DIY Pumpkin Craft for Kids

When we complete this activity, it is done as a whole group. I have a completed example to show the students what we are going to be making. But I also make the craft with them. There are no tracers – just simple rounding corners and following directions.

I pass one piece out at a time and we work on the project step by step. First I model how to cut the paper and then the students cut the paper.

All you'll need for the project is construction paper, scissors, and glue sticks. Students will need either a blue or black background. I let the students pick which one they want. Blue represents a day-time scene, while black makes for a great night-time scene.

Here is what each student will need:

• 1 blue or black piece of construction paper (for the background)
• Brown Paper: 2 1/4 x 12 inches (1 piece of brown paper, they will cut this into fourths)
• Green Paper: 1 rectangle, 2 x 12, for the grass
• Green Paper: 1/2 x 2,  for pumpkin stems
• Orange: 3 squares, 2 1/2  x  2 1/2 inches, for pumpkins
• Yellow: 1 square 2 1/2  x  2 1/2,  for sun

Cutting Directions:

Start with the long brown piece of paper.

Step 1: Have students cut the brown paper in half lengthwise, to create 2 pieces 12 inches long. Take one of the brown pieces and cut it in half lengthwise again to become the fence rails.

Step 2: Take the second piece of brown paper and cut it into 2 6 inch pieces. Then take each of those pieces and cut it in half so you now have 4, 6 inch long pieces. These become the fence posts.

Next, students will get the grass ready. Take the long piece of green paper and make vertical cuts, 3/4 of the way down, the whole length of the paper.

For this step I show students a non-example. I have an extra piece of green paper and I show them what happens if they cut too far down. For students who are having trouble judging how far down to cut, I help them make the first cut as a guide.

To prepare the pumpkins, take each orange square and round the corners to make pumpkins. It's cute to see the different size and shape that each pumpkin becomes.

Next have students make 3-4 vertical lines on each of the pumpkin with a black or brown marker/crayon.

Take the small green piece and cut into the 3 pieces for the stems.

Finally, round the corners of the yellow square to be the sun (or the moon, if the scene is night-time).

Here's a look at the completed pieces.

Assembling the Pumpkin Craft:

Now it's time to put the pumpkin craft together. Here's step-by-step directions:

The first fence rail should be glued right down the middle of the paper. Glue the second rail half way between the bottom of the paper and the first fence rail.

Then glue on the fence posts, spaced across the paper.

Glue on the grass. Tell students to gently pull each piece back to “fluff” the grass.

Finally the students will pull back the grass just slightly to glue on the pumpkins along with the stems. They'll glue the sun/moon in the sky – on the left, right, or middle.

Fire Safety BUMP Math Game

BUMP Games are one of my favorite types of games for kindergarten students to play. There are so many different skills you can practice, but the directions always stay the same.

This means you can change the objective or the skill being practiced without having to reintroduce and explain directions. That's a big teacher win!

How to Play The Fire Safety Math Game

To play this fire safety math game, all you need to do is print the game mat and add dot cubes and game pieces. This makes it a great last minute activity or time filler.

These large foam dice from Learning Resources are perfect for this game. They are large, which means they are great for little learners so that they can easily identify the numbers. Since the dice are foam, they're extra quiet, too.

Plastic math cubes work the best for BUMP game pieces because they are easy to stack. If you have a set in your classroom, those would work great. If not, here's an Amazon link to the plastic math cubes I love.

To begin, each player will need ten cubes in their own color. There are two versions of the fire safety math game included in this free download: numbers to 6 and numbers to 12.

Numbers to 6

For the numbers to six version, each set of players will need only one dot cube and their own set of 10 game pieces. 

To play the game, students roll the dot cube and count to identify the number they rolled. They use a game piece to cover the number on the game board.

If the opponent has a game piece on that number, the player can bump off their opponent’s game piece.

If the player already has a game piece on that number, they can add another game piece to “lock” in their position (like a “king” in checkers). Players can not bump off a locked game piece.

The first player to use all of their cubes is the winner.

Numbers to 12

Two dice are needed for the numbers to 12 version, but the directions stay the same. You can have students add the numbers together for a challenge, or simply count on.

This fire safety math game is easy to differentiate without changing the directions.

