Free printable Brown Bear, Brown Bear lesson plans, games, craft projects, snack craft recipes from the Omschool Tree Fort

 Hello my Omschooligans! Today in the Omschool Tree Fort, Teacher Omi (that's me) is happy to share free printable Brown Bear, Brown Bear lesson plans for preschool and ECSE classrooms. It's part of the Omschool Book BAGS units which feature kids' book themed activities, games and snack crafts. The inspiration is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?" and Omschooligan grandson Emmett, who loves all the bear books, particularly Brown Bear, by Bill Martin and illustrator Eric Carle. Here are free printable bingo and matching games, coloring pages, crafts, worksheets, craft projects, snack craft recipes and learning activities based on Brown Bear. I've included activities from the Martin/Carle bear books too. 

Here is the complete bibliography for the classic four-book Brown Bear & Friends series written by Bill Martin Jr. and illustrated by Eric Carle:

• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

  • Author: Bill Martin Jr.

  • Illustrator: Eric Carle

  • Publication Year: 1967 (Henry Holt and Company)

  • Overview: The iconic first collaboration featuring rhythmic repetition and a vibrant parade of animals introducing young readers to colors.

• Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?

  • Author: Bill Martin Jr.

  • Illustrator: Eric Carle

  • Publication Year: 1991 (Henry Holt and Company)

  • Overview: The companion book focusing on zoo animal sounds, such as a roaring lion, a fluting flamingo, and a trumpeting elephant.

• Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?

  • Author: Bill Martin Jr.

  • Illustrator: Eric Carle

  • Publication Year: 2003 (Henry Holt and Company)

  • Overview: A rhythmic exploration highlighting various North American and global endangered wildlife species.

• Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?

  • Author: Bill Martin Jr.

  • Illustrator: Eric Carle

  • Publication Year: 2007 (Henry Holt and Company)

  • Overview: The final installment in the quartet, featuring North American animals like a red fox, a flying squirrel, and a mountain goat interacting with their mother.

Free printable Brown Bear, Brown Bear lesson plans

Let's dive right in with a collection of free printable Brown Bear activities and lesson plans. And get your glue sticks, crayons, scissors and the recycle bin ready. Because we're going to make a lot of  hands-on recycled craft projects. 

• DLTK-Teach Brown Bear Activities & Printables: Features free printable story characters, black-and-white templates for coloring pages, puppet ideas, and felt board patterns. There are printable lesson plans for Brown Bear in Spanish, too.

  
  
  

• Homeschool Share Brown Bear Unit Study: A comprehensive downloadable unit study complete with printable mini-books, story writing extensions, and toddler learning games.

• Super Teacher Worksheets Brown Bear Resources: Includes printable matching cards, character sorting sheets, flip books, stick/finger puppets, and color-and-write pages.

• DLTK-Teach also has free printables from "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do You Hear?" Polar Bear, Polar Bear was written 25 years after Martin and Carle's Brown Bear came out in 1967. I remember how tickled our eldest (who was now a homeschool mama) was to find that her beloved Brown Bear had a friend. Images from this story include zoo animals: polar bear, lion, hippopotamus, flamingo, zebra, boa constrictor, elephant, leopard, peacock, walrus, zookeeper and children.

• 1+1+1=1 has other free printable kindergarten learning games and preschool activity packages. Themes include: ballerinas, princess, rainbow, ocean, pond life, love, Christmas, winter, spring, bugs, cats, baby animals, birds, construction trucks and machines, monsters, farm and more. There are printable reading packs on children's literature favorites: Mickey Mouse, Handy Manny, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Noah's Ark, Veggie Tales, Word World, Nemo, Hermie, Tarzan, Word World, Doc McStuffins, Dora the Explorer, Octonauts, Little Einsteins, Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom, Five Little Monkeys, Dinosaur Train and Thomas the Train.

• Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds Printables: Great circle-time prop printables and matching visual aids for toddlers and preschoolers.

• Super Coloring Brown Bear Pages: A collection of free printable character coloring pages for children. There are pictures of book characters: brown bear, red bird, yellow duck, blue horse, green frog, purple cat, white dog, black sheep, goldfish, mother (teacher), and children.

  
  
  

Brown Bear, Brown Bear printable games 

• Brown Bear Bingo: Use these free printable bingo cards to practice matching, sight word recognition and listening skills. Print in black and white and extend the lesson plans into a craft project. 

