20+ Hands-on Pumpkin Activities for Preschool
If you’re planning a harvest or pumpkin theme for your preschoolers this fall, you’re going to want to check out this list of 20+ hands-on pumpkin activities. These fantastic activities cover a wide range of concepts and skills, including art and crafts, science, math, engineering, and fine motor skills.
Preschoolers will love these activities, but truth be told…these are great pumpkin activities for kids of many ages.
Fall is the perfect time to plan some fun and exciting activities for preschoolers. There are so many yummy pumpkin, leafy, and harvest-themed projects that can be done with little ones during this special season!
One of my favorite activities is going to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins and then coming home to carve them up. It’s a classic fall activity, isn’t it? I love letting my kids explore the pumpkin guts using all five of their senses. It truly is a learning experience as they learn to identify the parts of the pumpkin.
Then we roast the pumpkin seeds, do a few math activities with the pumpkin seeds, and bake pumpkin pie. And when we do that, the house smells like all things delicious pumpkin and we know fall really has arrived!
FAQs About Doing Pumpkin Activities for Preschoolers
Lessons in a pumpkin preschool theme can include the life cycle of a pumpkin, a sink or float investigation, and pumpkin measurement. Preschoolers can also use the five senses to explore pumpkins in a sensory bin or tray. Kids can use pumpkins to learn counting, number and letter recognition, etc. The ideas for a pumpkin theme really are limitless.
Toddlers can do almost anything preschoolers can do with pumpkins. Some ideas are to add pumpkins of various sizes to a dramatic play area or use them for process art projects such as painting. You can include them in a science center with a magnifying glass and balance scale. And don’t forget to teach colors with this printable pumkin colors booklet.
Besides the traditional carved pumpkin, kids can decorate their own pumpkin in many ways. One idea is to let them decorate the pumpkin with stickers, paint, or glitter. Another idea would be to use glue to attach different craft supplies to the pumpkin or decoupage with pictures or natural objects. Hammering in nails or golf tees is another fun idea! Just get creative; the sky’s the limit!
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Don’t Forget Pumpkin Picture Books!
Make any learning theme into a top-notch experience for preschoolers by reading some high quality picture books about pumpkins! Here are some of our favorites.
Nothing but Hands-on Pumpkin Activities for Preschoolers
I wanted to create a list of fun pumpkin activities. From learning activities to sensory activities and pumpkin science, there’s plenty of activities to add to your pumpkin preschool theme. Be on the lookout for some pumpkin play dough activities, too!
Hands-on Pumpkin Crafts
These hands-on pumpkin crafts will add so much value to your fall lesson plans. Many of these crafts double as a science lesson or fine motor activity. Plus they're a great way to encourage preschoolers to be creative and express themselves through art and crafts!
Tissue Painted Mini Pumpkins
This process art pumpkin craft is great for preschoolers because they love painting, gluing, and decorating pumpkins! Preschoolers will be so proud to see their unique pumpkin art decorating their home or classroom.
DIY Fall Pumpkin Wreath Craft for Preschoolers
I just love a super simple fall craft that turns out super cute like this pumpkin wreath! It uses your basic craft supplies and just could not be any easier to prep and make with little kids.
No-Mess Pumpkin Art with Free Printable
This no-mess pumpkin art project is perfect for preschoolers (or preschool teachers!) who don't like messy hands. Plus it creates totally unique pumpkin art for fall classroom decorating.
Marble Painting Pumpkins
Painting with marbles is a really fun process art project for preschoolers. Add this pumpkin craft to your fall lesson plans for an action-packed creative activity.
Pumpkin Fizzy Art for Kids
This pumpkin activity is a process art and science activity all in one fun project! I just love how unique and cheerful these pumpkins look with their cute googly eyes. They would be a fabulous fall decoration for the classroom.
Pony Bead Pumpkins
This pumpkin craft is also a great fine motor activity for preschoolers to make in the fall. Kids would get a lot of pincer grasp practice making these. And they would look so cute as a table centerpiece or as mantle decorations!
