Five Little Pumpkins Fall Activities

Children build number sense when they have activities that include manipulating and working with objects.  Children learn language by singing, saying rhyming poems, and talking with their peers.  The poem Five Little Pumpkins is a great way to incorporate language and math with our young children.  Here is the traditional version of the rhyme.

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.

The first one said, “Oh my it’s getting late.

The second one said, “There are witches in the air.”

The third one said, “But we don’t care.”

The fourth one said, “Let’s run and run and run!”

The fifth one said, “I’m ready for some fun.”

Then woooooo (sound effects) went the wind and out went the lights.

Five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Of course I have my OWN version to the rhyme.  Keep on reading for my new version, a free printable, and directions along with the hands on activity.  Also included in this post are ideas for counting, ordinal position, adding, subtracting, working within 5, and working within 10.  This activity is a win-win because it incorporates all of these skills while providing our children with fine motor practice too.

Five little pumpkins talking happily. 

• Point to smiling faces.

The first one said, “Look! What do you see? 

• Point finger to one side.

The second one said, “I think it is a cat.” 

• Make whiskers with hands on both sides of face.

The third one said, “I think it is bat.” 

• Make flapping wings.

The fourth one said, “I can't it see from here!” 

• Look through binoculars.

The fifth one said, “It's getting close. Oh dear!” 

• Cross arms across chest and shake as if afraid.

Then flap went the wings as they heard this sound. 

• Flap arms and make sound effects of bat after the word sound. 
• See internet link for bat noises below. 

Five little pumpkins jumped to the ground.

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5! 

• Children take turns jumping in order while counting.

FREE PRINTABLE FOR THIS VERSION IS HERE.

Kathy Griffin Copyright 2014

Here is one of my favorite books for the 5 Little Pumpkins with the traditional version.  The Amazon link is included for your convenience.

BUILDING THE PUMPKIN GATE

Materials Needed

• 2 paint sticks
• 5 jumbo craft sticks
• 10 pumpkin pieces 
• Click HERE for FREE pumpkin cards.
• glue gun or craft glue

Directions

• Lay the 2 paint sticks horizontally lining up the ends while leaving a space between them. 
• Lay the 5 jumbo craft sticks vertically across the paint stick, lining up the craft sticks at the top.  
• I laid my paint sticks on a large piece of paper and used tape as a marker for where I would glue my vertical craft sticks to help keep it even.
• Glue the 5 jumbo crafts sticks to the 2 paint sticks using a glue gun or craft glue.
• Glue the pumpkin pieces onto clothespins.  Refer to the picture in the 10 frames version to see how I glued the pumpkins.  
• Glue 5 to the bottom of the clothespin facing down and 5 to the bottom of the clothespin facing up.
• Ready to play!

I like to use paint sticks because the have a natural handle for young children to hold.  If you have a child who is left handed, you can make one with the handle on the right side. My youngest daughter is left-handed and that always helped her.

I found these pumpkins at Michaels Craft Store and glued the backs to the clothespins.  

After the children have learned the poem and played it whole group, model how to use the fence to act out the poem.  They can touch each pumpkin in ordinal position as they same the rhyme.  For example: The first one said . . . They touch the first pumpkin.  The second one said . . . They touch the second pumpkin and continue through the 5th. 

Math Conversations to Have with the Children.

First This

• How many pumpkins are on the gate?
• How do you know?
• Let's touch and count.
• Point to the 1st pumpkin.
• Point to the 2nd pumpkin.
• Point to the 3rd pumpkin.
• Point to the 4th pumpkin.
• Point to the 5th pumpkin.

Then This

• Can you touch the first pumpkin?
• Can you touch the last pumpkin?
• Can you touch the pumpkin in the middle?
• Which one is the 2nd pumpkin?
• Which one is the 4th pumpkin?

And Then This

• Can you take off one pumpkin?
• How many pumpkins are on the gate?
• How do you know?
• Let's count and see.
• Can you take off another pumpkin?
• How pumpkins are on the gate now?
• How do you know?
• Let's count and see.
• Continue until they are all gone.
• Some children will figure out the pattern that each time the number is one less. Other children will need to recount each time.  This is developmental as they build number sense.
• The best way to build number sense is by providing opportunities to count real objects they can touch and not on a worksheet.