• Brown Bear Matching Game: Now zoom in on this matching game and print it. Paste onto recycled cardboard cereal boxes to make it sturdier. Instruct students to cut three of the game sheets into matching cards. They will then use these to play Brown Bear Animal Matching. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Animal Memory Game: Using the same animal template cards, pasted on recycled cardboard cereal boxes, have students create memory card games. 
• Brown Bear Word Match Game: Print this list of animal names and have students cut apart to make word match game. 

  

  
  

Brown Bear Snack Craft Projects

• Brown Bear Sandwiches
• Ingredients
• face: two slices brown wheat bread
• leave square or use a wide mouth jar to cut round bread circles
• you can also use Uncrustables for face
• filling: Nutella, peanut or almond butter or cheese slices and cream cheese
• ears: 2 round crackers (if you go with cheese) or chocolate cookies (Oreo, chocolate fudge covered, or fudge striped) if you go with  peanut butter 
• break in half or leave whole
• smile: apple slice or mouth--two apple slices making a circle
• teeth: raisins or almonds
• eyes: green olive slices or purple grape slices
• nose: end of grape
• fur: crushed chocolate graham crackers or cookies
• To make bear sandwiches
• spread sandwich filling to make sandwich
• partially insert to cookies on top or corners to make ears
• spread nut butter or cream cheese over sandwich face
• attach mouth in smile or open with two apple slices
• add teeth, eyes and nose 
• and "fur" around features

• Polar Bear Sandwiches
• Make the polar bear sandwich exactly like brown bear only use white bread and vanilla cookies or yellow crackers. You can also use cheese slices cut round for ears. 

• Brown Bear Cupcakes
• Frost cupcakes with chocolate frosting.
• Stick on Froot Loop cereal eyes and noses. Or use candy corns for noses. 
• Use two mini Oreos or Chips Ahoy for ears. 
• Cut tongue piece from strawberry Fruit By the Foot. 

• Brown Bear and Friends Treats: Mix these together for story time snack. Encourage kids to talk about what colors are the same as the story and which are different. 
• goldfish crackers
• gummy bears 
• black licorice cats (instead of purple)
• red bird cookies (using cookie recipe below)
• blue horse (using cookie recipe and images cut to make cookie cutters)
• Vidal gummy green frogs
• Yellow ducks by Quackie Quackers
• chocolate animal cracker sheep

• Simple Kid-Friendly Roll-Out Sugar Cookie Dough

  Prep time: 15 mins | Chill time: 30 mins | Bake time: 8–10 mins | Yields: Approx. 16–20 cookies

  Ingredients:

  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

  • ½ tsp baking powder

  • ¼ tsp salt

  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

  • ¾ cup granulated sugar

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

  Instructions:

  1. Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

  2. Cream Butter & Sugar: In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

  3. Add Wet Ingredients: Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth.

  4. Combine: Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, stirring just until a soft dough forms.

  5. Roll & Cut: Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about ¼-inch thickness. Let the kids use cookie cutters or cardboard templates to cut out their shapes!

  6. Bake: Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 8 to 10 minutes until the edges are just lightly golden. Cool completely before decorating.

  Natural Blue & Red Food Dyes for Kids

  If you want to color your cookie dough or frosting naturally without artificial food dyes, here are some wonderfully simple plant-based options you can make right at home:

  • Natural Red Dye:

    • Beet Juice: Blend or grate a fresh red beet, strain out the juice through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth. A few drops yield a vibrant pink-to-red hue.

    • Pomegranate or Tart Cherry Juice: Reduced down slightly on the stove into a concentrated syrup, it adds a lovely natural red tint.

  • Natural Blue Dye:

    • Red Cabbage & Baking Soda: Chop up red purple cabbage and boil it in a small amount of water until dark purple-blue. Strain the liquid, then stir in a tiny pinch of baking soda—the alkaline reaction instantly shifts the purple liquid into a vibrant, brilliant blue!

    • Butterfly Pea Flower Powder: A natural herbal powder that dissolves easily in a splash of warm water to create a striking, true-blue color.

• Bear Paw Cookies
• Make pumpkin cookie dough and roll out. 
• Use this template above to make bear paw print patterns. 
• Attach to recycled cardboard to make them sturdier.
• Trace around pattern with a plastic cutlery knife to cut out.
• Bake.
• Use decorator frosting to draw in paw pads. 
• Fill in toes and paw pads in with frosting.
• Poke candy corn into toes with points sticking out, to look like claws. 