You can download your free copy of the fire safety math game freebie by clicking here.

For more Fire Safety activities for kindergarten, check out this blog post and this blog post. 

Let me know in the comments what you are doing for Fire Safety Week in your classroom!

Halloween Read Alouds

Halloween is one of my favorite times of year because of all the great read alouds and Halloween-themed stories. There's just something about these stories that gets students hooked, using their imagination, and giggling all the way through.

Here are some of my favorite, not so spooky read alouds that are perfect for kindergarteners around Halloween.

• Where's my Mummy?
• Little Boo
• Creepy Carrots!
• How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow?
• There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat
• Silly Ghosts
• 10 Trick-or-Treaters
• Click, Clack, Boo!
• The Itsy Bitsy Pumpkin
• Room on the Broom
• The Hallo-Wiener
• The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

Pumpkin Patch in a Cup Snack

What better way to follow up a Halloween read aloud than with an easy, DIY Pumpkin Patch in a Cup snack?

This snack is great to treat your students to all fall long, but is perfect to use around Halloween. This could even be a fall or Halloween party snack for your students.

All you need to whip up this snack is chocolate sandwich cookies, vanilla pudding cups, pumpkin candies, green frosting in a tube, and a spoon.

For step-by-step picture directions and a video tutorial on how to make this adorable snack, check out this blog post.

Halloween Writing Activities

Just like Halloween read alouds seem extra fun, so do Halloween writing activities for kindergarten. Students can really use their creativity, imagination, and writing/illustrating skills with Halloween-themed writing prompts.

There are also fall, fire safety, and anytime-themed writing prompts included, making these writing prompts perfect to use all October long.

Not only will students enjoy writing about fall and Halloween-themed topics, but they'll also be practicing important beginning writing and handwriting skills along with writing conventions.

You could even have a Halloween writing party where students choose their favorite piece of writing from the month and read it to the class. You can turn off the lights and let them read it to the class using a flashlight for maximum Halloween effect!

Halloween Math and Literacy Centers

Halloween activities for kindergarten aren't all for fun and games, they're also great for learning and mastering critical math and literacy skills.

Make practicing these skills feel like fun and games with these Halloween math and literacy centers in a “too cute to spook” theme.

With 22 Halloween-themed center activities included, 11 math and 11 literacy, you'll be set for meaningful practice all October long.

Your students will have a blast while practicing skills such as beginning sounds, rhyming, letter recognition, counting, number order, comparing numbers, and much more!

Halloween Mini Eraser Activities

If you're like me and you're obsessed with mini erasers, then you probably keep your eye out all fall for Halloween-themed mini erasers. You can find them at stores like Target, Dollar Tree, or even on Amazon. Hello 2-day shipping and not having to leave the house!

Trick or Treat Counting Activity

The first mini eraser Halloween activity for kindergarten is super simple and all you need are small pumpkin containers and candy mini erasers. Simply write numbers 1-10 on the outside of the pumpkin containers to prep them.

This “Trick of Treat” activity can be done independently or in partners. To use this activity independently, students will read the number on the pumpkin and put that many candies in the pumpkin.

To play with a partner, the students will pretend to go trick or treating. One student selects a pumpkin and reads the number. They say to their partner “Trick or treat. I need three sweets please.” Then they hold the pumpkin up for their partner to place that number of sweets in the pumpkin.  

This is reason #472 why I love teaching Kindergarten. The silliest and smallest things make them excited about learning!

For extra fine motor practice, you can add jumbo tweezers or plastic spoons to have students scoop up the candy erasers with.

Fall Mini Eraser Mats

To practice number and letter recognition and formation, these mini eraser mats are the perfect addition to your October lesson plans. There are anytime themes included as well as themes for fall, Christmas, winter, Valentine's Day, and more.

Students will get fine motor practice as well as number and letter practice as they identify numbers and letters and use mini erasers to form them on their mini eraser mat. You can work in extra fine motor practice by adding in chunky tweezers as well.

Fall Game Mats

Reviewing math and literacy skills is extra fun in the fall with mini eraser game mats. Use the fall-themed mat along with your fall or Halloween mini erasers to make reviewing skills a blast.

There are several seasonal and anytime-themed mats included, so you can use these game mats all year round.

