There are many fun events in the classroom over the month of October. Fire Safety and pumpkins seem to dominate this fall month. Here are some ideas to make the month filled with interesting learning activities for the students.
Fire Safety Month
There are some great websites that have free printables about fire safety. As well as, the official site of Sparky the Fire Dog gives safety tips, printables and information about escape routes.
It is a great opportunity to plan a field trip to the local Fire Hall. If that is not possible, have a firefighter come in to the classroom for a visit. Meeting a firefighter and asking questions about fire safety is exciting for a young child.
Jack-O-Lantern Activities
Pumpkin Carving: As a whole class discuss the kinds of faces that can be cut out on the pumpkin.Draw examples of faces on chart paper. Find out how many children carve pumpkins at home.
Jack-O-Lantern Graph: Pick top three faces discussed as a group from the previous activity. Create a class graph and have each child place his or her name on the graph. The face with the most votes is the new face of the class Jack-O- Lantern. Then cut out a face on the class pumpkin. A second graph can be made when picking the name of the Jack-O-Lantern.
Nursery Rhyme: As a class learn the nursery rhyme Peter,Peter Pumpkin Eater.
Jack-O-Lantern Masks: Take a paper plate and have the student draw on the mask a jack-o-lantern face. The teacher should cut out the face. Hole punch two holes on either side of the plate. String yarn through the holes then tie the string. The mask should be able to slip over the child's face with ease.
Jack-O-Lantern Books: There are many books available about Jack-O-Lanterns and pumpkins. Here are two books worth finding to read to the class.
- Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White [Holiday House, Inc, 1996]. This book is a wonderful story of how an old woman named Rebecca Estelle turns a smashed pumpkin left on the road to the countless ways a pumpkin can be served.
- Pumpkins by Jacqueline Farmer [Charlesbridge Publishing, 2004]. This book is a great book to read to the students about fun facts about pumpkins. From how long pumpkins have been on the earth to the largest pumpkin ever recorded. This book has recipes and fun facts about pumpkins the students will be interested to learn more about.
Taking the time to review fire safety rules or take a class field trip to the local fire hall are great ways to learn about fire safety. Researching pumpkins, making a class jack-o-lantern and memorizing a nursery rhyme are all great ways to make learning in the month of October fun and exciting.
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