A Craft Measurement Pumpkin Activity for Preschoolers
Looking for a festive fall-themed craft? This adorable layered pumpkin is such a fun fall craft! Don’t miss adding it to your list of pumpkin activities for preschoolers. Pumpkins are a perfect theme for both fall and Halloween, and provide some of the best autumn activities for preschoolers.
Layered Pumpkins Craft – A Pumpkin Activity for Preschoolers
There is no doubt about it, preschoolers love using scissors. No matter the purpose, whether it’s cutting up paper into little bits, snipping pictures out of magazines, or even cutting play dough, little kids take much pride in their scissor success!
But using said scissors is no easy feat for preschoolers (or teachers, for that matter!) So the more opportunity for scissor practice, the better.
Enter this pumpkin math activity for preschoolers! It is the perfect way to build hand strength, practice sorting and sequencing, and celebrating all things pumpkin. It’s one of our favorite fall activities for preschoolers!
You can choose to focus more on scissor cutting skills with this craft or work on measurement. Or just have fun doing a pumpkin craft with your preschoolers! I sometimes choose that option, depending on the skill level of my class and my objectives for this activity.
If appropriate, you can also allow children to cut out their own pumpkins for some cutting practice and fine motor practice. I love how so many crafts double as fine motor activities!
Frequently Asked Questions about Teaching with Pumpkins
Pumpkins are one of the most FUN preschool themes and a great addition to your fall activities for preschoolers. You can utilize a pumpkin theme anytime during the autumn season or even in the spring during a gardening/planting theme. If your classroom doesn’t celebrate Halloween, a pumpkin unit is ideal for encouraging fun seasonal play and exploration.
Pumpkins are full of wonder and slimy seeds…perfect for entertaining and mesmerizing preschoolers! Host a pumpkin carving day and invite students to take turns touching the pulp and seeds inside the pumpkin, make predictions, and help carve.
Don’t miss pumpkin science experiments and math practice! Collect various sized pumpkins and categorize them by size or color. There are also ton of pumpkin art projects and pumpkin crafts for kids available! Invite children to taste pumpkin-flavored foods or roast pumpkin seeds. Arrange a field trip to a pumpkin patch, if possible!
There are so many pumkin activities for preschoolers to do during your fall activities.
Children naturally measure in their everyday lives. They note that their parent is taller than their own height, or notice how full their cup of milk is, and observe the really long truck on the road. They also have a beginning understanding of time and can note how two minutes is much faster than thirty minutes.
Measurement activities for kids in preschool are an introduction to identifying big, medium, and small, as well as the terms bigger and smaller. It also includes ordering up to 5 objects by size in both ascending and descending order. Preschoolers should also learn measuring terms such as longer, shorter, taller, bigger, smaller, heavier, and lighter. Encourage children to use measurement vocabulary and solve problems through play.
Layered Pumpkin Craft for Preschoolers
This layered pumpkin craft not only looks festive and fun, but it is also a wonderful craft to use to strengthen math skills. I love crafts for kids that are full of learning! You can use this activity to learn about patterns, sizing, measuring, and categorizing things by color or size.
This pumpkin math activity teaches a lot of skills. The possibilities are nearly endless, and preschoolers will certainly have a blast! Let me show you.
Materials
- fall themed scrapbook paper (or fall colored construction paper)
- scissors
- glue
- cutting machine (optional)
The Set-Up
Feel free to use a cutting machine, if you have one, to make the pumpkins and cut them out in advance. We used pumpkins that were six inches, five inches, four inches, three inches, and one and a half inches in diameter.
I also cut out each of those sets in different colors. So, if using five different diameters you will also want five different colors, at least, so that there is a complete set for each color. This will add to the measurement and color challenge you’ll read about below.
Alternatively, you can trace the pumpkins and invite your preschoolers to do their own cutting.
Note: when choosing this option, I offer my preschoolers a set of their own to cut out but then we put all the pumpkins in a pile together to make it more of a community project. Plus, having all the pumpkins mixed up add to the level of difficulty because it requires the preschoolers to sort through the pumpkins for the specific size and color they are looking for!
Making the Pumpkin Craft for Preschoolers
Before starting the craft part of the activity, work on the math portion. Instruct the preschoolers to arrange the pumpkins from biggest to smallest, or smallest to biggest. They can then sort the pumpkins by size, color, or shape.
This step is particularly important for younger preschoolers.
If your little ones are struggling with five pumpkins, then eliminate two and invite them to sequence the remaining three. Large, medium, and small.
Invite your preschooler to select five of the pumpkins to make one layered pumpkin. Explain that layered means one on top of the other, but we can still see part of the first pumpkin. When we add layers, the layer on top has to be smaller than the one on the bottom.
But I see a challenging opportunity… encourage your preschoolers to do the following:
- layer the pumpkins so that the same colors are not sitting on each other
- layer the pumpkins so that they use one pumpkin of every size available
I used five different sizes, but each additional size adds to the difficulty! This is a great measurement and sequencing math practice!
This may sound like simple math, but for preschoolers, it’s an important step in learning measurement, sequencing, and comparing.
When they have sequenced by size, model how to layer the pumpkins with the biggest pumpkin on the bottom and the smallest pumpkin on top with the other pumpkins layered by size in between.
The idea was to challenge the children to layer as many pumpkins as possible. Once the kids are satisfied that they have layered as many pumpkins as they could, and in the correct order, let the kids glue their pumpkins down.
Proudly Display the Pumpkin Craft
You can tape the pumpkins around the classroom and use them as festive decorations during the fall season. This unique and special fall preschool activity shows off each child’s creative ideas.
Preschoolers love to see all the pumpkins displayed and pick out the one they made all on their own!
This is such a simple fall craft for preschoolers, but they love it!
Don’t Miss These Pumpkin Picture Books
Fall is the perfect time to mix up your picture book routine by adding in some seasonal books! Books about pumpkins, whether for Halloween or autumn in general, are beloved preschool favorites.
More Pumpkin and Fall Activities for Preschoolers
These done-for-you activity packs are packed with themed activities that are sure to be a hit this fall!
Layered Pumpkins Craft
This layered pumpkin craft not only looks festive and fun, but is also a wonderful craft to strengthen math skills. You can use this activity to learn about patterns, sizing, measuring, and categorizing.
Materials
- Fall-themed Scrapbook Paper (or fall colored construction paper)
- Scissors
- Glue
Tools
- We love our Brother Cutting Machine! It makes cutting out the pumpkins (and tons of other craft materials) easy and quick. See the recommended products below for the link!
Instructions
- Use a cutting machine to cut out pumpkins of various sizes, or trace them for your kids to cut out later.
- Instruct the preschoolers to arrange the pumpkins from biggest to smallest, or smallest to biggest. They can then sort the pumpkins by size, color, or shape.
- Model how to layer the pumpkins with the biggest pumpkin on the bottom and the smallest pumpkin on top, with the other pumpkins layered by size in between.
- Invite your preschooler to use their pumpkins to make one layered pumpkin.
- Glue together the final products.
Notes
We used pumpkins that were six inches, five inches, four inches, three inches, and one and a half inches in diameter.
To help with sorting and layering, make sure that each pumpkin is a different color.
Feel free to challenge your preschoolers to:
*layer the pumpkins so that the same colors are not sitting on each other
*layer the pumpkins so that they use one pumpkin of every size available
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
RELATED
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.
