1-2-3 Come Play A Pumpkin Dice Game With Me

Since my Apple Puzzle Games have been so popular, I decided to create a pumpkin-themed one too. 

The pumpkin puzzles are a quick, easy and super-fun activity that you can play as an independent center, or as a whole group where children play individually or with a partner.

The games  will reinforce numbers 1-6 for PK kiddos, while older students can use the 1-12 number puzzle to practice addition.

There are several ways to play.

To reinforce the fact that pumpkins are not only orange but can be red, yellow, green whitish tan & even blue, I have my students color with those six crayons.

So that each students’ work is different, children decide which numbers are what colors.

Because of the variety, completed projects make a sweet bulletin board.

I've included photographs of real colorful pumpkins, along with a poster to scatter among your students' work.

I've also included larger, full-page pumpkins so you can create independent Center Games as well.

Simply print, laminate & trim. I keep each puzzle in a ZipLock Baggie.

For this center, students roll the dice and place the matching numbered piece on the pumpkin base.

There are a set of 3 puzzles for numbers 1-6, and another three with pieces 1-12. 

I made multi-colored puzzles (see photo), but you can make yours all one color or whatever...

Challenge older students to put the puzzles together without the help of a base.

If they become stumped, they can refer to the "pumpkin challenge" chart for assistance.

Another Idea:

The packet also has a “header” card if you’d like to make these as an inexpensive gift for a fall or Halloween treat bag.

The headers come in color as well as black & white.

It’s a super-simple, party day activity that children can do independently, which allows you to be freed up. Woo hoo for an easy-peasy "sanity saver"!

Students are happily engaged putting their own personal puzzle together.

When they’re done, they pick a friend to play the dice game with; using the base that they built their puzzle on, which they’ll now color for the “Roll & Color” dice game.

You can have these pre-cut by a parent helper, or to make the activity last longer, have children cut out their own pieces, getting in some scissor practice which will help strengthen finger muscles.

There’s also a 4-on-a-page blank pumpkin puzzle so that you can program however you want.

Today's featured FREEBIE is a selection of fall-themed worksheets that help students practice graphing, at the same time reviewing 2D shapes.

I've included black & white patterns for children, as well as colorful answer keys.

My students really love graphing, so I hope yours will too.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.

It's going to be another hot one today in the 90s (!) unheard of for Michigan at the end of September, but it beats snow.

Time to go water my wilting flowers. Wishing you a fun-filled day.

"By learning you will teach; by teaching you will learn." -Latin Proverb

1-2-3 Come Do Some Pumpkin-Themed 2D Shape Activities With Me

Since pumpkins are carved with all sorts of shapely features, I thought it would be fun to make some "pumpkin eye" activities to practice 2D shapes.  Today's blog features my "just finished" packet, along with today's featured FREEBIE.

The packet includes:

* 2 sets of picture cards featuring pumpkins with the various shaped eyes: circle, oval, rectangle, square, triangle, hexagon, pentagon, octagon, rhombus, trapezoid, heart and star.

These can be used as flashcards or for Memory Match, or "I Have; Who Has?" games.

* There’s also an emergent reader craftivity: “Pumpkin Eyes", with 3 options:

* One option features pages with simple sentences using words from the Dolch lists, especially pronouns: “My pumpkin has rectangle eyes.” There is space underneath for students to draw that shape.
* Option 2 includes the sentences as well as the shapes. The 3rd option, for little ones, doesn’t have sentences, just the picture shapes for them to color.

Students cut the pages and staple the "Pumpkin Eyes" booklet to the eye-section of their pumpkin.

* I’ve also included a whole group chant written on a poster. Read and point to the words on it:
“Oh my! We’re wise. We spy a pumpkin with ____________ eyes!”
When you get to the blank, place a shape word card on the poster.

To start the game, pass the various shaped eye cards out to your students. The child holding the called-for shape, puts that eye-card on the pumpkin poster.

Continue the chant ’til you have used all of the shape word cards.
My Y5s absolutely LOVE practicing shapes this way.

* Make an extra set to be used as an independent center. Children place the shape word above the pumpkin, then put the matching eyes on. To make this self-checking, draw the shape on the back of the word card.


* This activity can also be used as a fun tool for individually assessing 2D shapes.

* Afterwards, graph which pumpkin eyes everyone liked the best using the “Graphing Time” poster.

* Another fun way to whole-group assess 2D shapes, is by making a “Pumpkin Eyes” slider craft.

