Easy Pumpkin Activities for Kids: Writing, Math & Crafts

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 Pumpkin Activities for Kids

📝 This post Pumpkin Activities, was originally published in 2015 and has been updated with new information and resources.

I love fall. I’ll admit it—it’s my favorite season. It’s not just because my birthday is in the fall. I love the changing colors, the cooler weather, the celebrations, and even the smell of the crisp autumn air.

As a child, some of my happiest memories were made at our local Pumpkin Day celebration. We did everything pumpkin you could imagine—carving pumpkins, painting pumpkins, eating pumpkin treats, and even pumpkin bowling! It was one of those special traditions I looked forward to every year.

When I became a preschool teacher, I wanted to bring that same excitement into my classroom. We filled our days with pumpkin finger plays, songs, and hands-on activities, with a few apples mixed in here and there. Later, when I had my own boys, I pulled out those same preschool activities and shared them at home. Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Round and Fat quickly became one of their favorites, and we even sang a jack-o-lantern song that I turned into a little book. 

💚Download the FREE Jack-o-Lantern book!

When I returned to the classroom years later to teach first grade, our pumpkin activities evolved. We still had plenty of fun, but now pumpkins became a way to teach writing, math, science, and literacy. From pumpkin glyph and number games to procedural writing and science investigations, pumpkins became the perfect theme for learning across the curriculum.

If you’re planning a pumpkin unit this fall, here are some of my favorite pumpkin activities to use with young learners.

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Pumpkin Writing Activities

One of the things I love about using pumpkins in the classroom is how easily they inspire writing. From sharing opinions to writing step-by-step directions, these pumpkin-themed activities make writing feel fun and purposeful.

Our Favorite Ways to Use a Pumpkin

Pumpkins can be carved, painted, baked into pies, turned into jack-o-lanterns, and so much more! In this activity, students brainstorm all the different ways people use pumpkins before choosing their favorite.

Using a planning page, students organize their ideas and explain why their favorite use is the best. Multiple writing templates make it easy to differentiate for a variety of learners.

The fun doesn’t stop with the writing. Once everyone has finished, students work together to create a class graph showing everyone’s favorite way to use a pumpkin. They then analyze the results by answering questions about the data, combining opinion writing, graphing, and critical thinking in one engaging fall activity.

💚 Grab Our Favorite Ways to Use a Pumpkin on TPT.

How to Carve a Pumpkin

Once students have shared their favorite ways to use pumpkins, they’re ready for another favorite fall writing activity—learning how to carve one!

Halloween is an exciting time in the classroom, and it’s the perfect opportunity to channel that excitement into meaningful writing! In this engaging procedural writing activity, students learn how to write clear, step-by-step directions by explaining how to carve a pumpkin.

Students begin by sequencing pumpkin-carving picture cards using time-order words such as first, then, next, after that,and finally. Next, they use the pictures and vocabulary to plan their writing on one of the differentiated planners before completing a final procedural writing piece with an illustration.

This hands-on activity helps students strengthen sequencing, organization, and procedural writing skills while celebrating the Halloween season.

💚 Grab How to Carve a Pumpkin on TPT.

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Pumpkin Math Activities

Pumpkins aren’t just perfect for writing—they also make learning math much more fun! Here are two pumpkin math activities to build number sense and collect class data.

FREE Jack-o-Lantern Glyph

Glyphs are a great way to combine art and math. Students begin by creating a large pumpkin from construction paper. Encourage them to use orange, green, or even yellow paper—after all, pumpkins come in more than one color! Once the pumpkin is complete, students add each feature as they answer a series of questions about themselves. While students love creating their unique jack-o-lanterns, the real learning begins after they’re finished.

As you read each prompt, students make choices that reflect their own preferences. For example, one child might choose triangle eyes because Halloween is their favorite holiday, while another student’s pumpkin may look completely different based on their answers. By the end, every jack-o-lantern is unique.

Once everyone’s pumpkins are complete, display them around the classroom and use them

✔ How many students like candy?

✔ How many students like spooky things?

