Pumpkins!

For the curious, here's the start to our theme for the week. :)
We went to the pumpkin patch on Monday, always a fun fall thing.
Here are some books, I'm glad we have a good selection at home, because I could only find a couple relevant at the library that were not already checked out!

Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash by Sarah Weeks (Mrs. McNosh Hangs out her Wash is also a fun one by the same author!); Hayride Fun by Kristine Frankel; Halloween Mice! byBethany Roberts
The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons; Pumpkins by Lynn M. Stone
The Tiniest Pumpkin by Janet Craig (one of Princess' faves for the past couple years!); The Pumpkin Fair by Eve Bunting; and Five Little Pumpkins with pictures by Dan Yaccarino.

There are so many fun crafts I've come across, I haven't really decided which ones to do yet, but I'll add once we do some.

(The following three activities were found on the Hummingbird site.)
PUMPKIN ART Another cute craft is to paint a pumpkin vine (or use die cut) then paint the 'fist' of the child orange between the knuckles. Print down on the paper and it looks like a pumpkin. Add leaves.

I don't know if we didn't have quite the right idea, or if the kiddos didn't have the dexterity to do it, but I wasn't very impressed with how our 'pumpkins' turned out. Honey liked making foam circles for her pumpkins instead.

The Little Orange House

(To do this you will need the story, a pair of scissors, and a sheet of orange construction paper.)

"Once upon a time a very small witch was walking in the woods. The cold wind was blowing the dry leaves all around her. The little witch was frantically searching for a house for the winter. She could not find one. Suddently a piece of Orange paper, blowne by the wind landed at her feet. She picked it up. The little witch looked closely at the paper and then she said, "I shall make myself a little house from this piece of orange paper." She folded the paper in half. Then she took her scissors (she always carried a pair in her pocket) and cut off the two corners to make a roof. (Cut the construction paper as the story indicates). "This will do just fine," she said as she looked at her new house. "But I will need a door." With her scissors she cut a door. Since witches always wear pointed hats, she cut a special door. (Cut a rectangle shape with one end pointed up more towards the bottom of the folded edge.) The little witch walked through the door into the little orangs house. It was very dark inside. She quickly hurried back out. "I will need to make windows to let in the light," said the little witch. She cut a front and back window. (Cut a square shape in the top middle of the paper opposite end of the paper than the door. Cut through both sides of the paper.) Oh, it was a very fine looking house. Her very own little house with a roof, a door, and windows was all finished. But just as the little witch started to go inside for the winter, she saw a tiny ghost floating down the windswept path. As the tiny ghost came to a stop near the little house, the little witch saw that she was crying. "Why are you crying?"acked the little witch. The tiny ghost stopped crying and answered, "It is cold and windy. It is getting dark. And I have no Place to spend the winter." "You may spend the winter with me in my new house," said the kind little witch. "Oh, thank you, " the happy tiny ghost said as she peeked in through the window. "This is a very nice house." "First," said the witch, "I will need to make you a little door of your very own." She took her scissors again and began to cut. She cut a very tiny door. (Cut a triangle on the folded edge of the paper between the big door and the window. Make the longer part of the triangle point up) The two happy new friends went inside. The tiny ghost went in the very litttle door, and the little witch went through her own special door. All winter long they lived happily together inside the little orange house. If you want to see inside their little orange house, just open your piece of paper and Surprise!"

"The orange paper is cut into a jack o lantern. The big door is the mouth, the tiny door is the nose, and the windows are the eyes. The cut roof gives the paper an octagon shape, making it more like a pumpkin. I know it may be hard visualizing the directions of where you need to cut each piece while you read the story but hopefully you will understand once you know what the finished project is supposed to look like. The kids really love to see that the house is really a jack o lantern. Good luck "

"TISSUE PAPER PUMPKIN these little pumpkins turn out really cute and all have their own personality. Take a handful of poly-fil fiber and smash around in hands until shaped like a ball. Lay a orange piece of tissue paper on the table, put ball of fiber fill in center and pull edges up around it. tie off with what is handy for you. Trim to a nice stem length, take a green pipe cleaner and twist around and shape like vines. You can also add some curling ribbon for a prettier look. Let the children cut out jack o lantern features from black construction paper, and glue on. It is so cute, and the kids just adore their own jack o lantern."

We focused on the letter 'P' and painted them purple and pink. :)

Here's a cute counting rhyme I found at preschool express:

TEN LITTLE PUMPKINS
A number rhyme, felt board story

Ten little pumpkins all in a line,
A monster took one, then there were nine.

Nine little pumpkins peeking through the gate,
An old witch took one, then there were eight.

Eight little pumpkins (there never were eleven),
A green goblin took one, then there were seven.

Seven little pumpkins full of jolly tricks,
A white ghost took one, then there were six.

Six little pumpkins glad to be alive,
A black cat took one, then there were five.

Five little pumpkins not one more,
A pirate took one, then there were four.

Four little pumpkins, a jolly site to see,
A dinosaur took one, then there were three.

Three little pumpkins with nothing to do,
A ballerina took one, then there were two.

Two little pumpkins having lots of fun,
A spaceman took one, then there was one.

One little pumpkin, now all alone.
I picked it up and took it home.

Ten little pumpkins in a patch so green
Made everyone happy on Halloween!
Author Unknown

Cut ten pumpkin shapes out of orange felt and place them on a felt board. Remove the shapes one at a time as you read the story. You could also have your children help you act out the story. (We don't have a felt board, but may try to act it out somehow. My kiddos really seem to enjoy acting out stories and rhymes right now.)