A pumpkin unit is perfect at this time of year, whether you want to focus on pumpkins as food or pumpkins for harvest festivals or Halloween decorations. Here, you’ll find links to free pumpkin printables used to prepare hands-on activities and a new Montessori-inspired pumpkin pack for our free newsletter subscribers’ resource library! This unit has resources for preschool through early elementary.
Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links (at no cost to you).
Montessori Shelves with Pumpkin-Themed Activities
Montessori Shelves with Pumpkin-Themed Activities
You’ll find Montessori-inspired pumpkin-themed numbers, letters, and and more (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber) Note: The Montessori-inspired pumpkin pack isn’t designed as a complete pumpkin unit but as supplemental materials. I design the packs using realistic images that I’ve often looked for when preparing a unit study (such as font cards and phonogram cards featuring the letter and phonogram related to the theme and math cards with realistic images that fit the theme and can be adapted for math activities at a variety of levels.)
You could mix your pumpkin themed activities among your shelves according to curriculum area. Or you could have a special pumpkin-themed area something like the one pictured. My shelves at the beginning of our unit have a mixture of skill levels. Many of the activities can be adapted for a variety of levels. If you’re a homeschooler, just choose the activities that work for your child’s interests and ability levels. If you don’t have room for all the activities you’d like to do, simply rotate them.
Montessori Shelves with Pumpkin-Themed Activities and Paul Peel Art Print
Notice the framed illustration Pumpkin Patch by Paul Peel (1860-1892). It’s a free download from Wikiart
For our monthly featured art print, I purchased a Li’l DAVINCI art frame that opens in the front for easily changing a free art masterpiece printable or vintage illustration to fit with the month’s theme. The frame can be switched from horizontal to vertical without changing the hanger, which is perfect!
If you’re wondering about the rugs and rug box I use, both the rugs and wooden rug holder are from Montessori Services. I love the Montessori Services rugs and rug holder! I used to use an umbrella stand something like these. I loved that for 1-3 rugs, but I needed something different when I had more grandchildren and some projects that needed more than one rug.
Favorite Shelves, Trays, Baskets, and More for Montessori Homeschoolers
I often get asked about the trays, baskets, etc., that I use, so I published a post with many of the items. You can find lots of helpful resources here. They’re not all essential, so don’t feel you need to have everything. Just choose what’s best for your budget and your unique family’s needs. You’ll find more ideas in the Living Montessori Now Amazon shop
Books for a Pumpkin Unit
Even though I have books on shelves, I’m now keeping many of my themed books in a forward-facing display after placing a plant where the themed book basket was before. Most of my seasonal books are now in that book basket.
For toddlers and preschoolers, about ¾ of the books I use are typically Montessori friendly (focusing on reality without smiling or talking animals or smiling or talking vehicles).
Books for a Pumpkin Unit
Top Shelf of Themed Shelves:
- Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin Pie is a lovely National Geographic Kids book.
- I often use Gail Gibbons books in our unit studies because they have so much great information in an easy-to-understand format. The Pumpkin Book has both scientific information and historical information about pumpkins and jack-o’-lanterns.
- Squash and Pumpkin pages from the DK Smithsonian Trees, Leaves, Flowers & Seeds: A Visual Encyclopedia of the Plant Kingdom. The DK Smithsonian books typically have gorgeous photos and are wonderful reference books that I use for many units.
Top Shelf of Forward -Facing Display:
2nd Shelf:
3rd Shelf:
- Pumpkin Pumpkin
- County Fair (Little House Picture Book)
- Apples and Pumpkins
4th Shelf:
Bottom Shelf
- The Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin
- Peter Rabbit and the Pumpkin Patch
- Biscuit Visits the Pumpkin Patch
Some other books we’re using that are in a book basket:
- I love Gail Gibbons books for lots of facts that are easy to understand. For this unit, we’re using The Vegetables We Eat (with pumpkins described as a fruit vegetable).
- Where Does Broccoli Come From? A Book of Vegetables. The books are recommended for kindergarten through grade 6. They’re packed with information and illustrations, but I don’t think they would be appealing for children younger than kindergarten age.