✔ How many students said Halloween is their favorite holiday?

✔ How many left-handed students like candy?

✔ How many right-handed students do not like spooky things, but do like candy?

It’s a fun way to reinforce counting, graphing, comparing data, and answering questions while creating an eye-catching Halloween display.

💚 💚 Grab the FREE Jack-o-Lantern Glyph printable.

Pumpkin Numbers & Subitizing Game Cards

Pumpkins make practicing number sense even more fun! These Pumpkin Numbers and Subitizing Cards are a simple way to reinforce counting, number recognition, and subitizing during your fall math centers.

The cards can be used in a variety of ways. Students can match number cards to the correct pumpkin seed cards, play memory or Old Maid, or use them for partner games and small-group practice. Because the cards are so versatile, they’re easy to use throughout the entire pumpkin season without students getting tired of them.

Whether you’re introducing subitizing or giving students extra practice, these pumpkin-themed cards make learning feel like play.

💚 Grab Pumpkin Numbers & Subitizing Game Cards on TpT.

FREE Roll a Pumpkin Face

Looking for a quick and easy pumpkin math game? Roll a Pumpkin Face is a fun way to practice number recognition while celebrating the season.

Players roll the pumpkin die to build as many jack-o-lanterns as they can before time runs out. To begin a new pumpkin, they must first roll the pumpkin shape. Then they continue rolling until they’ve added each facial feature. Once a pumpkin is complete, they start another one! The player or team with the most completed pumpkins at the end of the game wins.

This simple game is perfect for math centers, partner work, indoor recess, or a fun Halloween activity.

💚 Grab the FREE Roll a Pumpkin Face printable game.

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More Pumpkin Activities: Crafts & finger plays

Not every pumpkin activity has to be academic! Some of my favorite pumpkin memories come from singing songs, reciting finger plays, and watching children’s faces light up as they acted out the words. These simple activities are perfect for preschoolers, kindergartners, or as a fun brain break during a pumpkin unit.

Five Little Pumpkins

Five Little Pumpkins has been a classroom staple for generations, and it was one of my boys’ favorites, too. Instead of using a traditional felt board, we made sturdy pumpkin pieces from painted paper and cereal box cardboard. They’re easy to make, hold up well, and can be used year after year.

As you recite the rhyme together, children move one pumpkin at a time, helping build counting skills, sequencing, and oral language while having fun.

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.
The first one said, “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! Let’s run!”
The fifth one said, “Isn’t Halloween fun?”
Ooooh, went the wind,
And out went the light,
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Round and Fat

This simple finger play is another favorite that my boys loved when they were little. Create a double-sided pumpkin with a plain pumpkin on one side and a jack-o-lantern on the other. As you recite the rhyme, simply flip the pumpkin over on the final words to reveal the jack-o-lantern.

Children love the surprise, and before long they’ll be saying the rhyme right along with you!

Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Round and Fat

Pumpkin, pumpkin, round and fat.
Turned into a jack-o-lantern just like that!

Bonus Idea: Try It with Apples!

Once your students have enjoyed the pumpkin activities, make a set of apples and use them with your favorite apple finger plays. It’s an easy way to extend the fun into an apple theme without creating an entirely new activity.

Five Red Apples

Five red apples
Hanging on a tree.
The juiciest apples you ever did see!
The wind came past
And gave an angry frown,
And one little apple came tumbling down.

Repeat until all the apples have fallen.

Way Up High in the Apple Tree

Way up high in the apple tree,
Five red apples smiled at me.
I shook that tree as hard as I could,
Dooowwwwwwn came an apple…
Mmmmm, it was good!

Wrapping Up

Pumpkins have been part of my fall memories for as long as I can remember. From celebrating Pumpkin Day as a child to teaching preschool, sharing these activities with my boys, and later using pumpkins to teach first grade, they’ve brought a little extra joy to every stage of my life.

Whether you choose one activity or build an entire pumpkin unit, I hope these ideas help your students learn, create, and make a few special fall memories of their own. Happy pumpkin season!