Note this image is the best I could get from Gemini. The points of the candy corns should be sticking out of the cookie to look like claws. I know you Omschooligans will understand what I mean! 😀😍

🐾 Honey-Sweetened Roll-Out Pumpkin Cookies 🎃

Healthy, naturally sweetened bear paw cookies perfect for your Omschool snack craft!

Prep time:
20 mins

Chill time:
1 hour

Bake time:
10–12 mins

Yield:
18–24 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ⅓ cup pure honey
• ⅓ cup pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• For decorating: Chocolate frosting & candy corn (for claws)

Instructions

1. Whisk Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. Cream Butter & Honey: In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and honey together until smooth and creamy.
3. Add Wet Ingredients: Beat in the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla extract until well combined.
4. Combine: Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients, mixing just until a soft dough forms.
5. Chill the Dough: Divide the dough in half, flatten into discs, wrap in parchment paper, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
6. Roll & Cut: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out chilled dough to about ¼-inch thickness and use your bear paw template to cut out shapes.
7. Bake: Place cookies on the baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until edges are lightly set. Let cool completely.
8. Decorate: Use chocolate frosting to draw the paw pads, and poke candy corns into the toes with the white points sticking out to look like claws!

Brown Bear and Friends Recycle Bin Craft Projects

• Build A Bear and Friends
• Using recycle bin materials, have children create one of the characters from the story. Make sure every character is represented. 
• Have them act out the story using their characters. 
  
  
  
  
• Paper Bag Puppets, Costumes and animal masks
• Print the masks above and have children color or paint them in the colors from the story. You can print on colored construction paper too. 
• Have children create costumes and wear masks. 
• a simple costume is to wear coordinating color pants and shirt (green frog, blue horse, etc.)
• Or make the masks into paper bag puppets or costumes. 
• Using large paper grocery bags, have children paint and decorate their bags to look like different animals from the story. 
• They should cut eye holes and place the bags over their heads as masks.
• Have them act out the stories. 

  Omschool Throwback: When teacher Omi was young, no one bought expensive store Halloween costumes. We made our own using paper bags and found items. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed being creative! I'm sure you do too! 🐟🐱🐈🐶🐎🐑🐦🦆

  
  
  

Omschool History Note: We homeschooled our four children from 1992-2005. Home education was pretty new and computer resources nil. Our kids now 38,36, 34 and 28. We loved the Martin-Carle books in preschool. And now, as Omi and Opi, we have 13 grandchildren who love the reading as much as their parents! Each family their own Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Polar Bear, Polar Bear on their bookshelves! It's good to pass these classics on to another generation!

Pumpkin themed lesson plans: free printable pumpkin stencils, STEAM activities, recipes and reading games

Hello my Omschooligans! Teacher Omi of the Omschool Tree Fort here with a whole harvest of pumpkin-themed fall lesson plans, craft projects, recipes and activities with pumpkins! I've got pumpkin math games, free printable pumpkin carving stencils for STEAM lessons, pumpkin snack crafts and science activities and more! 

🌍 A Message From Our Earth:

Pumpkin carving is lots of fun. But it also creates an enormous amount of food waste. In the US, around 1.5 billion pumpkins and gourds go in the trash. So keep reading for ways to enjoy pumpkin carving in more sustainable ways!

Pumpkin Carving STEAM Lesson Plans 

Carving pumpkins addresses a plethora of learning objectives, particularly for pre-K students. In a hands-on Montessori way, children learn eye-hand coordination, measurement, design, fine motor skills and even some basic drafting skills. Here are top websites offering extensive collections of free printable pumpkin carving stencils and patterns which you can use in the more sustainable carving alternatives, too. 

• The Pumpkin Lady: Features a library of nearly 1,000 free, handcrafted PDF stencils sorted across 16 categories, including classic jack-o'-lanterns, pop culture/celebrity portraits, animals, and faith-based designs.

• HGTV: Offers over 100 beginner- and kid-friendly templates, including dinosaurs, unicorns, haunted houses, and classic spooky shapes.

• Monday Mandala: Provides high-resolution PDF printables ranging from popular characters (like Bluey, Minecraft, and superheroes) to classic horror themes and simple shapes.

• Woman's Day: Includes a curated gallery of 60 free printable stencils with options ranging from simple faces to intricate fall-themed patterns like sunflowers and ravens.