Pumpkin Color Mixing Activity
Preschoolers can learn all about color mixing with this fun pumpkin activity. The great thing about this craft is that it's mess-free and a cool sensory activity as well!
Rolling Runaway Pumpkin Painting Fall Process Art
Rolling pumpkin painting is sure to be a blast for preschoolers this fall! It's a great way to get your students active and working together on a big art project. This process art project is best done outdoors as it could be a little messy.
Hands-on Pumpkin STEM Activities
These hands-on pumpkin STEM activities include science, engineering, and math activities that are perfect for a fall preschool theme. Most of these activities take a little bit of prep work, but the learning that will happen makes it all worth it.
Pumpkin Math Activity Kids Will Love This Halloween
With little pumpkins everywhere, fall is the perfect time for this pumpkin math activity. Simply add water and your preschoolers will be having fun while they learn to recognize numbers 1-20.
Pumpkin Seed Counting and Craft for Preschoolers
This pumpkin seed counting activity is part craft and part math activity. Preschoolers will love this hands-on fall learning activity that focuses on one-to-on correspondence.
Teach Twice the Math with These FREE Pumpkin Counting Cards
Preschoolers will get twice the counting practice with this pumpkin math activity. Plus it includes playdough and little plastic pumpkins, so you know it's sure to be a big hit for kids!
Mini Pumpkin Measurement Math
Mini pumpkins are a great way for preschoolers to explore measurement. Use these pumpkins to estimate and investigate weight and circumference.
LEGO Spookley Pumpkin STEM Activity
This pumpkin STEM challenge goes along with the classic fall book, Spookley The Square Pumpkin. Preschoolers will have fun building their own square pumpkins using LEGO bricks.
Pumpkin STEM Activity Inspired by Five Little Pumpkins
This literacy and STEM pumpkin activity is perfect for your fall preschool lesson plans. Kids will have fun trying to build a structure to hold little pumpkins with playdough and straws.
Pumpkin Counting Book Made by Preschoolers
Your preschoolers will have so much fun with this engineering and math challenge! Plus this pumpkin activity ties in some literacy in the form of making a book, so it's an all-around great activity for kids!
Pumpkin Investigation Tray Fall Science Activity
Setting up a pumpkin tray after carving pumpkins is a great way for preschoolers to explore the parts of a pumpkin in a hands-on way. Give them a few tools like tweezers and a magnifying glass to keep them really engaged.
Hands-on Pumpkin Fine Motor Activities
If you need an engaging, creative, and developmentally appropriate fine motor activity for your fall preschool lesson plans, then look no further! These 5 pumpkin activities will be a fun way for your kids to work on hand strength, pincer grasp, and pre-writing skills.
Pumpkin Drop Autumn Fine Motor Activity
Here's a fun fine motor activity for toddlers and preschoolers that's perfect for fall! It's a wonderfully engaging activity for kids who need to practice their pincer grasp.
Pumpkin Fine Motor Skills Activity
This pumpkin fine motor activity is great for working on hand strength for pre-writing development. It's a simple, no-prep activity that would be perfect to add to your fall preschool lesson plans.
Pumpkin Geoboard Activity
This pumpkin geoboard activity is a good one to add to your fall preschool lesson plans. Preschoolers doing this activity will be working on fine motor skills and math skills while having a lot of fun!
Hammering Pumpkins Fine Motor Activity
Kids love working with real tools, and doing so is a great way for preschoolers to gain some real-world fine motor skills. This hammering pumpkins activity requires adult supervision, but when done safely it's a really engaging activity for kids!
Pumpkin Playdough Invitation to Play
Playing with playdough is one of the best activities for developing fine motor strength. Preschoolers will love this pumpkin playdough invitation to play. It's the perfect activity to add to your fall lesson plans.
These 20+ hands-on pumpkin activities are sure to make your fall preschool lesson plans magical for your kids. Let us know which activities you think your preschoolers will love.
Get the Right Pumpkin Accessories
Every pumpkin preschool theme needs the right pumpkin manipulatives. Here are our favorites.
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
