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5 Little Pumpkins

  • Books & Language Arts
  • Math
  • Music & Drama
  • Grades 1-3

Based on the poem “5 Little Pumpkins”, this is a fun and interactive project for early elementary kids and preschoolers. The pumpkins, made from egg carton cups and magnets, can be moved around on a cookie to interact with the poem.

Materials


  • 25 Pack Assorted Paint Brushes
  • Natural Fuzzy Sticks
  • Green Fuzzy Sticks
  • Magnetic Buttons with Foam Adhesive
  • Acrylic Paint Jars, 24 Assorted colors
  • Wiggly Eyes 7mm
  • Mini Craft Sticks
  • Skinny Sticks
  • Foam Egg Carton
  • Construction Paper
  • Metal Baking Tray
  • Scissors
  • Craft Glue
printDownload Template

Instructions


 

Step 1. Gather your supplies.

 

Step 2.

 

Cut out (10) cups from the egg carton.  Trim each cup to be about 1 1/2” deep, as shown.

 

Step 3.

 

Paint the outside of (10) cups orange. Paint (10) mini sticks and (4) skinny sticks brown. Let all the pieces dry.

 

Step 4.

 

Start making a pumpkin by cutting a 2” piece of brown fuzzy stick. Fold in half and glue to the inside of one of the cups. The folded end should be sticking out from the of edge of the cup.

 

Step 5.

 

Glue a second cup to the first, to create a pumpkin shape.

 

Step 6.

 

Cut a small piece of green fuzzy stick and twist to make a spiral. Glue to the brown fuzzy stick stem.

 

Step 7.

 

Glue wiggly eyes to the pumpkin.

 

Step 8.

 

Turn the pumpkin over and attach an adhesive button magnet to the back.

 

Step 9.

 

Repeat steps 4-8 with the remaining orange cups. You should have a total of 5 pumpkins. Put aside to dry.

 

Step 10.

 

Make a fence by gluing the (10) mini sticks and (4) skinny sticks to a piece of blue construction paper, as shown.

 

Step 11.

 

Spell out “5 Little Pumpkins” with glitter stickers across the top of the paper.

 

Step 12.

 

Tape the construction paper to a cookie sheet.

 

Step 13.

 

The magnets on the pumpkins will stick to the cookie sheet. Download and print the poem by clicking the “Template” button. You can move or remove the pumpkins to follow along with the rhyme.

 


Count on these egg carton pumpkins to lead your next rhyme and math lesson!    

  • Rhyme Time: Words with similar sounds are everywhere! People often use rhyming words to create melodic sounding poems or songs. Hand out copies of our template and ask students to highlight the rhymes they see in the lyrics!  
  • How Many Pumpkins?: Count how many egg cartons, fuzzy sticks, craft sticks, and letters you need to create this craft! What do they add up to? Along the way, keep track of how many egg cartons still need to be painted or how many craft sticks still need to be glued to help with number association.

Roll into action with your five little pumpkins — sing along with this rhyming song! For a more interactive math lesson, roll a pumpkin away after each verse, and have your students count down until there’s only one pumpkin left on the fence.