These pumpkins are actually cake toppers with the toothpick gently removed.  They make great game pieces.  Sign up by email, as I will be blogging about other ways to use cake toppers for learning games next.

Let's Play a New Game

First of all, counting the pumpkins in the previous  activity is the first step of developing number sense.  The next step is using a ten frame to help them visualize the number in an arrangement.  Both skills are equally important and should be used to complement each other.  The ultimate goal is that children can recognize smaller numbers without having to count whether they are in a line, circle, or spread apart in a different arrangement.  All of these activities and games will help build this number sense.

Working with 5 Directions

For this game you will need one die or number cards 1-5, the gate, and 5 clothespins.  

• Place clothespins on the top part of the gate.
• Child counts the pumpkins.
• Child rolls the die.
• If a six is rolled, child rolls again.
• Child removes the number of pumpkins to match the number of the die.  
• Always have the child remove the pumpkins from the right side of the gate first.  This keeps it in a 5 frame pattern and will help with visual recognition.
• Place the clothespins back on the gate.
• Roll again.
• Repeat.  

Working with 10 Directions

For this game you will need one die or cards with numbers 0-10, the gate, and 10 clothespins.  

• Place 5 clothespins on the top part of the gate.
• Place 5 clothespins on the lower part of the gate.
• Child rolls the die or draws a number card.
• Child removes the number of pumpkins to match the number of the die or card.  
• Always have the child remove the pumpkins from the bottom right side of the gate first.  This keeps it in a 10 frame pattern and will help with visual recognition and concepts of 10.
• Place the clothespins back on the gate.
• Repeat.  

Here are the links to hear the different sounds that a bat makes so the children can add bat sounds to my version of Five Little Pumpkins.

Bat Sounds

Itsy Bitsy Spider Language Fun

The itsy bitsy spider is one of my favorite nursery rhymes.  It's about a spider who never gives up. No matter how many times the rain washes him down the waterspout, he always climbs back up the spout again and sees the sun.  I am sure everyone has felt like that little spider at some point in life. I know I have. So maybe that's why I smile when I sing this song.

Being a Nana K has given me the chance to enjoy nursery rhymes all over again. After all, I sang them with my own children when they were little (seems like yesterday). When I started teaching, I sang them with my students.  I sing them with teachers at conferences while we talk about how to incorporate emergent literacy skills such as phonemic awareness and rhyming.

Now I get to sing them with my grandchildren.  So this post is dedicated to my little H who squealed, "Do it again Nana K! Do it again!" as we played with our waterspout and spider.  And in the blink of an eye, my other 3 grandchildren will be old enough to play too.  Right now all 4 benefit from hearing nursery rhymes over and over again even from birth.  It's never too early to read and sing to your child.

                                     

MATERIALS NEEDED

• 1 paint stick 
• 1 doll clothespin
• 1 regular clothespin
• 1 milk jug plastic lid
• 4 googly eyes
• small piece of red yarn
• yellow craft foam
• silver craft foam
• blue craft foam
• glue gun

These are the paint sticks that I purchase from Amazon.  I like them because they are smooth and cheaper to buy in bulk.  I've also add a link for the wooden craft clothespin after requests from those who have read this blog post.   You can click on the pictures below to get a better description of both.  Amazon links are included for your convenience.

I created a FREE PRINTABLE at the end of the blog post if you prefer to use clipart on card stock.  It also includes a song sheet of The Itsy Bitsy Spider with rebus pictures to read with your child along with some sight word cards.

DIRECTIONS FOR SPIDER

DIRECTIONS FOR SUN AND RAIN CLOTHESPIN

• Use a larger lid to trace a circle on the yellow and silver craft foam.  
• Cut out the circles and hot glue them onto the regular clothespin.  
• See picture above for placement on clothespin.
• Cut out raindrops and glue to silver circle.
• Your clothespin is ready!

DIRECTIONS FOR PAINT STICK

I used silver glitter spray paint to paint my stick, doll clothespin, and regular clothespin.  You could also use children's washable paint, or gray markers as a substitute or leave them in their natural wood finish.  Another option is to let your child mix washable children's black and white paint to make gray.  Let your paint stick dry.