• Homemade Gifts Made Easy: Features 75 printable PDF patterns organized by difficulty level, covering fairies, zombies, witches, and classic jack-o'-lantern expressions. 

Pumpkin carving tools you'll need

Check Amazon and Walmart for kid-friendly versions of cooking utensils. 

• Grapefruit knife. This is a paring knife with serrated edges on both sides. 
• Serrated grapefruit spoon. This spoon has a jagged edge along the top and makes gutting pumpkins easier.
• Vegetable peeler set. This is for paring down parts of the pumpkin skin to make contrasting color patterns. Look for parers/peelers with multiple functions. You might also use vegetable "stripers" such as those used in sushi prep. 
• Metal cookie cutters--the outline kind that are hollow in the middle. Flat plastic cookie cutters won't work to cut but can be used as templates. 
• hammer or wooden mallet (lightweight)
• large metal spoons for scraping insides and gutting pumpkin
• sturdy plastic knife for trimming off ragged edges. 
• medium pumpkin or gourd, one per person. 
• paper to design pumpkin pattern
• printable pumpkin patterns
• permanent marker or paint pen to draw designs 

To carve pumpkins with cookie cutters:

You can do this as a group project but it works better if each student has her own pumpkin. 

• Clean pumpkin.
• wipe outside and dry
• cut a circle around the stem to remove stem and slice off pithy part. Save this piece.
• gut pumpkin using grapefruit spoons and large metal spoons. 
• Have students design their pumpkin patterns or choose from one of the printable pumpkin stencils. 
• Align metal cookie cutter on pumpkin exterior.
• Gently tap edges of cookie cutter with hammer to press into pumpkin.
• Remove cutout piece.
• If cookie cutter doesn't go all the way through, use plastic knife to finish cutting along pattern lines, through to the inside. 
• Save pumpkin membrane and carved out pieces. 

To carve pumpkins with grapefruit knife and/or potato peeler:

• Print pumpkin stencil and cut out black parts (this is what you'll carve away)
• Trace printable pumpkin pattern on pumpkin using paint pen or permanent marker. 
• Use grapefruit knife to carefully carve out design.
• Or peel off top orange layer of pumpkin skin along design pattern. Yellow rind will show through.
• Use curved end to dig out small areas of pumpkin rind. The deeper you pare, the thinner the rind and the more light will show through.

🎃

Teacher Omi's Jack-o'-Lantern Carving Pro-Tips

Place a wax votive or battery-operated candle in your pumpkin and display!

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Remember when carving pumpkins:

• Work outside for easier cleanup and mess containment
• Supervise children using sharp tools
• Wear old clothing
• Leave pumpkin guts for squirrels

Sustainable Halloween Fun

The science behind Halloween unsustainability

In the United States alone, approximately 1 to 1.5 billion individual pumpkins and decorative gourds are grown each year specifically for carving, fall displays, and ornamental decoration. And most all go into landfills on Nov. 1. 

Key USDA & Agricultural Statistics:

• Total Annual Production: According to the USDA Economic Research Service, U.S. farmers harvest 1.44 to 1.58 billion pounds of pumpkins annually across nearly 69,000 acres. This translates to over 1.5 to 2 billion individual pumpkins.

• Fresh Market (Decorative) pumpkins vs. Processing (Canned):

  • Over 15,000 U.S. farms grow fresh-market decorative pumpkins, compared to fewer than 1,000 farms that grow processing pumpkins for food.

  • Outside of Illinois (which produces the majority of canned pumpkin puree), top-producing states like Indiana, California, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York produce almost exclusively fresh-market decorative pumpkins and ornamental gourds.

• Jack-o'-Lantern Specialties: Over 500 million pounds of Howden pumpkins—the standard orange jack-o'-lantern variety—are harvested every year solely for carving and decoration.

• Post-Holiday Waste: Because most decorative pumpkins are carved or left outside as porch decor, the vast majority end up in municipal waste streams or composting programs after Halloween rather than being eaten. 

  
  
  

Reusable Edible Alternative Carve-ables

In my world, food is grown to eat, not to decorate and discard. Here are some pumpkin and gourd alternatives to carve and then use in recipes! 