You can see many pumpkin books here: Pumpkin Books for Kids (including books as they’re published)
Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie Book with Life Cycle of a Pumpkin Activities
Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie Book with Life Cycle of a Pumpkin Activities
The book is Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin Pie (a lovely National Geographic Kids book).
Free Printable: Life Cycle of a Pumpkin from Montessori for Everyone
Free Printable: The Life Cycle of a Pumpkin from NAMC Montessori Teacher Training Blog (I have these available for book making.)
Free Printable: 6 Rounded Rectangle Cycle from Easy Teacher Worksheets
The Pumpkin Book with Parts of a Pumpkin Activities
The Pumpkin Book with Parts of a Pumpkin Activities
I often use Gail Gibbons books in our unit studies because they have so much great information in an easy-to-understand format. The Pumpkin Book has both scientific information and historical information about pumpkins and jack-o’-lanterns.
Free Printable: Parts of a Pumpkin from Superstar Worksheets. There are color copies (control cards) that I’ve made into a booklet as well as black-and-white cards that can be used by the children for making their own booklets.
Free Printable: Internal and External Parts of a Pumpkin by Modern Montessori at TPT (Right now, I just have the control charts on an easel. There are also individual photo cards that would be great for use with a real pumpkin closer to Halloween.)
Pumpkins and Squash 3-Part Cards and Pages from Trees, Leaves, Flowers and Seeds Book
Pumpkins and Squash 3-Part Cards and Pages from Trees, Leaves, Flowers and Seeds Book
On a wooden cookbook holder, I have the DK Smithsonian Trees, Leaves, Flowers & Seeds: A Visual Encyclopedia of the Plant Kingdom. The DK Smithsonian books typically have gorgeous photos and are wonderful reference books that I use for many units. This book is no exception.
Free Printable: Types of Pumpkins and Squash 3-Part Cards by Montessori Print Shop at TPT
Sand Writing Tray for a Pumpkin Theme
Sand Writing Tray for a Pumpkin Theme
Free Printable /p/ for pumpkin font cards and /j/ for jack-o-lantern font cards, so just sign up for my free newsletter to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber). They come in print, D’Nealian, and cursive. .
You’ll see a variety of simple letter writing trays in my previous unit study posts. I often used the wooden tray from the Melissa & Doug Lace and Trace Shapes. You can use whatever tray or container work best for you, though.
I typically now use this lovely spelling/alphabet tray from FamilyTreeWW on Etsy. I like it for writing more than one letter or spelling words. (Note: That sand tray is currently unavailable, but you’ll find lots of other options for Montessori sand trays on Etsy.) I found some colored sand in 12 colors on Amazon that I started to use instead of salt or colored salt. I love it because it’s so soft and feels great!
If you would like help with introducing phonetic sounds, introducing objects with sounds, or beginning phonics in general, check out my DIY Beginning Montessori Phonics with Preschoolers.
Matching Sandpaper Letters with Letter Pumpkins and Pumpkin Alphabet Cards
Matching Sandpaper Letters with Letter Pumpkins and Pumpkin Alphabet Cards
Free Printable: pumpkin alphabet cards (part of my subscriber freebies, so just sign up for my free newsletter to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber).
Here, I used the sandpaper letters s, m, t, a, p (the first 5 letter many Montessorians introduce and the order I’ve always used).
These are the pumpkins I used and the free movable alphabet letters I added to each pumpkin with sticky putty.
There are so many ways the alphabet cards can be used! This is just one idea for younger kids.
ee Phonogram Work
Free Printable /ee/ in seeds (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber). They come in print, D’Nealian, and cursive.
Free Printable: I have Who has game cards: ai ee igh sounds from MontessoriSoul.
I used our double sandpaper letters for ee. We’ve already covered all the phonograms, so this was a simple review of /ee/. Our tree unit shows how we used another free printable for /ee/ from MontessoriSoul.
I have a post and video on how to introduce words starting with phonograms, even with very young children.