A few ideas of skills you can review are sight words, CVC words, addition and subtraction questions, etc. Each time the student gets the answer correct, they get to mark a space on their game mat. The first student to fill up their mat wins!

Halloween Math and Literacy Freebies

While Halloween is a fun time of year, it's also a super busy time of year as well. It seems like October is jam-packed with learning new skills, holidays, and special days to celebrate.

To make your life easier and save you big on planning time, I created a couple of fun and hands-on Halloween freebies for you to add to your lesson plans this month!

Halloween Math and Literacy Freebie

This Halloween math and literacy freebie has 2 activities included to help your students practice counting and forming letters.

All your students will need for these activities are crayons for “Candy Counting” and mini erasers or another small manipulative for the “Witch Letter Should I Build?” activity.

Click here to download your Halloween math and literacy freebie.

Halloween Mini Eraser Freebie

Next up is a set of Halloween mini eraser freebies that you can easily print and implement with your students all month long.

You'll find activities for letter and number recognition, counting, a fall math game, and more!

To grab your set of Halloween mini eraser freebies, fill out the form below to join our email community and get your freebie delivered straight to your inbox.

I hope you've enjoyed these Halloween activities for kindergarten. Here's to a fun and imagination-filled Halloween season for you and your students.

Fire Safety Read Alouds

Sometimes topics such as fire safety can be a little complicated for our young learners. One of the best ways to help students relate to this topic is to approach it in a way that they can connect with.

Using developmentally appropriate read alouds can help students understand the importance of fire safety.

Here's a look at some read alouds that are perfect to include with your fire safety activities for kindergarten:

• Here Come Our Firefighters!
• Firefighter Frank
• Alphabet Rescue
• Dot the Fire Dog
• Fire Drill
• Firehouse! 
• Curious George and the Firefighters
• Firefighter Ted
• Stop Drop and Roll
• Let's Meet a Firefighter
• Arthur's Fire Drill

Fire Safety Snack

Put a fire safety spin on snack time in the classroom with an adorable and easy to make fire truck snack.

All you need for this snack are graham crackers, mini chocolate sandwich cookies, pretzel sticks, and red frosting. For step-by-step directions and a free fire truck activity, check out this blog post.

You can make this snack before your read aloud time so students can enjoy their snack while listening.

Fire Safety Writing Activities

Another way to help students understand the topic of fire safety is to get them writing about it.

Using fire safety vocabulary words will help you teach about fire safety. It will also give students an opportunity to practice using those words in writing and conversations.

Using fire safety-themed writing center activities for kindergarten will help your students learn new vocabulary words, use them in context, label important fire safety items, understand the role of a firefighter, and so much more.

You can even get your students thinking about what they would do during a fire drill, how to stay safe, and what a firefighter's job is by using fire safety-themed writing prompts.

Fire Safety Math and Literacy Centers

Fire safety activities for kindergarten can also be used to practice key math and literacy skills. These fire safety math and literacy centers are the perfect way to incorporate this theme into your lessons in October.

With 14 total center activities included, your students will practice skills such as uppercase and lowercase letter recognition, beginning sounds, counting, comparing numbers, measurement, sorting, and more.

The best part is, you can use these all throughout your Fire Safety Week studies and not have to worry about getting any other center activities ready.

You can also use these all throughout the month of October to talk about fire safety and the important community helper, the firefighter.

Fire Safety Freebies

To help make lesson planning during the crazy month of October a little less stressful, I created a freebie packet full of fire safety activities for kindergarten.

Help students learn to dial 9-1-1 in an emergency with a telephone printable. Students will identify the number sequence they should call if they need help and dab the number sequence on the phone.

This is also a great opportunity to discuss what is an emergency and what is not an emergency so students understand when and why to call 9-1-1.

Also included in this freebie packet is an uppercase and lowercase letter activity, color code activity, roll and color number identification and counting activity, and a fun partner math game.

Click here to get your free Fire Safety Freebie packet.

If your school allows, you can also reach out to your local fire department and ask if a few of the firefighters can come talk with your students about fire safety and their job as firefighters.

Sometimes young children are afraid of firefighters dressed in all of their gear. Having them come talk to the students, show them their gear and their fire truck, and help them understand how to be fire safe is a great way to help students feel more comfortable.