• Pie Pumpkins: these are smaller and can be carved using the peeler method. Or use removable  pumpkin stickers. Then after Trick-or-Treat, fully pare them and cook to make your own pumpkin pie ready puree. 
• Apple-lanterns: Using an apple corer, remove core and insert a solar candle. Solar is the way to go in sustainable outdoor lighting. Add little faces. After Halloween, rinse, cook down and make yummy Happylesauce! 
  🍏🎃

  Sugar-Free Halloween Happylesauce

  Naturally sweet, warm-spiced homemade applesauce—no added sugar needed! Perfect hands-on Omschool fall activity for all ages! 

  ⏱️ Prep: 15 mins🔥 Cook: 20 mins🥣 Yield: 4–6 servings

  🎃 Zero-Waste Halloween Tip: Perfect for turning post-Halloween "Apple-Lanterns" into a delicious treat! Just trim away any charred or candle-exposed bits, rinse well, and cook them down into fresh Happylesauce.

  Ingredients

  • 3 lbs sweet-tart to tart apples (such as Macintosh, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Jonamac), cored (from life as a Halloween decoration!) 
  • 1 cup water (or unsweetened apple juice)
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ⅛ tsp ground cloves
  • ⅛ tsp ground allspice
  • Optional: fresh cranberries or raisins

  Instructions

  1. Prep Apples: Core and cut apples into 1-inch pieces. (Peeling is optional; leaving skins on adds extra color, fiber, and nutrients).
  2. Combine Ingredients: In a medium saucepan, combine the chopped apples, water, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. Stir well.
  3. Simmer: Cover and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are very soft and tender.
  4. Mill and mash: Remove from heat.
     • For Chunky Happylesauce: Press through an apple mill to remove skins
     • For smooth, blend till chunks are broken down. 
  5. Serve & Store: Enjoy warm or chill in the refrigerator. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.
  6. Bonus Happy: Package in resealable containers decorated with pine cones or cinnamon sticks. Share with the neighbors! 
  
  
• Squash. Not all gourds are decorative. Most squash can be eaten. Look for butternut, buttercup, sweet dumpling and acorn squash. If you use for decorating, wipe them with a coating of oil to preserve. Acorn squash make the cutest little heart shaped jack-o-lanterns, carved with a tea light inside.  And then they make a yummy  dinner stuffed with sausage, apples and spices. 
• Turk's Turban Squash. Listing these separately because they actually look already like a face with a hat. All you have to do is carve out a little tope, insert your tea light, add some features and you have your jack-o-lantern. 
  
  
  
• Potatoes and sweet potatoes.
• Daikon radish. These long tubular radishes can be carved to look like ghosts and then eaten like mashed  potatoes. 
• Watermelon, honeydew or cantaloupe.  Not just for summer, melons can be cut down to the rind, to remove (and eat) the fruit, then carved as you would a pumpkin. 

Pumpkin themed snack crafts and treats

1. Clementine "Little Jack" Oranges

• Ingredients: Clementines or mandarins, black edible food marker (or permanent marker if peeling before eating).

• How to Make:

  1. Hand kids a clementine and an edible ink marker.

  2. Let them draw jack-o'-lantern faces—triangle eyes, toothy grins, or silly expressions—directly on the peel.

  3. Optionally, insert a tiny piece of celery stick into the top center to act as a pumpkin stem.

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2. Rice Krispie Treat Jack-o'-Lanterns

• Ingredients: Premade Rice Krispie treats (or a homemade batch dyed orange with food coloring), green M&Ms or green pull-and-peel licorice, mini chocolate chips or black decorating gel.

• How to Make:

  1. Have kids gently roll and shape a pre-made Rice Krispie treat into a round ball.

  2. Press a green M&M or a small piece of green licorice into the top for the stem.

  3. Use mini chocolate chips (pressed tip-down into the treat) or black decorating gel to construct eyes, nose, and a smile.

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3. Jack-o'-Lantern Rice Cake / Toast Smiles

• Ingredients: Rice cakes or toasted bread slices, orange spread (such as cheddar cheese spread, pumpkin butter, or cream cheese tinted with orange food dye), raisins, chocolate chips, or sliced olives.

• How to Make:

  1. Spread the orange topping evenly across the rice cake or toast to create a blank pumpkin canvas.

  2. Provide small bowls of toppings like raisins, chocolate chips, or olive slices.

  3. Let children arrange the toppings onto the spread to build custom jack-o'-lantern face features.

Free printable Halloween Puzzles and Word Games

🎃 Halloween Word Scramble 🎃

Unscramble the letters to reveal the Halloween words!

