Pumpkin Letter Writing Board

Fall is in full swing, and it’s the perfect time to bring the festive spirit into your child’s learning routine with a pumpkin-themed letter writing board! It’s not just a fun craft to set up; it’s also a splendid educational tool that introduces kindergarteners and preschoolers to the exciting world of letters and sounds. Here’s how you can create a vibrant writing board that is sure to keep little learners engaged.

WILL YOU SET UP THIS PUMPKIN LETTER WRITING BOARD FOR YOUR CHILD? PIN IT FOR LATER!

Supplies for the Pumpkin LetterWriting Board

• Cardboard
• Pumpkin printable (download from our website here)
• Black construction paper
• Card stock
• Scissors
• Sharpie washable black marker
• Packing tape

Instructions

Color and Cut: Start by coloring and cutting out the pumpkin printable. It’s a blank canvas for your child to bring to life with colors, fostering their artistic side.

Creating the Eye Slits: Make two parallel slits slightly longer than 2 inches where a jack-o-lantern’s eyes would be.

Securing the Pumpkin: Tape the colorful pumpkin in the middle of a piece of cardboard, by securing the sides of the pumpkin only and not the middle. Also ensure there is ample space on both sides for the letters.

Creating the Letter Strips: Cut out two strips of cardstock, each about 2 inches thick. On one strip, write uppercase letters, and on the other, lowercase letters, leaving a few inches at the top for easy handling.

Weaving in Fun: Weave each strip through the slits you made for the eyes, transforming your pumpkin into a playful learning tool with a carousel of letters in its eyes!

Adding Facial Features: Cut out a jack-o-lantern’s mouth and eyes from black construction paper and glue them to the pumpkin, bringing it to life with a goofy grin. Or you can use a marker to draw on a face.

Tracing Letter Guides: Next to the pumpkin, on the cardboard, draw dotted lines of each letter from the strips to create guides for tracing.

Final Touch: To make your board wipeable and reusable, cover it with packing tape. Now, your child can use a washable marker to trace the letters, easily wiping it off to practice again.

Engaging with Your Pumpkin Writing Board

Now that your pumpkin writing board is ready, invite your little one to engage with it. Have them move the letter strip in the pumpkin’s eyes to focus on one letter at a time. They can then find the matching letter — be it uppercase or lowercase — on the other strip.

This interactive activity not only reinforces letter recognition but also encourages hand-eye coordination as they trace the letters on the cardboard.

Once the find and match the letters on the strip, invite them to find a trace the letters on the board. Once they are complete they can wipe the board clean and start from the top of the letter carousel.

Tips for Success

• Keep a wet cloth nearby for easy cleanup and wiping the board as necessary.
• Encourage your child to say the letter aloud as they trace it, enhancing their phonetic skills.
• Start with a few letters at first, gradually increasing the difficulty level as your child becomes more comfortable.

The Learning Benefits

This pumpkin writing board activity serves as a fun introduction to letters and sounds, the foundational stones of reading. As your child traces the letters, they become familiar with the shapes and sounds of each letter, a critical step in developing early reading skills.

Moreover, manipulating the strips and tracing the letters fine-tunes their motor skills, preparing them for writing in the future. It’s not just an activity; it’s a playful step towards literacy and a love for learning.

Step into the joyful season of fall with this crafty educational tool that combines fun and learning in one vibrant pumpkin package. Let the pumpkin fun begin!

Age Suitability

This activity is good for toddlers aged children 3 years old and up with adult assistance.

Mess Level

The mess level for this activity is low.

Difficulty to Create 

Low.

Skills Developed

Language development, shape recognition, color recognition, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, imaginative play, creativity.

Toddler and Preschooler Curriculums, Books & TV Show!

Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers

There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!

But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.

Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.

Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again! 

These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!

Click here for more information: Play2Learn

Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.

Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids

Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon. 

Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.

Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.

Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids

Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more. 

Find out more and grab your copy here.

Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.

Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids

Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles tha. t show them how to think outside the box.

• 350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
• Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
• Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.

Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!

Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.

TV Show: Curious Crafting

I’m so excited to share my crafting TV show Curious Crafting which launched in July 2022 on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube! Season 2 aired in August 2023! My show was also nominated in 2023 for Best Live Action Preschool Series by the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence.

Curious Crafting Season 1 is also now airing in Australia on ABC! Watch it here!

Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.

In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create. 

Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.

This show designed for toddlers and preschoolers 2.5 years old and up. 

The Best Sensory Play Kits for Kids

Play is at the core of learning during the early years and it can take many forms. One of the most important of these is sensory play because it engages all of a child’s senses (taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing) and has a enoumous positive impact on brain development.

Our Sensory Play Kits are some fun and easy ways to keep your child engaged while at the same time using sensory play to nurture their mind!

Shop our ready made play kits here.

Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.

WILL YOU SET UP THIS PUMPKIN LETTER WRITING BOARD FOR YOUR CHILD? PIN IT FOR LATER!