Plumply, Dumply Pumpkin

When I hopped over to I Heart Crafty Things (great preschool ideas!) the other day, I was so excited to see that Rachel had done some fun activities with her kids and the book “Plumply, Dumply Pumpkin” by Mary Serfozo. We had just returned that book to the library and my kids and I had loved it too. It has great rhyming text and the best descriptive words that made it fun to read over (and over and over) again.

So I decided to have a Plumply, Dumply Pumpkin day.

• Read “Plumply, Dumply Pumpkin” by Mary Serfozo. Available here.
• Mini Pumpkin Patch
  1. Every year I collect several mini pumpkins/squash/gourds from the store. Besides being fun for decorations, my kids love playing with them, sorting them and pretending to have their own mini pumpkin patch.
  2. Hands on! Feel the mini pumpkins … some are bumpy, some are smooooth.
  3. Compare the colors. My oldest naturally starts to sort them into like colors
  4. Describe them. You’ll seriously love the descriptions in the book. How would you describe your mini pumpkins?
  5. And chances are, my kids will decide to roll all of them, but even that can be fun. Some roll smooth and straight. Others roll bumpy crazy.

• Dumply Pumpkin Hunt
  1. Print out several bumpy and round pumpkins in a couple different shades of orange. I made up a quick page of plumply, dumply and lumpy, bumpy pumpkins above. Feel free to print it (just click & download.)
  2. Cut out and laminate.
  3. Hide the pumpkins all around the yard or in the house.
  4. Give the kids buckets and let them hunt for all the pumpkins!
  5. Count the pumpkins to make sure you have them all!
  6. Sort the pumpkins by color or use them to create patterns.
  7. Sort the bumpy and plumply pumpkins into two separate boxes. Attach an example of each pumpkin to the front of each box.

• Plumply Rice Crispy Pumpkin Treats
  1. Make a batch of Rice Crispy treats and tint them orange.
  2. When cool enough, butter your hands and shape into balls (the lumpy bumpier, the better)
  3. Shape a softened tootsie roll into a stumpy stem for the top!

(thanks Rachel for the great ideas!)