Pumpkin Printables for Kids

I covered a bunch of apple printables (as well as crafts and sensory activities) so now it’s time to talk pumpkins! If you ask me, pumpkins are a little more fun (probably because of the carving, let’s be honest) but they’re both great symbols of fall and the theme for many learning activities, so let’s dive in!

Simply Sprout Educate has a great printable for kids to use to record findings about a specific pumpkin such as its weight and diameter, as well as whether kids think it will float or sink and why, and whether its a fruit or a vegetable. Kids can do this activity alone or in pairs/small groups depending on how many pumpkins and measuring tools you have on hand.

Life Over Cs has a pumpkin investigation printable for younger kids that includes a lot of the same information as well as weather the pumpkin is big or small, smooth or bumpy, and a place to draw a picture.

Work on sequencing with younger kids by sorting the steps for carving a pumpkin with this printable from The Keeper of the Memories. Or you can build a paper jack o’lantern with the printable from Sunny Day Family.

Homemade Heather has a nice collection of pumpkin learning printables including the parts of a pumpkin, life cycle of a pumpkin, pumpkin facts and another float or sink experiment.

Homeschool Preschool has a great collection of pumpkin-themed printables, including tracing, graphing, puzzles, work with the letter P and more. There’s another fun printable pack at 1 Plus 1 Plus 1 Equals 1. It includes counting, shapes, letters, sorting and more.

And if you just need a simple and quick activity to fill time, grab this printable pumpkin pie maze from Let’s Do Puzzles and start looking forward to Thanksgiving! They also have a word search and other fun puzzles for kids if you need them.

Next Plan Idea:

Apple Sensory Play Ideas

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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