READY TO PLAY

1. Clip the clothespin with the sun side showing on the top of the paint stick.
2. Slide the spider onto the stick.
3. Sing the song.

The itsy bitsy spider went up the waterspout.

• Child moves the spider up the waterspout.
• Child takes off the clothespin and repositions so the rain shows.

Down came the rain and washed the spider out.

• Child slides the spider down the waterspout.

Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.

• Child takes off the clothespin and repositions so the sun shows.

The itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.

• Child moves the spider back to the top just under the sun.

IDEAS FOR LEARNING

This activity can be modified based on the age and needs of the child.  As always, be aware of any choking hazards with very young children.

Children and parent/teacher can sing the song together and adult manipulates the spider as above.

Teacher or parent use props to tell or sing the nursery rhyme.  

Children can use the props to tell or sing the nursery rhyme.

FINE MOTOR  PRACTICE

This FUN kid's activity helps young children build fine motor skills when they open the clothespin to change from the sun to the rain and when they slide the spider up and down the waterspout (paint stick).  Some younger children will need help holding the paint stick while they switch from the sun to the rain and back again.  Be patient as they build their fine motor skills.  It's all about having fun, singing, and playing.  Practice, sing, play, repeat.

BUILDING ORAL FLUENCY

Young children build oral fluency and increase their spoken sentence length when they say or sing nursery rhymes.  This helps with reading fluency as they get older. When the children have learned The Itsy Bitsy Spider, try leaving off the last word, and let them fill in the word.

FIRST THIS

The itsy bitsy spider went up the waterspout.

Down came the rain and washed the spider ______.

Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.

The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout ______.

THEN THIS

The itsy bitsy _______ went up the __________.

Down came the ______ and washed the _________ out.

Out came the _______ and dried up ______ the rain.

The __________ spider went up the ______ again.

PHONEMIC AWARENESS

Identify the rhyming words in the nursery rhyme.

• Can they think of other words that rhyme with them?  sun-fun, rain-pain, out-shout, down-town

Count the syllables in the words.  

• Clap 1 time:  went, up, down, rain, sun, out, spout
• Clap 2 times:  itsy, bitsy, spider, again
• Clap 3 times:  waterspout

VOCABULARY

As the children become familiar with the rhyme, use the props as an opportunity to teach new vocabulary.  Here are vocabulary words to teach when playing with props.

• up, down, on, off, out - positional words
• sun, rain, waterspout, spider - nouns or people, places, things
• washed, dried - verbs or action words
• itsy, bitsy - adjectives or describing words 

Use these positional words to have the children show the meaning.  

• Say up and have the child move the spider up the spout.  
• Say down and have the child slide the spider down the spout. 
• Say off and have the child take the spider off the spout.  
• Say off and have the child take the clothespin (sun or rain) off the paint stick (waterspout).

READING SKILLS

DOWNLOAD FREE PRINTABLE HERE

1. Read the FREE PRINTABLE with your child or student. 
2. Point to where you start reading.
3. Model how we read from left to right and return sweep or start back again on the next line. 
4. Children can highlight letters they know or look for letters in their names.
5. Children can highlight words they can read.
6. Children can draw a picture to match the nursery rhyme which helps with comprehension or understanding the text.
7. Use the FREE PRINTABLE to make cards to use as sight words.  

• Show the word up.  Have the child read the card and move the spider up the spout.  
• Show the word down.  Have the child move the spider down the spout. 
• Show the word rain.  Have the child put the clothespin to show the rain.  
• Show the word sun.  Have the child put the clothespin to show the sun.  

Here are 3 versions of The Itsy Bitsy Spider on YouTube.  Remember to sign up by email at the top right corner of my blog, so you don't miss any posts or updates.



 


Questions or comments?  I would love to hear from you in the comment section.

Thanks for stopping by!

Fall Leaves Activities for Teaching

Here is a fun fall activity to do with your kids at home or in the classroom that includes working on language, vocabulary, and math concepts while building those crucial fine motor skills.  Throw in some creativity and your children will have lots of fun too!  And if you are wondering why I chose turkeys to put in the trees, keep on reading for links to explain why turkeys roost in trees.  It's always great when you can add some nonfiction real facts along with a fun math activity.

