October is the perfect time to explore a fun, pumpkin preschool theme with your kids at home.
It’s nice to have a little bit of structured, fun activity time each morning to look forward to. (You can check out the printable preschool planner I use here.)
We like to explore a different theme each week. Last week, we did a fall leaves preschool theme. This week is pumpkins!
Each day during the week, we do 4 things during our home preschool time:
- Sing a song
- Read a story
- Do a craft
- Do an extra activity (usually a snack or structured play)
It’s nothing too complicated, but we have so much fun that I wanted to share our plans with you. The activities you’ll find here are each tested and approved- mostly by my 4 year old- but sometimes by my 6 and 2 year olds as well. 😉
Download the plans here
You’ll get an overview page with links to all songs, books, crafts, and activities, along with a supply list for the week.
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you choose to click through and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Planning for the week
Before we jump into it, here are 2 important things for you to do before you start your pumpkin preschool theme.
- Check out 5 pumpkin books from the library. These can be any pumpkin-themed books. You can use my suggestions, or pick your own from this handy dandy list.
- Browse the supply list. Make note of anything you want to use that you don’t already have at home. Add them to your shopping list or buy them on Amazon now.
That’s it! Now you’re ready to go. 
Looking to organize your preschool routine? You’ll love this free
Preschool Planning Pack!
You’ll get a monthly preschool planning sheet (including a sample filled in with 4 great themes, book and activity ideas!) 75+ weekly theme ideas, and a fun-filled activity list full of great ideas for preschoolers!
Songs
I picked three songs for this unit. (A little repetition is great so that the kids can get to know each song before moving on to the next one.)
I picked one pumpkin:
Pumpkin man dance and freeze:
Halloween freeze dance:
Stories
You can read any pumpkin-themed stories that you want for this unit. But here are the five that we used and love:
Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie by Jill Esbaum
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie (Picture the… |
$5.53 |
Buy on Amazon |
Pumpkin Jack, by Will Hubbell
| Preview | Product | Price | |
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Pumpkin Jack |
$7.03 |
Buy on Amazon |
The Biggest Pumpkin Ever, by Steven Kroll
| Preview | Product | Price | |
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The Biggest Pumpkin Ever |
$3.99 |
Buy on Amazon |
Pumpkin Hill, by Elizabeth Spurr
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pumpkin Hill | $1.80 | Buy on Amazon |
Little Boo, by Stephen Wunderli
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Little Boo | $11.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Crafts
Here are the pumpkin crafts that we picked:
Pumpkin painting
This activity is fun and messy for the kids, but it’s also really easy to clean up- especially if you do it outside or in an empty water table. The paint will wash right off the pumpkins afterwards.
Jack-O-Lantern squish bags
Draw and color a pumpkin
My kids love art hub for kids, and I love that they can do these videos on their own during quiet time. Win win!
Potato pumpkin prints
Color mixing paper plate pumpkins
Activities
I recommend taking your child along at the beginning of the week to pick out their own special small to medium pumpkin, which he/she can use for the activities throughout the week.
Pumpkin baths
This activity was a huge hit! We did it right after painting pumpkins, so they each had to wash all the paint off, as well as wash their brushes out. They played here for about an hour!
Halloween play-doh tray
Pumpkin hammering
Cut open and label the parts of your pumpkin
Time to finally cut open our pumpkins! You can label all the parts, or just talk about them as you scoop out the insides of your pumpkins. Pumpkin carving is also encouraged, but save those seeds!
Pumpkin seed roasting
There are a lot of different pumpkin seeds recipes you can try. I chose this one because it’s a little different from what we normally do, and I wanted to try something new.
Extras
Here are a few extra activities that you can do during the week if you just can’t get enough pumpkins:
A Halloween Cosmic Kids Yoga Adventure
This is a great way to get moving, especially on a cold or rainy day.
Make your own pumpkin spice playdough
If you’re feeling extra ambitious, make your own playdough for Tuesday’s play activity!
Bake pumpkin bread or pumpkin muffins
Or soup. Or pie. The possibilities are endless!
Ask your child to describe the pumpkin by using his/her 5 senses.
While you’re cleaning out the inside of your pumpkins, ask your kids to describe what it looks like, smells like, tastes like, sounds like, and feels like. Great practice with their senses!
Save a seed to grow a pumpkin plant
If you’re not ready for the fun to end, try planting some of your pumpkin’s seeds to grow a plant for next year!
I hope you have as much fun learning about pumpkins as we did. Enjoy!
-Laura
Pin Pumpkin Preschool Theme:
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