Pumpkin Word Family Sliders
Pumpkin Word Family Sliders
Free Printable: Pumpkin Word Family Sliders from 123 Homeschool 4 Me
There are a number of different word families included in the printable. It’s simply a fun way for children to get extra practice with blending letters to make words.
Pumpkin Patch Multiplication Activity
Pumpkin Patch Multiplication Activity
My 7-year-old grandson, Caleb, makes amazing LEGO creations. He designed a pumpkin patch with a gate, eraser pumpkins (which we used for our organic farm last year … see below), Mr. Carrot mini fig, squirrels, and a LEGO scarecrow we used last year.
Free Printable: Pumpkin patch number cards 1-10 (plus two cards with the number 3 or whatever multiplication table you’re working on) and multiplication symbols (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber).
Free Printable: 1-10 spinner (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber). (I didn’t use this for this activity, but I often use it for similar multiplication activities. This time, I designed the activity for drawing a number from the 1-10 cards placed in a stack upside down.)
I used 30 pumpkin erasers (from the set we used last year) and 10 LEGO Minifigures. (We have a number of Minifigures, and my 7-year-old grandson, Caleb, put together these Minifigures.) You can used peg people, little stuffed animals, etc., if you don’t have Minifigures.
Working with Pumpkin Patch Multiplication Activity
Caleb already knows his multiplication tables, but this was a fun way to review multiplication after summer vacation. You could talk about 10 kids going to a pumpkin patch to get pumpkins. Choose the number each plans to pick. Here, Caleb is showing 8 kids bringing home 3 pumpkins each. (If you use the 1-10 spinner, when the spinner landed on 8, you would choose 8 kids. So 3 pumpkins per kid x 8 kids = 24 pumpkins altogether.
You could lay out your multiplication problem in a different way, although I used this way as a preparation for the Montessori multiplication board. You could also use a printable multiplication board and line up the number of figures at the top that you spin. Or go through the entire 2s and 3s facts, one pumpkin-picking kid at a time. This is also a great activity to practice counting by 3s.
There are so many different activities you can prepare using the math cards! This is just one example. You’ll find many ideas in our previous units.
I used the pumpkin erasers from our previous fall scavenger hunt unit. These were the ways they were used in our fall scavenger hunt unit (although for language rather than math activities).
Fall Harvests Book with Miniature Environment and Sentences
Free Fall Scavenger Hunt Printables and Montessori-Inspired Activities
Free Printable: Fall Pocket Chart Sentences from The Measured Mom
Fall Harvests: Bringing in the Food has lots of information for young readers along with side notes with additional information.
Here, Caleb made an organic farm at harvest time. The sentence strips could be used for a scavenger hunt where children read the sentence and find the object named. Or you could simply hide the pictures or matching object to the sentence strips in your classroom or home.
Editable Montessori Grammar Labels Used with Miniature Fall Organic Farm
In our shop, we have editable Montessori grammar labels (and grammar symbols) in print and cursive versions! Each version is $5.95 in our shop, but you have permanent access to them if you purchased the 2024 Fall Mega Bundle. You can learn more about them in this blog post.
Working with Editable Montessori Grammar Labels Used with Miniature Fall Organic Farm
Caleb used the editable Montessori grammar labels with his miniature fall organic farm. It was simple for me to prepare the labels and grammar symbols using the font we recommended in the directions available in the file. Caleb really enjoyed this work!
Editable Montessori Grammar Labels Used with Miniature Fall Organic Farm
Here’s the finished miniature environment with labels and printable grammar symbols (print version)!
Pumpkin Science Activity – Water Drop Pumpkins
Water Drop Pumpkin Activity
Free Printable: Halloween Science Activity – Water Drop Pumpkins by Dr. Dave’s Science at TPT
On our main pumpkin shelf, you’ll see this activity in the lower right-hand corner. It’s a fun way to combine science and practical life. The complete directions are included in the printable.
Pumpkin Activity on Another Shelf
Metal Inset and Pumpkin Shape Matching
Free Printable: Pumpkin Shape Matching from Totschooling
This is a simple way to combine metal inset work with silly pumpkin shape matching. Older kids could design their own pumpkins using the metal insets.