I love to use paint sticks to make games. In fact, my next few posts will be on making games and activities out of paint sticks and crafts stick.  Be sure to sign up by email at the top right corner, so you don't miss any of the fun.

If you are a teacher, you can make a tree to model in whole group and then make 2 trees for small groups.  I have my students work in pairs.  One builds the math tree and the other provides the "math conversations."  Then they switch roles.  If you are a parent, each child can have their own tree or they can work together.  Are you having a fall party?  This would make a fun craft to make that has a learning object too.

As with any activity, free play is so important.  Children need lots of opportunities to play as they learn. And remember this game builds fine motor skills because the children will use their pincer grasp (squeezing their thumb and pointer finger) to open and close the clothespins.

Materials Needed

• 1 paint stick 
• 10 jumbo craft sticks
• Elmer's glue or equivalent
• Fall color leaves
• Clothespins
• Animals

I bought my leaves at the Dollar Tree.  They came in a small package, and we had a few left over.  You can also use felt or construction paper leaves.  

I purchased the felt owls and turkeys at Michael's craft store (remember Michael's 40% Sunday coupons), but they also had turkey shapes at the Dollar Tree.  I included turkeys and owls in the FREE PRINTABLE.

Holding the tree with one hand while putting the animal on the branches requires fine motor skills.  If your child is younger, you can help hold the tree while he puts the animals on the tree.  Practice, play, practice, play, repeat. 

Directions

For older children,  let them make their own tree from beginning to end by using the Elmer's glue and allowing the sticks to dry.

For younger children build the base of the tree using a glue gun to attach the branches to the tree.  Then they can build the rest.

• Place the paint stick vertically.
• Place jumbo craft sticks in the arrangement desired.
• Use glue or a glue gun to secure branches.  See above for older or younger children suggestions.
• Let tree dry.
• Place drops of glue on the branches.
• Lay leaves on top of the glue.
• Let dry.
• Glue animal shapes on clothespins with a glue gun.
• READY TO PLAY!

LET'S PLAY

CHANGE THE GAME BASED ON YOUR CHILDREN'S NEEDS

Level 1

Goal:  Fine Motor, Counting

• Children play by putting owls or turkeys in the tree.
• Children count as they add animals.
• Children say, touch, and count or use one-to-one correspondence.  
• Children say one number for one animal and count in sequence (1, 2, 3, 4 . . .).

Level 2

Goal:  Fine Motor, Number Recognition, 

• Add number cards or use playing cards. 
• 10 clothespin animals.   
• Number cards are included in the free PRINTABLE.
• Put numbers in a small container or sack.
• Children draw a card.
• Children put the number of _______ on the tree to match.
• Children remove animals.
• Repeat.

Level 3

Goal:  Addition

• Add a die to the game.
• Roll the die.
• Name the number.
• Put that many _______ on the tree.
• Roll the die.
• Put that many _______ on the tree.
• How many ________ are on the tree?

Goal:  Subtraction

• Put 10 animals on the tree.
• Draw a card.
• Take that many ______ off the tree.
• How many _______ are left on the tree.

Glue animals on both sides of clothespins to provide a balanced tree and to give both hands fine motor practice.

Math Conversations to Have with Children

Tell me about your tree.

How many ______ are on your tree?

Do you have more _______ or _________ on your tree?

Do you have fewer ______ or ________ on your tree?

Are they equal?

LINKS ABOUT TURKEYS 

I've included some internet sites that explain more about wild turkeys.
Click HERE for a website that tells more about turkeys and listen to the different sounds that a turkey makes.  There is also some video of turkeys.

Click HERE for an explanation about why turkeys sleep in trees.

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Did you like this post?  I can wait to share the next post with you - more paint stick fun!

I purchased a box of these paint sticks to use with my children. I like them because they are smooth and without any markings.  I'm a paint stick fan and Home Depot and Lowe's can't keep up with me :)

Amazon links are included for your convenience.

