them for durability. The cards can be kept in a book-like format by making a hole in the pumpkin stalk and securing together with a key ring or a pipe-cleaner.
Children use a white board (dry-erase) marker to trace the number on the card, following the directional arrows.
Other ideas: have children trace the letters on a given card using play dough, pipe cleaners, yarn or sequins. Use the cards as counting cards: make a hole at the bottom of each card and thread a pipe cleaner through; have children string beads on the pipe cleaner to show how many. Children can also use read pumpkin seeds to show how many.

9. Pumpkin seed counting 1-10 (10 pages)
To prepare the activity for use, print and then laminate the pages for durability. Cut out all the pieces. Attach velcro to each pumpkin seed and pumpkin (optional).
The aim of this activity is for children to count out the number of seeds shown on each pumpkin and place them accordingly. Children can also use pom poms or real pumpkin seeds instead of the seeds included.
Other ideas: glue the seeds or pom poms on to clothes pegs to make it a fine motor building activity.

10. Pumpkin number sense (1-10)
To prepare the activity for use, print and then laminate the pages for durability. Cut out all the pieces.
The aim of this activity is for children to identify and match all the number representations on the pumpkins to the correct crate. Introduce only a couple of numbers and pumpkins to begin with and, once children are familiar with the activity and have gained confidence, more numbers and pumpkins can be added.
Other ideas: glue the pumpkins on to clothes pegs to make it a fine motor building activity.

11. Pumpkin order by size: smallest to biggest (differentiated)
If children are struggling with the concept, print out the card with the pumpkin outlines for children to use as a guide when ordering the pumpkins. Otherwise, use the card with no outlines. To prepare the activity for use, print and then laminate the page for durability. Cut out all the pumpkins. Attach velcro to each pumpkin and space on the card (optional).
The aim of this activity is for children to order the pumpkins from smallest to biggest.
Other ideas: glue the pumpkins on to clothes pegs to make it a fine motor building activity.

12. Pumpkin shapes clip cards (10 shapes)
To prepare the activity for use, print and then laminate the pages for durability. Cut out the clip cards.
The aim of this activity is for children to identify the shape that matches the pumpkin shape in the first box and then clip a card to show their answer.

13. Pumpkin and crate color matching (11 colors)
To prepare the activity for use, print and then laminate the pages for durability. Cut out all the pieces.
The aim of this activity is for children to identify and match all the colored pumpkins to the correct crate. You may also like to provide children with objects from your home or classroom and ask them sort them to the corresponding colored crates.
Other ideas: glue the pumpkins on to clothes pegs to make it a fine motor building activity.

14. What is different? pumpkin theme(4 cards)
To prepare the cards for use, print, laminate them for durability and then cut them apart. You will need to supply children with clothes pegs or paper clips for this activity in order for them to show their answers.
The aim of this activity is for children to clip a peg on the picture that is different.

15. What doesn’t belong? pumpkin theme (4 cards)
To prepare the cards for use, print, laminate them for durability and then cut them apart. You will need to supply children with clothes pegs or paper clips for this activity in order for them to show their answers.
The aim of this activity is for children to clip a peg on the picture that doesn’t belong.

16. Pumpkin sequencing cards: Making Pumpkin Pie and How a Pumpkin Grows (2 sets: 4-part sequencing and 6-part sequencing)
To prepare the cards for use, print, laminate them for durability and then cut them apart. Attach velcro to the back of each picture and box (optional).
The aim of this activity is for children to order the cards to show the sequence.

17. Pumpkin theme AB patterns (5 cards)
To prepare the cards for use, print, laminate them for durability and then cut them apart. Attach the pictures cut out from the bottom of the page to the end of a clothes peg using a hot glue gun to make this a fine motor building activity. Alternatively, you can use velcro.
The aim of this activity is for children to identify the pattern on the cards and to clip the correct picture in the empty box to complete the pattern.

18. Pumpkin shadow matching (12 card pairs)
To prepare the activity for use, print and then laminate the pages for durability. Cut out all the pieces.
The aim of this activity is for children to match the pictures to their shadows.

Happy Teaching 🙂