I love the plastic insets from Alison’s Montessori for home use, but they’ve been discontinued. Alison’s Montessori does have the traditional metal insets, of course. And I found some inexpensive wooden insets on Etsy that look like a great option for home use. There are also DIY insets you can make for home use.
Montessori-Inspired Pumpkin Pack
Montessori-Inspired Pumpkin Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).
More Montessori-Inspired Pumpkin Activities
In this post, you’ll find a YouTube video with a toddler pumpkin hammering activity plus links to pumpkin hammering activities for preschoolers.
Check out m post with pumpkin scrubbing, an activity that works on a number of practical life skills.
We’ve made some gluten-free muffins using canned pumpkin. In the above post, I share our pumpkin muffin recipe and food-preparation activity.
You’ll find more fall scrubbing activities (along with other types of activities) in my roundup post with 20+ fabulous fall gourd activities for kids.
For preschoolers, I have a roundup post with 20+ pumpkin hammering activities for preschoolers.
I also have a roundup post with 20 pumpkin phonics activities.
You’ll find even more pumpkin activities in my Montessori-inspired pumpkin unit.
Preschoolers on up can do a lot to help with making pumpkin pie or pumpkin pie squares … yum!
All my pumpkin posts in a list:
- Free Pumpkin Printables and Montessori-Inspired Pumpkin Activities
- Free Pumpkin Songs and Educational Videos
- Favorite Books for a Pumpkin Theme
- Easy Pumpkin Drawing for Toddlers
- Montessori-Inspired Pumpkin Unit
- 20 Pumpkin Phonics Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Pumpkin Hammering for Toddlers
- 20+ Pumpkin Hammering Activities for Preschoolers
- 20+ Fabulous Fall Gourd Activities for Kids
- Free Fall Playdough Math Pack (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Montessori-Inspired Playdough Math Activities for Fall {Free Printables}
- Yummy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Montessori Pumpkin Scrubbing for Toddlers and Preschoolers
- Delicious and Nutritious Vegan, Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Pie Squares
- Simple Fun with Pumpkins and Pumpkin Seeds for Toddlers and Preschoolers
- How to Participate in the Teal Pumpkin Project with Non-Food Treats
- Pumpkin Unit Study Pinterest Board
MORE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE RESOURCES
Montessori-Inspired Farmers Market Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).
Free Farmers Market Printables and Montessori-Inspired Farmers Market Activities
- Free Fruit & Vegetable Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fruit & Vegetable Activities
- Free Vegetables Do-a-Dot Phonics Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Fruit and Vegetable Songs and Educational Videos
- Free Fruit and Vegetable Cutting Strips
- Free Eat-a-Rainbow Printables and Montessori-Inspired Activities
- Free Fruit Rainbow Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download
- Free Eat-a-Rainbow Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Montessori-Inspired Fruit Unit
- Montessori-Inspired Vegetable Unit
- Montessori-Inspired Food Art
- Montessori-Inspired Fruit Matching and Tasting for Toddlers
- Healthy, Yummy, Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins
- Kids’ Kitchen: Berry Yummy and Healthy Protein-Rich Popsicles
- Cutting a Banana Practical Life Activity for Toddlers
- Healthy, Frozen Raspberry and Yogurt Desert (Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free)
- Ants on a Log Food Fun Preparation for Preschoolers
- Fun with Montessori Apple Coring, Slicing, Spreading, and Sharing
- Yummy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Delicious and Nutritious Vegan, Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie or Pumpkin-Pie Squares
- Super-Healthy and Super-Yummy Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie
- Favorite Gluten-Free Sweet Spinach Muffins {AKA Green Monster Muffins}
- Kids’ Food Fun Pinterest Board
Don’t miss our themed monthly packs! You’ll get the link and password for the Living Montessori Now subscriber library with the current pack and all the past monthly packs if you subscribe to the Living Montessori Now weekly newsletter!
If you’d like ideas for calendar-based themes throughout September and October, see my September Themed Activities for Kids and my October Themed Activities for Kids.
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