Take A Closer Look at September Blog Hop

Hi everyone! 

Remember our blog hop last month before the big BTS sale? 

The one where 10 of us gave a freebie sample of our best sellers?? 

Well, we are at it again! This time, we are offering up a freebie sample of our favorite September product! 

So that means I have to name a favorite product for September.  Hmmm! Since many of you are teaching about fall and apples, I am sharing a sample of my Apples Reading Fluency for Little Learners.  If you are not familiar with my blog, here is the most important thing you should know.  I love using songs to teach reading.  I make up songs all.the.time - for everything.  Procedures - Phonemic Awareness - Phonics - Sight Words - Reading Strategies - Writing Strategies - Math . . .  And then I use those songs to teach literacy skills.

Why?  Because these songs become meaningful print for students to make connections.  Singing helps increase oral fluency, which in turns helps build reading fluency.  Singing the words takes away the "fear factor" when encountering new texts.  If they can sing it, they can be supported in reading it.

My FREEBIE is a copy of the predictable text words to the song to use in a literacy center, during guided reading, or as homework.  The predictable text helps support emerging readers.  Parents enjoy hearing their children sing the song, and it engages them too. Have your students color the apples to match the text.  They can also underline the color words with markers or crayons to match.  Throw in an apple pointer for tracking the print, and they are ready to go!

Here is a sneak peek at "Take a Bite" which is included my Apple Reading Fluency for Little Learners.  I just finished recording a mini-video to go with the song that can be played on a computer and also added an mp4 file to use on an iPad.  And for those who DON'T have tech, the packet contains the printable book in many different sizes, a pocket chart activity, and the mp3 song to play the music too.   

My students receive a fluency folder at the first of the year that contains songs to use as a warm up for guided reading.  These fluency folders stay in their reading boxes to use when reading independently, with a friend, or during small group instruction. When it is time for guided reading, they get their book boxes, and pull out their fluency folder.  They read their songs and poems along with familiar text.  They know to get started right away and not waste time.  They have a mission.  We are readers.  We are building our stamina.  We are building fluency.

My students also use these song sheets to play "What do you notice?"  This activity is differentiated for students.  Some children may notice individual letters.  Some children may notice that many of the words "match." Some children may notice a familiar sight word.  Some children may notice a phonics pattern (silent e in bite).  Have your students highlight what they notice to help them read the text.  Here is a quick glance at what else is this packet.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Sign up by email at the top right of my blog to receive other ideas for your classroom. 

ARE YOU READY  . . .  HOP on over to Jessica's blog Second Grade Nest.  She has a great FREEBIE just for you!

Johnny Appleseed and Apples

It's fall and almost time to celebrate Johnny Appleseed's birthday.  I went back into the recording studio and just finished 2 new mini-videos, book sets, and activities to use with your thematic unit on apples.

The first is a video called "Let's Pretend We're Johnny Appleseed."  It contains what plants need to grow, shows the life cycle of an apple tree, and contains fun sequencing motions to keep your students moving.  This set also includes the song, printable books, and activity cards in both color and black and white.

Here is a sneak peek of the video and previews from the packet.  I used the adorable clipart from Whimsy Workshop Teaching.

For more information click HERE.  Your children will love acting out the motions while learning literacy skills too.

The 2nd mini-video is called "Take a Bite." It's a fun way to get children ready for apple tasting time and to choose which one is their favorite apple.  A printable book is also included in this packet along with a pocket chart activity too.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Apples-Reading-Fluency-for-Little-Learners-871488

For more information about this printables click HERE. This clipart is by Krista Wallden from Creative Clips.

Both are on sale through this week.  If you plan on purchasing both, I have bundled them together to save money.  You can find that link HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Fall!

Circle Time Games

GRAB YOUR STUDENTS' ATTENTION! NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT - I FOUND THEM at the Dollar Tree!  Yes, that is an unusual way to start a post.  But if you have attended my sessions on games in the classrooms, then you know that I post updates when I find new grabbers.  I usually find them at Michael's, Toys R Us, and Target during seasonal times of the year (Halloween, Christmas, Easter).  This time . . . THE DOLLAR TREE!