1. P M U P N I K — _ _ _ _ _ _ _

2. S T O H G — _ _ _ _ _

3. C T W I H — _ _ _ _ _

4. Y A C D N — _ _ _ _ _

5. A C U L A R D — _ _ _ _ _ _ _

6. O S O P Y K — _ _ _ _ _ _

7. L A N T E R N — _ _ _ _ _ _ _

8. T C I R K — _ _ _ _ _

9. T A R E T — _ _ _ _ _

10. A C D O R U L N — _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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🔑 Answer Key

1. PUMPKIN

2. GHOST

3. WITCH

4. CANDY

5. DRACULA

6. SPOOKY

7. LANTERN

8. TRICK

9. TREAT

10. CAULDRON

Printable Fall Harvest Word Search

H  A  R  V  E  S  T  P  U  M  P  K  I  N

O  B  O  U  N  T  Y  A  P  P  L  E  S  M

S  C  A  R  E  C  R  O  W  G  S  F  E  A

U  F  A  L  L  S  Q  U  A  S  H  O  A  I

N  I  S  C  O  R  N  U  C  O  P  I  A  Z

F  E  P  I  E  I  C  I  D  E  R  T  O  E

L  L  A  E  Q  U  I  N  O  X  K  Y  S  L

O  D  R  A  K  E  L  E  A  V  E  S  U  E

W  E  T  C  A  R  T  R  I  D  E  B  N  A

E  R  O  R  C  H  A  R  D  P  I  C  K  S

R  S  O  U  R  A  K  E  T  R  E  E  S  T

Words to find: 

1. Trees
2. Rake
3. Wet
4. Orchard
5. Pick
6. Apples
7. Scarecrow
8. Bounty
9. Fall
10. Squash
11. Leaves
12. Cornucopia
13. Cider
14. Pie
15. Harvest
16. Bounty
17. Flower
18. Pumpkin
19. Field
20. Cart Ride

1. Pumpkin Chemical Eruption (Acid-Base Reaction)

Objective: Explore chemical reactions, gas production, and pressure by creating a foaming eruption inside a pumpkin shell.

Materials:

• 1 small to medium hollowed-out pumpkin (or carved jack-o'-lantern)

• ½ cup baking soda

• 1 cup white vinegar

• 1 tablespoon liquid dish soap

• 5–10 drops food coloring (orange, green, or red)

• Shallow tray or baking dish (to catch overflow)

Steps:

1. Prepare the Base: Place the hollowed pumpkin on a tray. Add ½ cup of baking soda directly to the bottom of the pumpkin.

2. Add the Foaming Agents: Stir in 1 tablespoon of dish soap and a few drops of food coloring into the baking soda.

3. Trigger the Eruption: Pour 1 cup of white vinegar directly into the pumpkin and watch the foam erupt out of the top and carved face features.

The Science:

This experiment demonstrates an acid-base reaction. Vinegar (acetic acid) reacts with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to create carbon dioxide gas ($CO_2$). The dish soap traps the escaping $CO_2$ gas, converting the rapid gas release into a thick, foaming eruption.

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2. Pumpkin-in-a-Pumpkin Germination (Plant Life Cycles & Decomposition)

Objective: Study seed germination and natural composting by transforming a fresh pumpkin into a self-sustaining pot.

Materials:

• 1 small pumpkin

• Potting soil

• Water

• Knife and spoon (for adult setup)

• Spray bottle

Steps:

1. Prep the Shell: Slice off the top off the pumpkin. Leave the seeds, pulp, and guts fully intact inside.

2. Fill with Soil: Fill the interior of the pumpkin with potting soil until it reaches about 1 inch below the rim, lightly covering the loose seeds inside.

3. Moisten and Place: Water the soil thoroughly until damp. Place the pumpkin in a sunny location indoors or outdoors.

4. Observe Growth: Water every 1–2 days with a spray bottle to keep the soil moist. Within 7 to 10 days, pumpkin seeds will begin sprouting through the soil.

The Science:

As the seeds absorb moisture and germinate, the inner flesh of the pumpkin gradually breaks down. Microorganisms decompose the organic pumpkin flesh, releasing essential nutrients (like nitrogen and potassium) directly into the soil to nourish the growing seedlings. Once the outer shell weakens, the entire pumpkin can be planted straight into a garden bed as a biodegradable pot.