There are 2 pumpkin patterns to choose from, as well as two slider strip options featuring the various 2D shapes.

* I’ve also included 2 pumpkin patterns where students draw a shapely face, which makes for a sweet bulletin board. 

Place the “Welcome to our patch” poster in the center of your display.  This poster is today's FREEBIE.  Click on the link to grab your copy.

* Finally, a great “go along” story to read with these activities is Denise Fleming’s “Pumpkin Eye”.

The story is about all of the things the pumpkin’s eyes see on Halloween, so I’ve included a class-made book activity as well.
Class books are wonderful to share at Parent-Teacher Conferences.

Each child completes the prompt: “My pumpkin’s eyes are ___________. (shape) He sees ____________________.

Students draw those shaped eyes on the pumpkin, then illustrate their page of what their pumpkin saw. Collect the pages, collate, then add the cover.  

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for popping in. 

It's time to put my "Nana hat" on, as I'm watching two of my favorite little "punkins" today.  Wishing you giggles galore and lots of warm snuggly hugs.

"There's nothing quite like a grandchild to put a smile on your face, a lump in your throat, and a warm, loving feeling in your heart." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Apple and Pumpkin Activities With Me!

One of the much-needed skills for little ones, is the ability to cut.  Just learning how to hold a scissors is quite an accomplishment for some.  To help my Y5's strengthen their hand muscles and increase dexterity, I incorporated cutting practice in some form or another every day.  To make this less tedious and frustrating, many of the activities revolved around creating a craft that included other skills as well.

Keeping this in mind, I designed "A-peel-ing Apples" so children could practice cutting in a circle.  This is a wonderful opportunity to add the term spiral to students' vocabulary as well.  Giving a red, yellow or lime green color choice for the apple, also reinforces that science fact. 

To add a bit more pizzazz, older students can glue two different colors together.  The thicker paper lessens the drop of the spiral, and the double-sided colors add interest to the dangler.  Students glue a stem and leaf to the top.  Punch a hole; add a yarn loop and suspend from the ceiling, or as a border against a hallway wall.  Click on the link to view/download the A-peel-ing Apples activity.

Cutting on a straight line is also not that easy for some little ones. These apple and pumpkin "strip" puzzles, will not only give your students practice with that skill, but review and reinforce sequencing numbers from 1-10, skip counting by 10's, or counting backwards from 10-1. I've used a dashed-line font, for the numbers on the apples and pumpkins, so that students can get some writing practice in.  Encourage children to count quietly as they trace the numbers.

Simply choose a number concept you want to work on and run off the puzzles on construction paper.  Children choose a puzzle; trace the numbers; cut the strips, lay them in the proper sequence on a sheet of black construction paper, and then glue them down. 

Remind students to keep a small space between the strips.  Students add a stem and leaf to the top.  You can make the pumpkin more of a keepsake, by having children, or a room helper, trace their hand, with their fingers spread, onto green construction paper.  They trim and glue next to their stem.  Completed projects make a sweet harvest bulletin board.

You may want to laminate one of each kind, to keep in your math center.  Each puzzle has its own Baggie.  Children can work indepently, or pick a partner to play "Speed" against.  The first one who completes their puzzle, is the winner.  Click on the link to view/download the Apple and Pumpkin Number Puzzles.

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"Imagination is the highest kite one can fly." -Lauren Bacall

1-2-3 Come Make a Pumpkin Slider With Me!

Making a hands-on craftivity, is a fun way for students to learn about, and review the basic 2D shapes and the shape words associated with them.  I tried to do at least one shape activity a week with my Y5's. The more exposure they had to shapes, the better the chances of their light bulb going on, in an interesting and non-stressful way.

My "sliders" have always been extremely popular, so I wanted to make a pumpkin one with shapes.  They are called sliders, because students pull(slide) their strip through slits, to reveal whatever I want to teach.  Sliders are a quick and easy way to whole-group assess.  Simply call out a shape and have students find it on their slider and then hold it up.  You can also individually assess with a slider; the game-like activity, lessens a child's apprehension when being tested.

