Once I Had aPumpkin
(Tune: “Lassie and Laddie”)
Oh, once I had apumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin. (Hands over head like
Oh, once I had apumpkin with no face at all. a pumpkin.)
With no eyes andno nose and no mouth and no teeth.
(Pointto facial features.)
Oh, once I had apumpkin with no face at all.
So I made ajack-o-lantern, jack-o-lantern, jack-o-lantern.
(Draw a jack-o-lantern in the air.)
So I made ajack-o-lantern, jack-o-lantern, jack-o-lantern.
With big eyes anda big nose and big mouth and big teeth.
(Drawfacial features in the air.)
So I made ajack-o-lantern with a big funny face.
*Draw ajack-o-lantern on the board or on an overhead as you sing the song.
Pumpkin Paint– Mix equal parts of flour and salt. Stir in orange tempera paint. (Obviously, if it’s powdered, you will need to add some water, too.) Add a spoonful of cinnamon or pumpkinpie spice to the paint and stir. Children can paint a pumpkin, pumpkin pie, or whatever they want. Their painting will be textured andsmell good, too!
Pumpkin Seeds– Before carving your pumpkin, have the children estimate how many seeds theythink it will contain and write down their estimations. Have the children separate the seedsand count them. Who guessedmore? Who guessed less? Who guessed the closest amount? Cook some of the seeds by rinsing themand frying them in a little butter and salt. Save some of the seeds to plant in the spring.
Five LittlePumpkins
(You can say thisor sing it to the tune of “Five Little Ducks.”)
Five littlepumpkins sitting on the gate. (Holdup 5 fingers.)
The first onesaid, “Oh, my it’s getting late.” (Holdup thumb.)
The second onesaid, “There are witches in the air.”(Hold up index finger.)
The third onesaid, “But I don’t care.” (Holdup middle finger.)
The fourth onesaid, “Let’s run and run and run.” (Holdup ring finger.)
The fifth onesaid, “I’m ready for some fun.” (Holdup pinky.)
Ooooo!Went the wind, and out went the light. (Blowand then clap.)
And the fivelittle pumpkins rolled out of sight! (Rollhands behind back.)
Paper PlatePumpkins – Make pumpkins out of paper plates. Choose five children to hold the pumpkins as you say therhyme. You could also cut pumpkinsout of felt and use on a flannel board.
Pumpkin PlayDough – Make play dough using the recipe below. Add red and yellow food coloring to make it orange. Let the children knead in pumpkin piespices. They’ll have fun makingpumpkins, pies, and other characters.
2cups all purpose flour
1cup salt
2TB. cream of tartar
2TB. vegetable oil
2cups water
foodcoloring
Mix all theingredients together in a pan and stir until smooth. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until the mixtureforms a ball and sticks to the spoon. Cool and knead. Store inplastic bags or covered containers.
Math Games - Make games where children seriate pumpkins from large to small or put pumpkins in numerical order.