Pumpkin Recycling and Composting

Here at the Omschool, we're all about sustainability, recycling and reducing food waste. I'd prefer we not carve them at all, or carve something reusable to eat. If you do carve a jack-o-lantern, consider doing it in such a way that it can be recycled or composted. Or, keep reading for pumpkin-alternative carve-ables. 

• Zoos, Wildlife Sanctuaries, & Nature Centers: Many local zoos, petting farms, and wildlife rehabilitation centers accept leftover pumpkins as nutritional treats or enrichment toys for animals like bears, tortoises, pigs, and deer. For example, institutions like the Detroit Zoo feature annual animal enrichment events, and smaller regional facilities often setup seasonal drop-off bins.

• Livestock Farms & Animal Sanctuaries: Local farms with pigs, goats, cows, sheep, or chickens frequently welcome pumpkin donations. Organizations like Pumpkins for Pigs maintain searchable national directories connecting residents with nearby farms and rescues.

• Municipal & Community Composting Programs: Many city public works departments, county conservation districts, and waste management authorities host post-Halloween drop-off sites or "Pumpkin Smash" collection events to keep organic waste out of landfills.

• Community Gardens & Urban Farms: Local community gardening groups and neighborhood urban agriculture projects accept whole or broken-down pumpkins to enrich their compost bins for spring soil preparation.

• Food Pantries & Food Rescues: If pumpkins are completely uncarved, undamaged, and of an edible culinary variety (such as pie pumpkins or sweet squash), local food banks and organizations like Pumpkins for the People redirect them to feed families in need.

Essential Drop-off Guidelines

• Remove All Non-Organic Materials: Ensure candles, wax, tea lights, toothpick structures, stickers, glitter, and plastic decorations are fully removed.

• Avoid Painted or Treated Pumpkins: Do not donate pumpkins decorated with paint, sealer, bleach, petroleum jelly, or chemicals, as these are toxic to animals and disrupt soil composting.

• Check Acceptability: Most animal organizations strictly accept uncarved pumpkins or only freshly carved jack-o'-lanterns without mold. Always confirm requirements or call ahead before dropping off.

Pumpkin STEAM activities

Pumpkin Counting Board Game

🎃 🌾

Pumpkin Patch Counting Adventure

Count your way from the Barn to the Harvest House! (Spaces 1 to 40)

START

2

3

4 🌾

5

6

7

8

16 🎃

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

17

18 🌾

19

20

21

22

23

24

32

31

30

29

28 🎃

27

26

25

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

FINISH

🌾 Scarecrow Spaces (4 & 18): Stop and count to 10 out loud! | 🎃 Seed Spaces (16 & 28): Take an extra bonus step!

Objective: Be the first player to travel from the Pumpkin Patch Entrance to the Harvest Barn while practicing counting and number recognition.

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Setup & Materials Needed

• Game Board: Print out the game board above.

• Game Tokens: Small pumpkin erasers, buttons, pennies or colored beads (one for each player).

• Dice / Spinner: 1 standard six-sided die (or a 1–3 number spinner for younger children).

• Counting Cards (Optional): Small cards with numbers 1 through 10 or dot patterns for extra practice.

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How to Play

1. Start: Each player places their token at the START space (Pumpkin Patch Entrance).

2. Take Turns: Players take turns rolling the die and counting out loud as they move their token forward that many spaces along the numbered track.

3. Special Spaces:

   • Pumpkin Tile (🎃): Count the total number of seeds on the space and take that many extra steps forward!

   • Scarecrow Tile (🌾): Stop and count to 10 out loud to keep the crows away.

   • Mud Puddle (🌧️): Lose 1 turn while washing off your boots.

4. Winning the Game: The first player to reach the FINISH (Harvest Barn) wins!

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Print & Play Variations

• Pre-K / Kindergarten: Use a 1–3 die or number cards so children focus on one-to-one correspondence for smaller numbers.

• Math Addition Challenge: Have players roll 2 dice, add the numbers together, and move that total number of spaces.

• Print and use this game board which has the numbers out of order. Children must identify which number should be next. This boosts higher order thinking skills of evaluation. 

Fall Harvest Story Time in the Omschool Tree Fort Book Corner

No Omschool lesson plans are complete without a bushel basket of books for story time! And no story time is complete without book-themed snacks. So here are fall and pumpkin themed books to share plus harvest-licious pumpkin cream cheese muffins kids can make themselves. 

🎃

Healthy Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Moist, spiced, and naturally sweetened using applesauce or banana!

