October is officially here and that means pumpkins are everywhere! Take advantage of this fall season and use pumpkins to work on language skills with your child. Here are a few simple and fun ways you can incorporate pumpkins while developing language skills:
Compare and Contrast Pumpkins
Either at a grocery store or a pumpkin patch, pick out a variety of pumpkins. Try to get a few that are different shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. Have your child discuss ways the pumpkins are alike and ways they are different. For example, “this pumpkin is big, orange, and smooth, but this one is small, white, and bumpy. They both have a stem and they are both round”. Comparing and contrasting pumpkins is a great way to build vocabulary and work on describing skills.
Carve Pumpkins
Carving pumpkins can be a great way to sneak in some language skills practice. Before you start carving, have your child sequence and describe the steps needed to carve a pumpkin. Your child can work on following 1-2 step directions while you carve your pumpkin. When you are done carving, make pumpkin seeds together and have your child practice following directions with our recipe here.
Paint Your Pumpkin
If you are looking for a less messy alternative to carving pumpkins, you can find some paint markers at your local craft store and paint pumpkins together. Your child can work on many language skills while painting pumpkins. Have them describe what they are painting on the pumpkin. Your child can practice labeling emotions by painting different feelings on different pumpkins (scared, happy, sad, surprised, etc.). Have them label and describe the body parts they are drawing on (eyes, nose, cheeks, etc.) Get creative with this activity!
Read Pumpkin Books
Read pumpkin-themed books with your child and work on comprehension skills, vocabulary, and describing. There are many books about pumpkins but here are a few ideas…
This book imagines larger-than-life pumpkins and describes how they could decorate many monuments and places around the world (think a pumpkin as big as a rocket ship). This story includes a lot of great adjectives to help build your child’s vocabulary!
This informational book describes pumpkin life cycles, the history of pumpkins, and using pumpkins to celebrate holidays. This would be a great book to help your child sequence a pumpkin’s life cycle and answer comprehension questions.
Splat the Cat is a popular series with kids. In this story, Splat goes to a pumpkin patch and finds the biggest pumpkin ever. Just one problem…he can’t get it home! This book would be great to work on inferencing and problem-solving. Ask your child for ideas that would help Splat solve his problem.
Written by Melanie Krupowicz, M.S., CCC-SLP