Here's how to make the Pumpkin Shape Slider:

• Run off the sliders on white construction paper and the pumpkin on orange.
• For younger kiddo's, you may want to pre-slit the lines on the pumpkins, where the sliders will be pulled through. I use an exacto knife.
• Students trace and color the eyes. Encourage them to use different colors, so you can also review that standard. For a bit more pizzazz, have students add some color to the stem, nose and mouth sections.
• Teacher asks students to make their pumpkin’s eyes triangles. Children pull their “slider” ‘til they have located the triangle eyes, and then pull the mouth strip ‘til it says the word triangles.  
• Everyone “reads” their pumpkin together as a whole group.
• There’s a teachable moment for fractions (cut and glue 1/2 the strip) as well as plurals: The pumpkin has 2 eyes so the shape word needs to have the letter s on the end.

Click on the link to view/download the Pumpkin Shape Slider. I also made a Pumpkin ABC-123 Slider that has different strips, so you can review: upper and lowercase letters, numbers from 0-30, skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's and 10's, as well as counting backwards from 10 to 0 and 20 to 0. Run off whatever strips you want your students to work on.  Make a laminated one yourself to use as a demonstration, review, or assessment sample. 

So that the strip is easily managed, students can fold the ends up. Have children TRACE the letters/numbers with two different colored highlighters in an ABAB pattern. Click on the link to view/download the ABC-123 Pumpkin Slider. There are 3 pumpkin templates to choose from: students can draw on their own face, add wiggle eyes, or use the pumpkin that has a face on it. TIP: Decorate the pumpkin on both sides and glue 2 slider strips back-to-back for double duty.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything from my site. To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top of the page; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button located on my menu bar.  If you'd like to take a look at all of the wonderful items I pin, click on the heart button to the right of the blog.

"The only place success comes before work, is in the dictionary!" -Vidal Sassoon

1-2-3 Come Play Some Pumpkin Games With Me!

Games are a wonderful way for students to practice important life skills.  They are also a quick & easy way to grab and hold children's interest, while they review and reinforce a variety of standards.   One of my little ones summed it up: "We didn't even know we was learnin' cuz we was havin' so much fun!" 

Because subitizing (being able to "know" how many there are, without counting) is extremely important; playing with dominoes and dice, are a great way to help students recognize these groupings at a glance.  Before too long, I could flash 6 dots (in the pattern on a dice/domino) and my students would call out the number 6, without having to stop and count the dots.

Keeping this in mind, I designed 6 pumpkin-themed dice games + a listening and following direction activity, that will help review ordinal numbers. They are all in one Pumpkin Games packet.  To view/download it, click on the link.  Because the rules are pretty much the same, students feel empowered, as they know what to do, and can get down to business, and you aren't using up valuable minutes explaining things for the umpteenth time.

Because the apple basket counting game, was a popular download, I decided to revisit that concept using pumpkins.  Print off the farmer's wagon on brown construction paper, laminate and trim.  Do the same thing with the pumpkin tile master.  Have each child take 20 pumpkin tiles, (or to expedite things, have 20 pre-counted and put in Snack Baggies. After children have played the game, to make sure that they have 20 pumpkins, have students count them one at a time into their bag.) This is great counting practice for little ones, and also ensures that you don't have incomplete games, because pumpkins fell on the floor. 

Children choose a partner and share the wagon.  The object of the game is to get all of your pumpkins into the wagon, by taking turns rolling the dice.  Whatever number a child rolls, is how many pumpkins they pick up from their pile and place in the wagon.  You can make the game more difficult, by having students roll an exact number towards the end of the game.  i.e. if they have only 1 pumpkin left, they need to roll a one.

In the game "Roll and Color," children roll a dice.  Whatever number they roll, is the matching numbered section on their pumpkin, that they color.  The first child with a completly colored-in pumpkin is the winner. 

"Roll and Draw" works with the same rules, only children draw a shape on their pumpkin to make a Jack-O-Lantern.  This is a great opportunity to review a square, triangle, circle and rectangle, and possibly introduce the crescent shape as well.

Because 5 Little Pumpkins Sitting On a Gate, is such a popular rhyme/story in October, I thought it would be fun to follow it up with a game.  To conserve paper, you can print, laminate and trim the gates.  If copying is not an issue for your school, it's nice if each child can have their own "gate" so they can continue to practice at home.

Run off the pumpkin master.  Students color and cut out their pumpkins and place them on the gate.  When you are explaining the game, you have a great opportunity to review ordinal numbers as well.  Children take turns rolling a dice with their partner.  Whatever number they roll, they take the matching numbered pumpkin off the gate and have it go "rolling into the night..."  The first child who gets all of their pumpkins off the gate is the winner.

Pumpkins in a Row on a Roll is similar.  Children color the numbered pumpkin that matches the number that they roll.  I also made an ordinal number activity with this same template.  This is wonderful practice for listening and following directions too, as the teacher reads what (s)he wants students to do.