⏱️ Prep: 15 mins 🔥 Bake: 20 mins 🧁 Yield: 12 muffins

💡 Healthy Oil Swap: Replace traditional vegetable oil with an equal amount (½ cup) of unsweetened applesauce for a classic pumpkin spice taste, or mashed ripe banana for extra natural sweetness and moisture. 

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Swirl: 

• two 8 oz cream cheese packages, softened
• 1 cup sugar (or 1/2 c. maple syrup)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 stick softened butter
• dash of salt

Pumpkin Muffin Batter:

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (or whole wheat flour)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp nutmeg + ¼ tsp cloves)
• 2 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling) set aside 1/4 cup for frosting)
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce OR mashed ripe banana
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Prep: Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease with cooking spray.
2. Make Cream Cheese Filling: In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract together until smooth. Divide in half and set two bowls aside.
3. Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
4. Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk pumpkin puree, applesauce (or mashed banana), brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla until fully combined.
5. Combine: Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined (do not overmix).
6. Assemble & Swirl: Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups (about ¾ full). Spoon 1 tablespoon of cream cheese mixture on top of each. Use a toothpick to gently swirl the cream cheese into the batter.
7. Bake: Bake for 18–22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin portion comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before serving.
8. Decorate to look like pumpkin face. Color reserved half of cream cheese filling with canned pumpkin or orange food coloring. Arrange candy corn for eyes and nose and a smile of raisins or chocolate chips.  Use a Rollo candy for pumpkin stem. 

Kids Literature to enjoy with your muffins!

🎃 Pumpkins & Science

• Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell (Ages 4–8) — A young boy watches his carved jack-o'-lantern rot in the garden, sprout seeds in the spring, and grow brand new pumpkins by autumn. Ideal for science lessons on decomposition and plant life cycles.

• How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara (Ages 4–8) — A primary school class estimates and counts pumpkin seeds using skip-counting, estimation, and grouping. Great for STEAM and math activities.

• Spookley the Square Pumpkin by Joe Troiano (Ages 3–7) — A unique square pumpkin embraces his differences and saves the patch during an autumn storm.

• The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll (Ages 4–8) — Two mice secretly tend to the exact same pumpkin, learning to work together to raise a record-breaking giant.

• Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White (Ages 4–8) — When a truck spills pumpkins all over her yard, Rebecca transforms an accidental harvest into a festive community feast.

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🍂 Fall & Harvest

• Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert (Ages 3–7) — Illustrated with real autumn leaf collages, this book follows the wind blowing leaf critters across fields, orchards, and pumpkin patches.

• Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak (Ages 4–8) — A young child walks through the woods and town, greeting the subtle signs of nature shifting from late summer into cool fall.

• The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger (Ages 4–8) — A gentle story about a lone yellow leaf finding the courage to let go of its branch as the season turns.

• Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson (Ages 3–7) — Fletcher the fox gets worried as his favorite tree loses its leaves, until winter brings a sparkling surprise.

• Apple Harvest by Calvin Harris (Ages 4–7) — A simple non-fiction book introducing young readers to how apples grow, get picked in the fall, and get turned into treats like cider and applesauce.

• Stick Man by Julia Donaldson (Ages 3–7) — Stick Man lives in the family tree with his Stick Lady Love and their stick children, but gets blown away and carried off on a long autumn journey as dogs, swans, and humans try to use him as a twig. 

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👻 Halloween & Trick-or-Treating

• The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams (Ages 3–7) — A classic cumulative read-aloud with interactive sound effects (CLOMP, SHAKE, CLAP) as spooky clothing items follow a brave woman through the woods.

• Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman (Ages 3–8) — A witch grows a pumpkin so massive she can't pull it off the vine, requiring teamwork with a ghost, vampire, mummy, and a clever bat.

• Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson (Ages 3–7) — A friendly witch invites a dog, bird, and frog onto her broomstick, and her new friends band together when a dragon appears.

• Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds (Ages 4–8) — A humorous, mildly spooky tale about Jasper Rabbit, who suspects the carrots he's been harvesting from Crackenhopper Field are following him around.

• Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O'Connell (Ages 3–6) — A playful countdown book where a witch tries to scare ten ghosts out of her haunted house, but the ghosts figure out a trick of their own.

© Omschool Tree Fort

All lesson plans and activities are property of the Omschool and lovingly shared for non-profit educational use and homeschool families. Thank you for respecting that.  💞🥰 Teacher Omi