Fall is the perfect time to bring the excitement of pumpkins into your classroom! These Pumpkin Preschool Centers are designed for preschool, pre-K, and kindergarten children, with 18 hands-on activities that cover fine motor skills, literacy, math, and problem-solving.
Each activity is easy to prepare and engaging for little learners. Below, you’ll find photos of each center along with instructions, the skills it targets, and tips for classroom use.
To download FREE sample pages, CLICK HERE or on the button below below.
Pumpkin Preschool Centers for Fine Motor and Pre-Writing
1. Pumpkin Fine Motor Practice Mats
How to Use: Provide children with pom-poms, buttons, or beads to place on the circles.
Skills Covered: Fine motor control, hand-eye coordination, concentration.
Teacher Tip: Swap in pumpkin seeds for a seasonal twist.
2. Pumpkin Pre-Writing Tracing Cards
How to Use: Children trace lines with dry-erase markers or follow them with playdough, yarn, or gems.
Skills Covered: Pencil control, pre-writing strokes, left-to-right progression.
Teacher Tip: Laminate the cards for reuse in morning tubs.
Pumpkin Literacy and Phonics Centers
3. Pumpkin Alphabet Tracing Cards
How to Use: Children trace uppercase and lowercase letters with a marker, following the arrows.
Skills Covered: Letter formation, alphabet recognition, handwriting practice.
Teacher Tip: Use in small groups to reinforce correct letter direction.
4. Pumpkin Seeds Letter Match
How to Use: Match uppercase and lowercase letters by placing the correct seeds on each pumpkin.
Skills Covered: Letter recognition, upper/lowercase matching.
Teacher Tip: Add velcro dots for an interactive, reusable center.
5. Pumpkin Wagon Beginning Sounds
How to Use: Students sort picture cards into wagons by identifying beginning sounds.
Skills Covered: Phonemic awareness, sound-letter connections.
Teacher Tip: Introduce just a few wagons at a time to avoid overwhelming beginners.
Pumpkin Literacy and Thinking Centers
6. Pumpkin Rhyming Match
How to Use: Match cards that rhyme (for example, cat and hat).
Skills Covered: Rhyming awareness, phonological skills.
Teacher Tip: Extend by asking children to think of extra rhyming words.
7. Pumpkin Sight Word Spelling
How to Use: Use pumpkin letters or markers to spell out 40 pre-primer sight words.
Skills Covered: Sight word recognition, spelling, early reading.
Teacher Tip: Store each set of word cards in small envelopes for easy rotation.
8. What Is Different? Pumpkin Theme
How to Use: Children identify and clip the picture that looks different.
Skills Covered: Visual discrimination, attention to detail.
Teacher Tip: Use clothespins for extra fine motor practice.
9. What Doesn’t Belong? Pumpkin Theme
How to Use: Students clip the object that doesn’t belong in the group.
Skills Covered: Critical thinking, categorization, reasoning.
Teacher Tip: Encourage children to explain their answers aloud.
Pumpkin Math Centers for Preschool and Kindergarten
10. Pumpkin Number Tracing
How to Use: Students trace numbers 1–10 with markers or create them with playdough.
Skills Covered: Number formation, handwriting, fine motor practice.
Teacher Tip: Provide a number line nearby for extra support.
11. Pumpkin Seed Counting Mats
How to Use: Children count seeds and match them to each pumpkin.
Skills Covered: Counting, one-to-one correspondence, number sense.
Teacher Tip: Use real pumpkin seeds for a fun sensory twist.
12. Pumpkin Number Sense Crates
How to Use: Match pumpkins with different representations (dots, numerals, ten frames) to the correct crate.
Skills Covered: Number sense, matching quantities to numerals.
Teacher Tip: Try this as a partner activity for extra engagement.
13. Pumpkin Order by Size
How to Use: Children arrange pumpkins from smallest to largest.
Skills Covered: Size comparison, sequencing, ordering.
Teacher Tip: Differentiate by using fewer or more pumpkins.
Pumpkin Centers for Shapes, Colors, and Patterns
14. Pumpkin Shape Clip Cards
How to Use: Students identify and clip the matching shape.
Skills Covered: Shape recognition, fine motor practice.
Teacher Tip: Use brightly colored clothespins to make it more engaging.
15. Pumpkin and Crate Color Matching
How to Use: Match pumpkins to crates of the same color.
Skills Covered: Color recognition, sorting.
Teacher Tip: Ask children to find classroom objects that match the same color.
16. Pumpkin AB Patterns
How to Use: Complete simple AB patterns by clipping the missing piece.
Skills Covered: Pattern recognition, logical thinking.
Teacher Tip: Invite children to create their own AB patterns after completing the cards.
Pumpkin Problem-Solving and Sequencing Activities
17. Pumpkin Sequencing Cards
How to Use: Order the cards to show the pumpkin life cycle or steps for making pumpkin pie.
Skills Covered: Sequencing, comprehension, retelling events.
Teacher Tip: Have students retell the sequence aloud for added oral language practice.
18. Pumpkin Shadow Match
How to Use: Match each pumpkin picture to its shadow.
Skills Covered: Visual discrimination, matching, attention to detail.
Teacher Tip: Print on colored paper for an extra challenge.
These Pumpkin Preschool Centers are packed with 18 engaging activities that blend fun with learning. They are perfect for fall centers, small groups, or morning tubs in preschool, pre-K, and kindergarten. With so many skills covered—from fine motor practice to early literacy and math—your students will stay engaged while practicing essential concepts.
Purchase the Pumpkin Preschool Centers
To purchase the complete 146-page Pumpkin Preschool Centers, click on either store link below.
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Happy Teaching 🙂