I hope you've enjoyed these fire safety activities for kindergarten. Let me know in the comments which activities you'll be trying this year during Fire Safety Week.

DIY Pumpkin Cutout Activities 

Some of my favorite fall learning activities for kindergarten use simple pumpkin cutouts! You can find these foam pumpkin cutouts at the craft store, or you can simply use your school's die cut machine to make your own.

One fall activity you can do with these cutouts is to simply write uppercase letters on one set of pumpkins and lowercase letters on another set. Mix them up and have students match the uppercase and lowercase letters.

You can do a similar activity with numbers and dots. Write a number on one set of pumpkins and the corresponding number of dots on another set. Students will find the matches and put them together, working on key number sense skills! You could even use tally marks instead of dots to practice that skill.

Pumpkin Sight Words

Use those same pumpkin cutouts to play a game of sight word memory! Kids love this game and it requires them to focus and use critical thinking skills to remember where each word is.

Write each sight word on 2 pumpkins, mix them up, and lay them face down. Students will take turns turning over 2 pumpkins, reading the sight words, and determining if they match. If they are a match, they get to take another turn. If they don't match, they put them back in place and the next player draws. 

Fall Bump Activity

This FREE Fall Bump learning activity for kindergarten just so happens to require no prep! This is a fun math game for students as they practice number recognition and counting, thus building a strong number sense. All you need is the game board, a dot cube, and game pieces for each player. The object of the game is to be the first player to use all of your game pieces.

Bingo Dabber Activities

The next no-prep activity that students love in the fall are these bingo dabber activity pages! There are 37 math and literacy activities included. All you need are the pages and bingo dabbers! Using bingo dabbers makes the learning exciting and gives your students extra fine motor practice as well as they learn to squeeze and dab.

DIY Mini Eraser Activities

Mini erasers can be used for several fall learning activities for kindergarten. They can also be used to practice key fine motor skills. You can find these at your local Target or dollar store.

To practice fine motor skills, your students can use jumbo tweezers to pick up the mini erasers. Students can use the mini-erasers to form letters, numbers, write their names, make patterns, and sort by color/pattern. 

You can also play a game to see which student can create the tallest stack without falling over. Have them count and compare their numbers to incorporate important math skills.

In addition, these mini erasers are fun to use as game markers for your favorite games, such as bingo or other board games you play in the classroom. They can also be used as counters during your math block to put a fun, fall twist on the learning. 

Fall Boom Cards for Kindergarten

Boom Cards are a great way to practice important skills while incorporating technology. You can use these as a whole group on your interactive whiteboard, assign them as homework, or use them as technology centers in the classroom. The October Boom Cards set includes 8 full size decks to practice skills like numbers to 10, shapes, letter sounds, syllables, and more. 

Fall Morning Tubs

Using morning tubs with your kindergarteners is a great way to structure your mornings, offer a soft start to the day, and review key skills. These fall-themed October morning tubs are filled with 22 different activities for both math and literacy. All you need to do is print the pages and gather a few basic supplies from your classroom, such as plastic cubes, magnetic letters, mini erasers, dot cubes, etc. 

Pumpkin Paper Plates

For this activity you'll need white paper plates, construction paper (orange, green, and brown), and glue or glue sticks. Give each student a paper plate (be sure to write the name on the back first). Students will tear the orange construction paper into small squares (hello fine motor practice!) and glue it on the paper plate to cover it. Supply each student with a small brown rectangle for the stem. Finally, on the green paper, students will trace their hand, cut it out, and glue it on top to create the leaf. 

If you're looking for more pumpkin crafts, check out this adorable DIY Pumpkin Patch craft.

Candy Corn Parfait

After all of that hard work, it is fun to incorporate a fall snack activity with your students! This candy corn parfait is such a fun way to celebrate the season. You can even have your students make their own, which will help with direction following skills, too. Your students can enjoy this treat alongside a fall-themed read aloud or during a fall party!

Owl Themed Read Aloud Suggestion:

Most teachers do a lot of read alouds to go along with a unit of study. As students eat their owl snack, it's also a great time for a read aloud. Their mouths are full, they are enjoying their snack, and I find this to be a time where they are extra engaged. Of course you don't have to do a read aloud as part of this snack, but here are two book suggestions for you.