Finally, children trace the numbers and color their pumpkins as they take turns rolling the dice in Pumpkins On A Roll . Simply run off the template, trim and give each student a strip of pumpkins.  Click on the link to view/download the Pumpkin Games packet.

Thanks for visiting today.  I blog daily, so I hope you can pop back tomorrow for the latest FREEBIES hot off the press. Feel free to PIN anything from my site.  I think sharing is so important, and truly appreciate everyone's creative abilities, that help us roll with it"  rather than spend time, we don't have, reinventing the wheel.  To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button, located on the menu.  If you'd like to take a peek at my awesome educational boards, click on the heart to the right of the blog.

"A college degree and a teaching certificate, may define a person as a teacher, but it takes hard word and dedication to truly be one." -Evan Esar

1-2-3 Play An Alphabet Matching Game With Me!

The Dollar Store is one of my favorite stores.  My mantra when I go in one is: "What can I do with this, that will help my students learn?"  so when I saw that they carried clip-on clothespins, I designed all sorts of games that students could "clip and match."  I did this for colors, numbers, upper and lowercase letters, shapes, and even glued my kiddos' photo on the front and back, so they could clip it to a yes or no answer for Question of the Day. 

I used another photo clip for attendance. This clothespin could also be used on your behavior board. i.e. Children all start out on the green apple for "good" behavior, and move to a yellow apple when they've been warned, and finally to a red apple if there's a consequence.

Because my little ones needed help recognizing and writing their names, I wrote them on clothespins for them to "find".  These were kept in a bucket and were sometimes used when I graphed something.   Children could also pick a clothespin out of the bucket and have that child be their partner. 

My clothespin craftiness started 13 years ago.  Creative minds must think alike, because I've seen clothespin activities all over Pinterest, with similar ideas.  One gal used yellow alphabet clothespins as "rays" that were clipped around a sun.  This gave me the idea to make several themed alphabet clothespin games. 

I started with an apple and then made a pumpkin. I'll fool around with a turkey and its feathers for November. Hopefully by then, all of your students will be able to identify upper and lowercase letters.

Here are some tips to help you make the apple/pumpkin alphabet games.  Directions for the pumpkin are similar and included in the packet.

If you are making multiple games, so that more students can play, make a template for the leaves and stem. Print, cut and trace onto an old file folder to make a pattern that’s easier to trace.  Using the template, trace the leaf once on green construction paper and then cut several at a time. Do the same for the stem, only on brown construction paper.  Glue to the back of your apples then laminate.  Children will clip the Aa clothespins on the stem, and the Z or B clothespin on the leaf, depending on where you glue the leaves.  Run off the apples on red, yellow and lime green construction paper.

I suggest you clip all of the clothespins onto the apples BEFORE you write the letters on.  Since little ones are just learning about letters, it’s less confusing for them, if you print on the clothespins, so that a letter doesn’t appear upside down.  i.e. I printed letters E, F, G, H, I, J, sideways with the “pinch” end of the clothespin going to the right, and letters Q, R, S, T, U , V and W sideways; with the “pinch” side going to the left. Letters A, B, C, D, Z, Y, X with the “pinch” side up,; and L, M, N, O, P with the “pinch” side down.

Another help for younger children, and allows for quick sorting, is to print the uppercase letters in red permanent marker, and the lowercase letters on the flip side, in black.   Bag up this particular set of clothespins and mark them Apple Clothespins.  

Children can also play with a partner, dividing the clothespins so that each child gets 13 to clip. Teacher chooses the partners, so that a stronger student can help a child who’s struggling.  There's an apple and pumpkin alphabet anchor chart, so that children can self-check their work when they have completed clipping their clothespins.

Make a few extra games to send home with children who need more one-on-one help.  Inform parents via a note (There's one included in the pack) that they may BORROW the game for one week and need to return it on a specific day.  Jot yourself a note as to who has the game. I've also included a reminder note to send home, in case a child fails to return the game on time.

Click on the link to view/download the Apple Alphabet Clothespin Game and/or the Pumpkin Alphabet Clothespin Game.

Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN anything from my site.  To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button on the menu bar.  If you'd like to see all of the wonderful-educational ideas that I pin, click on the heart to the right of the blog.

"I was asked to memorize what I did not understand; and, my memory being so good, refused to be insulted in that manner." -Aleister Crowley