ABC and 123: A Learning Collaborative: Fun with 5 Little Pumpkins

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Fun with 5 Little Pumpkins

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. The costumes, the candy, the pumpkins... I just can't get enough. So as soon as the weather turns cooler and the leaves start to fall, my husband and I bundle our boys up and head to the pumpkin patch. From that moment on, THEY have Halloween on the brain too.

This year, I started celebrating Halloween a little earlier than usual. As the boys and I were driving through town one day last week, I began chanting the popular rhyme "Five Little Pumpkins". If you're unfamiliar with it, the words:

Five little pumpkins sitting on a fence.

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.”

“Ooooooo” went the wind and OUT went the lights.

And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

As we were singing together, I started thinking about all of the fun follow ups we could do. The moment that my boys' heads hit the pillow that night, I got to work.

First, I created a set of printable puppets my almost 3 year old could use to act out the rhyme. Reenacting favorite rhymes and books is a great way for kids to learn how to tell stories.

Then I made a set of large pumpkins that could be strung onto yarn to make pumpkin props. We'll be using these to act out the rhyme when we gather together 4 other "big kids".

And finally, I made a 5 Little Pumpkins mini-book so that my son could practice "reading". Even though he won't be able to actually sound out the words yet, he'll be able to "read" it perfectly because he already knows the rhyme by heart. It's a great way to help C see himself as a reader - and seeing himself as a reader will motivate him to learn how to actually read.