I'm included my favorite fiction and non-fiction books about owls. Owls by Gail Gibbons is great non-fiction book that would pair well with this snack-tivity.  If you're looking for a fiction book, check out Owl Babies by Martin Waddell. 

Rice Krispie Owl Snack Ingredients:

You’ll need just a few ingredients for our owl activities snack: Rice Krispie treat, chocolate frosting, mini oreos, candy corn, white icing, large candy eyes, and chocolate sprinkles.

Each student or little owl expert will need:

• 1 Rice Krispie treat square
• approximately 2-3 tablespoons of chocolate frosting
• 1 or 2 mini Oreo cookies
• 2 small dots of white frosting
• 2 large candy eyes
• chocolate sprinkles

How to Make this Owl Activity:

Begin by supplying each student with a paper plate and the ingredients they will need. I like using a paper plate as a work surface because it provides a visual workspace and it also makes clean up much easier. This activity works well in a whole group or in a small group rotation.

Students will need about two to three tablespoons of chocolate frosting. They will spread the frosting to cover the top of the rice krispie. You can have students use a plastic knife or spoon or a tongue depressor to spread the frosting. The rice krispie represents the owl's body.

Students will need one or two mini Oreo cookies. The easiest way is to supply students with two cookies and have them twist each cookie apart. They can eat the side that has the frosting on it. They will use the frosting-free side as the base for the owl's eyes. 

Students will need two large candy eyes. These are found in the cake decorating section of a craft store. If you can't find large eyes, smaller eyes would work too. Students will need a small dot of white icing to act as the glue to secure the candy eyes to the mini Oreos. 

To complete the owl snack, students will add a candy corn and chocolate sprinkles on top of their owl. The candy corn represents the beak, while the sprinkles represent the feathers. This is where having that paper plate is super helpful because kids can be messy! The plate helps catch the loose sprinkles that don't quite make it on to the owl. 

Label the Owl Kindergarten Printable:

To complete the owl snack-tivity and add an educational component, I've put together a free Label the Owl printable page. This page can be completed before the owl snack or use it as an extension activity. Whether it's done before or after, labeling is a must when it comes to owl activities for kindergarten.

There's no prep work required for this Label the Owl printable, which makes it great to pull out at a moments notice. 

Students will need glue, scissors, and crayons to complete the page. They will cut out the owl labeling words on the right and glue them in the boxes to show the parts of the owl.

Once the students have completed the activity, they can color the picture. 

If your owl unit has already passed, be sure to pin an image to remind you next year. You'll have a head start on planning your owl activities for Kindergarten.

Fall Snack Ingredients and Directions:

You’ll need four ingredients for our festive fall snack for kids: pudding, Oreos, green icing, and pumpkin candies.

Each student or little baker will need:

• 2 Oreo cookies in a sandwich size zip-top bag
• 1 small cup of vanilla pudding
• 3 pumpkin candies
• green frosting in a tube
• a spoon!

You may want to supply students with a paper plate so that they have a work space to catch the crumbs work on.

Give students a zip-top bag with two Oreo cookies inside. You can use chocolate or vanilla Oreos. Just be sure the bag is zipped tight so the cookies don't fall out. 

Little bakers will use their fine motor skills to break the cookie into small pieces.

Pour the cookie mixture on top of a pudding cup. You can use vanilla or chocolate pudding for this step. This is where that paper plate comes in handy to catch the crumbs. 

Squeeze a dab of green icing on top of the cookie crumble to resemble vines. I like the Betty Crocker Icing tubes because they are easy enough for small hands to squeeze independently. But not so easy that they can squirt the whole tub out. For a class of 20-25 two tubes of icing will be plenty. 

Lastly, students will place candy pumpkins on top of their pumpkin patch. 

Your Kindergartners will love learning their upper and lower case letters, counting, beginning sounds and much more with these fall tubs. The activities also help your students with fine motor skills and social interaction because some of the games are played with a partner. 

You can check out this Fall Morning Tubs in my TpT shop. Or for an in-depth look at the Fall Morning Tubs for Kinder, check out this video: