Simple Pumpkin Ideas for Kindergarten and First Grade

Kindergarten and first grade children find pumpkins naturally interesting so it is a great age for a special pumpkin unit with crafts, fun read alouds and more! Here are a few easy pumpkin ideas for kindergarten and first grade that will create a quick but enjoyable learning experience for everyone.

Predicting Pumpkin Weights Activity

Bring in an assortment of pumpkins of various shapes and sizes. Weigh the pumpkin your students think is the “middle-sized” pumpkin using a kitchen scale.

Based on that information, have students predict what the other pumpkins will weigh. The student who makes the best prediction can take one of the pumpkins home!

AmazonBasics Digital Kitchen Scale with LCD DisplayOzeri Pronto Digital Multifunction Kitchen and Food ScaleEtekcity Digital Kitchen Scale Multifunction Food Scale, Stainless Steel

Pumpkin Life Cycle Craft

Reinforce the life cycle of pumpkins with a fun craftivity! It can be printed in black/white and colored or printed in color. The Pumpkin Life Cycle Craftivity is easy to assemble with directions included! This pumpkin life cycle craft is included in my complete Pumpkins Unit or can be purchased separately.

Pumpkin Life Cycle CraftBuy NowPumpkin Unit with CraftivityBuy Now

Torn Paper Pumpkin Craft and Bulletin Board

Give each student a small paper plate, orange construction paper and glue. Students tear the paper into ragged edged pieces and then glue them on to the paper plate. When the plate is covered with overlapping orange paper, students can then add a green stem. It is also possible to provide black paper for student to cut out eyes, a nose and a mouth to make their pumpkin a jack-o-lantern. Or use the individual pumpkins for a bulletin board and connect them all with green vines!

Nicole Home Collection 100 Count Everyday Dinnerware Paper Plate, 6-Inch, WhitePacon SunWorks Construction Paper, 9-Inches by 12-Inches, 50-Count, OrangePacon SunWorks Construction Paper, 9-Inches by 12-Inches, 50-Count, Holiday GreenCreativity Street Chenille Stems/Pipe Cleaners 12 Inch x 4mm 100-Piece, GreenElmer’s School Glue, Washable, 1 Gallon

Pumpkin Sticker Story

Give each student a sheet of pumpkin stickers. Students write a short story about a pumpkin, using a sticker instead of the word “pumpkin” each time it comes up in the story. Children who aren’t able to write their own story can dictate to an adult.

Teacher Created Resources Mini Accents, PumpkinsK&Company Fall Pumpkin Clearly Yours StickerCarson Dellosa Pumpkins Shape Stickers 96PkCarson Dellosa Pumpkins Dazzle StickersTeacher Created Resources Pumpkins Stickers

Pumpkin Fun Fact Cards and Copywork

Children LOVE these Pumpkin Fun Fact Cards and Copywork! The cards are full of fascinating facts your learners will remember for a long time. You can also practice handwriting with the same facts!

Pumpkins Fun Facts CardsBuy NowPumpkins Print CopyworkBuy NowPumpkins Cursive CopyworkBuy NowPumpkins Copywork – Print and CursiveBuy Now

Picking Apples and Pumpkins Book

Picking Apples and Pumpkins by Amy and Richard Hutchings is the story of Kristy, her family and friends as they go on an outing to an orchard and pumpkin patch. Told through beautifully photographed illustrations, the children and adults have a great time picking apples and then selecting pumpkins to bring home. Once they arrive home, they carve the pumpkins and illuminate them with candles.

Picking Apples and Pumpkins

Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie

Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie is part of the National Geographic Kids Picture the Seasons series. Full of great photos, it shows both the life cycle of pumpkins as well as the various ways pumpkins are used such as in food and for Halloween.

Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie

Apples and Pumpkins Read Aloud Book

Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell follows the outing of a little girl and her parents as they go out to a farm to pick apples and pumpkins. The little girl selects her pumpkin and takes it home to carve it. They light it in celebration of Halloween when the little girl goes out trick or treating with her dad. The book is warmly illustrated and the story is told simply and briefly.

Apples and Pumpkins

From Seed to Pumpkin Science Book

From Seed to Pumpkin (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1) by Wendy Pfeffer is a great introduction to the science behind pumpkins. Written at a level appropriate for early elementary, the books traces the growth of a pumpkin from the beginning to the harvest. The story focuses on the farmer and three children who help him plant his hundreds of pumpkin seeds. The warm and inviting illustrations are likely to produce a very positive response from young children.

From Seed to Pumpkin (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1)

Country Fair and Almanzo’s Winning Pumpkin

Don’t forget this fun Little House story! In County Fair, Almanzo Wilder competes for the blue ribbon by entering the pumpkin he has carefully grown all summer. This is a great book for tying in a bit of history to your lesson!

County Fair (Little House Picture Book)

Related Printables in My Shop

Simply click on any cover to see the full details about each product in my shop.

Pumpkins KWL Graphic OrganizersBuy NowFall Literacy and Math Pack – 30+ Centers and ActivitiesBuy NowFall and Pumpkins BundleBuy Now

Lots More Pumpkin Books!

Too Many PumpkinsThe Pumpkin BookThe Itsy Bitsy PumpkinHow Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?PumpkinsPete the Cat: Five Little PumpkinsPumpkins: A Story for a FieldThe Biggest Pumpkin EverPumpkin JackPumpkin Town! Or, Nothing Is Better and Worse Than PumpkinsPinkalicious and the Pink PumpkinPumpkinsThe Roll-Away PumpkinPumpkin MoonshinePenguin and PumpkinPumpkin, Pumpkin On a VineThe Pumpkin Patch Parable: Special EditionPippa the Pumpkin Fairy Story BookPick a Pumpkin, Mrs. MillieIt’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie BrownPumpkin CountdownThe Pumpkin FairThe Pumpkin Runner