Language Arts, Reading, and Writing- Submitted by Sherry

Place one or more pumpkins in view of the students. Ask them to contribute a list of words to describe the pumpkin. Students can write similes and metaphors using words that describe pumpkins.

Invite students to make their own word search puzzles out of the descriptive adjectives they came up with in the previous activity.

Invite students to write a paragraph describing a jack-o'-lantern face. When finished, they can exchange assignments and draw the face as described in the paragraph they are handed.

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Facts About Pumpkins- Submitted by Sherry
And here's how October's big fruit grows:

Leafy vines grow from pumpkin seeds.
Yellow-orange flowers bloom on the pumpkin vine, then wither.
The flowers' ovaries (at the base of the flower) swell and become tiny green pumpkins.
The pumpkins grow larger and change color and…
About four months after planting, they're ready to harvest.

Pumpkins can vary in color from white to yellow to orange.
Pumpkins contain vitamin A and potassium.
Pumpkins are an ingredient in pies, breads, soups, and other foods.
Pumpkin seeds can be roasted for a snack.
Pumpkins are used as feed for some farm animals.

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Fall Books- Submitted by Barb

Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert
The Pumpkin Patch by Elizabet King
The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll
Leaf Magic by Margaret Mahy
Berenstein Bear's Prize Pumpkin by Stan & Jan Berenstein

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Collecting Leaves- Submitted by Christi

Have the children go for a walk and collect leaves.
Talk About the leaves you have collected.
Have the children pick out their favorite.

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Talk about Autumn- Submitted by Christi

Autumn is a great time to teach children about leaves.
Leaves are all around us.
Leaves change colors, usually from green to red, orange, yellow and brown.
Leaves can be found on trees.
Leaves fall to the ground and we rake them up.

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Garden Patch- Submitted by Christi

place a brown rug or table cloth on floor (a lg. brown grocery bag taken apart would also work). Add small pumpkins, colorful gourds & green crepe paper for the vines. Allow children to manipulate the pumpkins & gourds, encourage them to notice & compare different sizes, weights, colors & textures.

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Fall Books- Submitted by Sherry

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf--Lois Elhert
Leaves Are Falling All Around-- Mini Reader Books
Squirrel Nutkin--Beatrice Potter
Fresh Fall Leaves--Betsy Franco
Ska-tat!--Kimberly Knutson
Autumn--Nicola Baxter
Why Do Leaves Change Color?--Betsy Maestro
Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington
Scarecrow Colors (Handmade Book adapted from the Mailbox)
Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White
Picking Apples and Pumpkins by Amy Hutchins
The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll
Pumpkin Blanket by Turney Zagwyn

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Peter's Poor Wife- Submitted by Sherry

Recreate the rhyme Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater by scooping out a small pumpkin and defleshing it, washing it well. Spray the inside with bleach, to prevent mildew. Once your pumpkin is ready, illustrate the rhyme using dolls and the pumpkin.

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5 Little Pumpkins- Submitted by Sherry

Make this traditional song come alive using a flannelboard set or a finger set. For the flannel board, create a flannel fence and pumpkins to place on flannelboard. For finger set, make small pumpkin finger puppets to place on your fingers, or make pumpkins from pom poms and use your velcro hand mitt.

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Penny for your Pumpkin- Submitted by Sherry

Five (0r number of students in your class) orange pumpkins in a pumpkin patch. You know, the kind that are big and round, and fat! Along came --student name--along with a penny to pay, He bought a pumpkin and took it away! Buy 5 small miniature pumpkins, or five plastic pumpkins and give each child a coin (you can give a fake coin, if you have eaters!).

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Pumpkin Counting Chart- Submitted by Sherry

I sometimes make counting charts using thematic die cuts. Using posterboard, place 5 die cut large pumpkins, or desired number, onto the board. Under each pumpkin, label with a number, and glue on appropriate teeth for that amount. For example, for number 2 you would make a smiling pumpkin with two white teeth. When you start to count, point out the number of teeth that matches the number of the pumpkin. Let children take turns coming up to count the teeth, while the class joins in.

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Submitted by Sherry

Place several theme related books and story props into the language area, such as pumpkin, scarecrow puppets, etc; I place a dancing pumpkin which is easily made: You take a tongue depressor and attach a pumpkin face to it. Then add accordion legs and accordion arms. The children can make the pumpkin dance.

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Pick a Pumpkin- Submitted by Sherry

Create a pumpkin field on a bulletin board by using brown paper, twisted vines, and a white fence. Place scarecrows randomly, if desired. If you can find the fake pumpkins and gourds at the floral store, use them. If not, make these from die cuts. Velcro these onto the board. Let the children pick the pumpkins and gourds from the vine and sort them into baskets.

