Pumpkin Counting – Number Sense Preview

What you do:

Preparations:

Print the Pumpkins on the Vine Counting printables, the Number Card printables, and the farmer board on heavy printing paper. Laminate for extra strength. Cut out the vines and the number cards and place them in the pockets of the folder. Glue the Pumpkins on the Vine Cover Sheet to the front of the folder.

Introduction
Show the children a pumpkin vine card and ask:

• “How many pumpkins do you see?”
• “How can we count them together?”

Explain:
“Today we’re going to help the farmer count pumpkins and find the right basket for each number.”

Activity 1 – Count Pumpkins & Add Pom-Poms

1. Each child draws a pumpkin vine card.
2. They count the pumpkins on the card.
3. They place the same number of pom-poms (pumpkins) on the game board.

Reinforces one-to-one correspondence.

Activity 2 – Number Basket Cards

1. Each child draws a number basket card.
2. They place it on the farmer’s game board.
3. They add the matching number of pom-poms to the board.

Reinforces number-to-quantity connection.

Activity 3 – Match Vines & Number Baskets

1. Each child draws a pumpkin vine card.
2. They count the pumpkins and place the vine card on the game board.
3. They then find the matching number basket card and place it next to the vine.

Builds number recognition and number sense.