Gathering Activity: Pumpkin Pie Playdough
(Fine motor skills, creative play, sensory play)
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup salt
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp. cream of tartar
- 2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- yellow and red food coloring
*Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir over medium-low heat. Continue to stir until the mixtures reaches a good consistency. Remove it from the heat and knead it when it's cool enough to handle. Store in an air tight container.
Circle Time
(Pre-literacy skills, rhyming, music, listening skills, language development, gross motor skills)
We read Miss Fiona's Stupendous Pumpkin Pie by Mark Kimball Moulton. The pictures in this book are very sweet and remind me a little of Mary Englebreit's artwork, which I love. There are no frightening pictures. The story is written in a pleasing rhyme that is enjoyable to read aloud. It is the tale of a kind witch who loves to plant pumpkins and make pumpkin pie to share with everyone in town on Halloween night. The children all love to come to her home. When asked her secret ingredient, she says she puts spiders and bat wings inside, which made our little ones giggle.
After our story, we enjoyed 3 different songs.
First I shared the 5 Little Pumpkins Traditional finger play and flannel board story.
We sang "5 Little Bats Flew Out One Day."
"5 little bats flew out one day, over the trees and far away. When the Mommy Bat said "Eek ack come back." Only 4 little bats came back." Repeat until no bats.
"No little bats went out to play, over the trees and far away. When the DADDY bat said "EEK ACK COME BACK!" 5 little bats came flying back.
And a favorite every year, "I'm A Little Scarecrow." (sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot") The children stand with their arms straight out like a scarecrow.
"I'm a little scarecrow, filled with hay. Here I stand in the fields all day. When I see a crow I like to shout..."HEY! YOU CROWS, YOU BETTER GET OUT!"
Art: Decorate Pumpkins
(Creative exploration, fine motor skills, art, spatial reasoning)
We decorated pumpkins with foam stickers, ribbon, buttons, pipe cleaners, pom poms, sequins, glue, and these adorable felt witch hats and pirate hats one of our talented moms made! I loved them!
Snack - Mini Pumpkin Pies
(Communication, making connections with literature, self-help skills)
Of course we had to eat pumpkin pie with our story. These were the perfect size.
Activities
(Gross Motor Skills, Fine Motor Skills, Cooperation, Communication, Sorting, Listening Skills)
1-Pumpkin Toss and Roll
The children took turns tossing and rolling small plastic pumpkins into a basket.
2-Making Fiona's Stupendous Pumpkin Pie Game
I placed one large plastic cauldron in the center of the room. I then scattered several objects around on the floor of different ingredients (pumpkins, eyes, spiders, worms, etc.....)
I called out the name of one of the items and had the children run and find that item on the floor and place it in the pot.
Then they returned to their places. I had enough of each item that every child could do each one. This game didn't last too long.
It ended up with the children playing and sorting all of the objects together. Which was also very fun. I think that is one of the most important part of teaching children, allowing them to take the game where they want it to go.
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