Looking for Preschool Activities for October? A Fall Preschool theme? This pumpkin math is a fun hands on preschool activity
As we enter the fall season, when we are all looking for easy and fun hands on math for our preschoolers – let me introduce to you this simple pumpkin math game which involves so much around numbers and math.
When I planned my Preschool Activities for October I knew anything with pumpkins, printable worksheets, pumpkin games and anything pumpkin related was a good fit for the theme. Who doesn’t love an October full of pumpkins and incorporating pumpkins into fall preschool themes to add and make learning fun?! Fall is probably one of my favorite seasons anyway…so incorporating it into learning makes me happy!
Pumpkin Math
Items needed for this pumpkin game for preschoolers:
- Preschool Math Mats
- Pumpkin Pasta –> I like this one because it has different colored pasta for sorting (see below!)
- Foam Dice
How to play the Pumpkin Math Game/Activity
- Print and laminate your Preschool Math Mat
- There are several variations in playing this pumpkin game with preschoolers – choose what best fits your needs or use these variations to build upon each other in your math activities within your classroom or homeschooling.
Pumpkin Activities
- Sorting – use the idea of learning to sort colors with the different pumpkin pasta! Sorting each color pumpkins into their own stack.
- Count the sorted piles – have the preschoolers count each pumpkin pasta and decide which color/pile has the most or the least.
- Number recognition and identifying – roll the dice and have a preschooler count the dots and say what number the dice represents.
- Use the Preschool Math Mats to do simple addition. – Roll the dice and place the amount rolled into the first square. Roll the dice again and place that value in the second square. Have the preschooler count all of the pumpkins added together and place the answer with pumpkins in the final = box. For instance the preschooler first rolls the dice and gets a 2 – she then places two pumpkins in the first box. She then rolls the dice again rolling a 5 – she then counts five pumpkins and places them into the second box. Have the preschooler now count all of the pumpkins 2 + 5 = result should be preschooler counting and adding all together to make 7. The place 7 pumpkins into the = box.
As you build this pumpkin math activity upon each variation above here are a few things to remember when teaching math to preschoolers.
Why is sorting important for preschoolers to learn? I read this from education.com –> Parents may think counting and recognizing numbers are the nuts and bolts of preschool math. While these are important skills for young mathematicians to master, building a foundation for complex mathematical thinking begins in the early childhood years. Sorting and classifying objects helps children begin to notice how items are alike and different, and creates an awareness that is vital for math learning.
What is number recognition? Number recognition skills can be defined as “the ability to identify and name basic numerals”. This is the first step in number recognition. The child perceives the differences between the numerals. Identifying is the next step. Identifying focuses on the ability to point out a numeral when named.
Pumpkin Books for Preschoolers
As I was planning this pumpkin activity I came across several great pumpkin books that complimented my idea of pumpkins + math! So I figured I’d share these with you to add to your library collection to compliment the math pumpkin activities you do this fall!. Anytime I can reiterate the math/counting/sorting activities with literacy I’m happy! It all begins to connect within those preschool minds and only brings reinforcements to the learning!
This counting book opens with 10 orange pumpkins on a farm. As the rhyming, rhythmic verses roll along, one pumpkin after another disappears, but observant children will be able to figure out what happens to each. In one double-page spread, a pickup truck carrying 6 pumpkins crosses a bridge in the evening. The verse reads, “Six orange pumpkins / out for a drive. / Watch out! There’s a bump ahead. / Splash! There are five.” A page turn after “bump ahead” depicts the same scene with water splashing up as a pumpkin lands in the water, awakening several alligators. The rhyming text works well enough, but the real drama comes in the simple, striking artwork. Savage uses line, color, form, and contrast beautifully. Throughout the book, the color of the sky changes, providing beautiful backdrops for the characters and objects silhouetted against it. Spooky but not truly scary, this reverse counting book makes a fun read-aloud choice for younger children.
This versatile and sincere story will teach math and science concepts while modeling kind behavior. When Mr. Tiffin brings three pumpkins into class for a math and science lesson, all the children guess how many seeds are inside. Charlie, the smallest kid in class, feels frustrated: “All the best guesses are taken.” Then the class opens the pumpkins and counts the seeds. McNamara introduces the concepts of counting by twos, fives, and tens, and she includes pumpkin facts (the more lines on the pumpkin, the more seeds it will have). Charlie ends up with the correct guess and discovers that “small things can have a lot going on inside them.”
Counting on Fall – Not specifically pumpkin related but a great fall counting book!
As young readers journey into the natural world, they will discover that numbers, patterns, shapes ― and much more! ― can be found by observing everyday plants and animals.
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