October 19th, 2007 Pumpkin Fun Posted by Melitsa in Articles, Education, Seasonal play, Sites to visit

Nothing says fall round these parts than pumpkins! So to celebrate the season, I thought I would share a fun activity that I am doing with the toddlers and preschoolers I work with this week. We are planning a trip to the pumpkin patch, so we are starting to talk about pumpkins during our home visits, i.e., the color, size, shape, texture, etc.

Now let’s face it, pumpkins are not all that exiting to most toddlers or preschoolers. So, to make it a bit more fun to learn about pumpkins, I do the following activity with them before we head to the pumpkin patch for our annual field trip.

Here’s what you will need:
• A medium sized pumpkin
• A child’s play hammer
• Golf tees

Yup, that’s it.

The activity is as simple as pounding the tees into the pumpkin. For toddlers, you may have to start the tee in the pumpkin and let them do the pounding. Some preschoolers might be able to put the tees in on their own.

Enhance the activity by talking about what they are doing, the color of the golf tees, putting the tees in and out, etc. They can make designs, e.g., eyes, nose, mouth, etc.

There are a number of developmental activities to this activity:
• Develops eye-hand coordination
• Develops visual perceptual skills
• Develops gross motor skills
• Help develop fine motor skills. Have them pull the tees out. It helps develop hand strength!
• Expressive language development
• Receptive language development

The biggest plus to this activity is that it is fun!

I haven’t met a toddler or preschooler yet who didn’t have fun with this activity.

I hope your child enjoys it!

Jill Urbane, aka, The Mentor Mom is a social worker, parent coach and early childhood educator. She lives in the midwest with her two active kids, fantastic husband and menagerie of pets. To learn more about her or to subscribe to her blog feed, go to www.thementormom.com.

Melitsa Avila is a former teacher, mother of three boys and military wife who talks about living an intentional play lifestyle using practical and everyday play activities to do with the under 5s. She publishes related ebooks & newsletters. Melitsa is the host and producer of a weekly Early Childhood radio show: Raising Playful Tots bringing parents and carers together with Early childhood practitioners. Thanks for reading!

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