ACTIVITIES
Pumpkins from Sandwich Bags
Your child can make playful pumpkins using paper sandwich bags and items from your craft box. If you don't have paint, use crayons to create a colorful design. No tissue or pipe cleaners? Use paper, yarn, ribbon, whatever is to hand.
Skills include hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, language development, sticking, cutting and coloring.
Cutting tip: Give your child a narrow strip of paper to cut for the shapes to make the face. They do like to snip while mastering scissor skills before they can cut along lines.
Introducing the letter p-p-p
The 'Big Event' for 'p' just needs some dollar shop peaches, pears and plums and a pink pillow slip. Peppers, pineapples, potatoes, pumpkins, or anything else beginning with 'p' will work just as well. The children will be learning how the sound of 'p' works while just having fun. Nothing abstract here! As a bonus, simple sorting and counting are included.
I often introduce 'p' during the pumpkin season as there are so many references to p-p-pumpkins, including activities such as scooping out pumpkins, counting the seeds as a number activity, and, of course, in books we are reading.
Threading Pumpkins for Preschoolers
This simple activity includes hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. You just need paper, yarn and a hole punch. If you want to turn your pumpkin into a jack o'lantern, you will need a pair of children's scissors. Alternatively, you can draw a face on using crayons. The leaves don't have to be tissue paper; regular paper will do.