Here are 20 ways to use these grabbers in your classroom.  If you need a visual you can watch the video on this post when I was a guest on a local television news show.

1. Play follow the directions game using 1, 2, 3 or 4 step directions. 
2. Spell your name. K (squeeze left grabber) a (squeeze right grabber) t (squeeze left grabber) h (squeeze right grabber) y (squeeze left grabber) and then pass to the person on the left.  Play continues until everyone has a turn.
3. Count the syllables in your name. Ka (squeeze left grabber) thy (squeeze right grabber)
4. Blend compound words. sun (squeeze left grabber) shine (squeeze right grabber) sunshine (squeeze left and right at the same time)
5. Spell your word wall words. Refer to #2
6. Segment phonemes in words. cat (squeeze both at the same time) "c" (squeeze left grabber) "a" (squeeze right grabber) "t" (squeeze left grabber) Pass to the person on the  left and continue around the circle.
7. Blend phonemes into a word. "d" (squeeze left grabber) "o" (squeeze right grabber) "g"    (squeeze left grabber) dog (squeeze both together)
8. Delete the first phoneme.
9. Substitute the first phoneme.
10. Do math combinations:  5+5=10
11. Skip count by 2's.
12. Count to 5.  
13. Count to 10.
14. Count backwards from 5.
15. Count backwards from 10.
16. Pattern games. Squeeze left out, squeeze right up, squeeze left out, squeeze right up
17. Practice phonics' patterns. ay (squeeze both together) "a" (squeeze )  
18. Say your letters and sounds. b (squeeze left) says "b" (squeeze right)
19. Place value.
20. Practice learning left and right.

Now go find those grabbers at the Dollar Tree and have FUN while teaching!

Thanks for stopping by!

Math Manipulatives on a Budget

Last week I stopped by my favorite Dollar Tree store to look around for ideas for math centers.  Jackpot!  I always get stopped at the front with the seasonal items. But this time, I continued on to the less known baby aisle to pick up some baby plates for another activity.  And what did I see?  BABY LINKS!  So I thought of some math activities to go with them.  I like the small links that you get at the teacher stores, but these were different.  They are the big chunky links that provided sensory feed back too.  And just wait until you see all the different ways to use these.  They come 10 in a packet for $1.00.  I purchased five which gave me 50 big chunky links.  That's an awesome set of manipulatives for $5.00.

Now if you know me, I am big on differentiating centers so students can use similar or the same materials and work with them on their own level.  And I also work with PreK-1st grade students.  So what can you do with these manipulatives seen in the picture bellow?  Keep on reading :)

SORTING

• Sort them by color (top-left picture).
• Sort them by their sensory bumps and grooves (top-right picture).
• Link them together by their attribute for great fine motor practice.

PATTERNING

• Make a pattern by color.
• Make a pattern by sensory bumps and grooves.

ONE-TO-ONE CORRESPONDENCE

• Count and link to match a number card.
• Link them together to build a number.
• Roll a die and build the number.
• Turn over a playing card and build the number.

MAKING COMBINATIONS

ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION

But WAIT!  I started thinking about how I could make them separate or show combinations.  I went over to the toy aisle and grabbed a couple of boomerangs.  Perfect!  I wrapped some duct tape around the middle of the boomerangs several times to make a middle sorting side.

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR STUDENTS
Choose from the ideas below to match individual needs.

• Students place total number of links on the left side.  
• Student removes some from left side and places on right side.
• Student says the number combination.
• Student draws a pictorial representation of the combination.
• Student writes a number sentence for the combination. 

WORKING WITH 5

• Student places 5 rings on the left side.
• Student rolls the dice.
• If lands on 6, roll again.
• Student removes the number of rings to match the number or dots on dice and places them on the right side.
• Student says the number combination.
• Student draws a pictorial representation of the combination.
• Student writes a number sentence for the combination.

WORKING WITH 10

• Student places 10 rings on left side.
• Student turns over a card.
• Student removes the number of rings to match the number on the card and places them on the right side.
• Student says the number combination.
• Student draws a pictorial representation of the combination.
• Student writes a number sentence for the combination.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end.  I hope you have some new ideas for differentiating with these links.  

Thanks for stopping by!