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Fall Concepts- Submitted by Cheryl

Fall is one of the four seasons
Fall is the season between summer and winter
Some trees change color in the fall
In some places the weather becomes cooler in the fall
Leaves fall from some trees in the fall
Scarfs and sweaters may be needed in the fall
Pumpkins and apples can be harvested in the fall
In fall, the sun rises later in the day and sets earlier than in the summer
Football is a fall sport
Frost may appear at night or in the mornings and we may be able to see our breath
There are usually more rainy and cloudy days than in summer
There are usually more storms, hurricanes, and toronadoes than in summer
The soil gets harder in the fall
Some trees remain green and are called evergreens
Some birds and butterflies fly south where they can find food more easily
Some animals grow thicker fur to keep them warm

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Weather calendar- Submitted by Cheryl

Construct a calendar for the month. Record the changes of weather each day by attaching a symbol to the calendar. The symbols could include sun, clouds, snow, rain, etc.

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Fall Is. . .- Submitted by Barb
by Dianne M. Waggoner

Fall is leaves that fall to the ground.
Fall is pumpkins all around.
Fall is a chilliness in the air.
Fall is coats and sweaters to wear.
Fall is for Halloween coming soon.
Fall is for the huge harvest moon.
Fall is gradually shorter days.
Fall is a squirrel gathering nuts as he plays.
Fall is a lot of things for you and me.
Fall is a beautiful season to see.

Could make a book using this poem, writing one line on each page and have the children illustrate each page.

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Submitted by Sherry

Read "I'm a Seed" by Jean Marzollo, Illus. by Judith Moffatt. It compares how a marigold seed grows with a pumpkin seed. (It also brings out the point that a marigold seed will grow marigolds and pumpkin seeds will grow pumpkins.) Bring in a marigold plant and a vine from a pumpkin plant (and maybe a small pumpkin).

Compare how the marigold plant is different from the pumpkin plant. Have the children touch the leaves and see how each of the leaves feel different. Notice the different colors, the size, the shape, etc. Notice the art used in the book--it is paper cut into shapes and glued onto a background paper to form a picture.

You can use the book as an example and let the children create their own art using the same cut and paste technique. You can also read this book right before a pumpkin patch field trip using it to point out the characteristics of a pumpkin plant. (This book is a great springboard for MANY activities!

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Books to Read- Submitted by Sherry

Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper
It's Pumpkin Time! by Zoe Hall
Picking Apples and Pumpkins by Amy Hutchings
Vanishing Pumpkin by Tony Johnston
The Pumpkin Patch (Picture Puffins) by Elizabeth King
The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll
Mousekinšs Golden House by Edna Miller
Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell
Pumpkin Day, Pumpkin Night by Anne Rockwell
Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington
Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White
Pumpkin Circle: Story of a Garden by George Levenson
Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman
Patty's Pumpkin Patch by Terri Sloat
5 Little Pumpkins by Yaccarino

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Books to Read (Fall/Leaves/Squirrels)- Submitted by Nan

Fresh Fall Leaves by Betsy Franco
Clifford's First Autumn by Norman Bridwell
Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins
We Love Fall by Diane Muldrow
A Busy Year by Leo Lionni
Sara Squirrel and the Lost Acorns by Julie Sykes
Little Raccoon's Nighttime Adventure by Lillian Moore
Raccoons and Ripe Corn
Autumn Days by Ann Schweninger
Nuts To You! by Lois Ehlert
Squirrels by Brian Wildsmith
When Autumn Comes by Robert Maass
I Am A Leaf by Jean Marzollo
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert
How Do You Know It's Fall? by Allan Fowler
Tree Trunk Traffic by E.P. Dutton

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Language Arts Activities- Submitted by Nan

Leaf Letters file folder game. Match upper and lowercase letters on the leaves.
Sequencing. Sequence the life cyrcle of a tree. Fold construction paper in half and half again to make 4 distinct sections. Start with Spring & have a tree budding; Summer - add leaves; Fall - add apples; Winter - tree is bare.
Find the letter pairs. Draw a line from each acorn to its matching leaf. Color the picture. [Teacher's Helper,TEC8674,Sept/Oct. 1999]
Maple Tree Seasons Sequence the pictures as they show the life cycle of a maple tree. Response to the book Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf

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Leaf Flannelboard- Submitted by Sherry

Cut a large tree shape out of brown felt and place it on a flannelboard. Cut leaf shapes out of orange, red, yellow and brown felt. Arrange the leaves on the tree shape. Read the following rhyme to your children and encourage them to join in as they can. At the end of the rhyme, invite your children to come up to the flannelboard one at a time, take off a leaf, and name the color.
Look at all the colored leaves,
Orange red, yellow, brown.
Aren't they just the prettiest leaves
Anyone has found?

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