Making a pumpkin geoboard is an amazing way to explore pumpkin STEM concepts with the kids. Be sure to add it to your preschool pumpkin activities this fall!
These geoboard pumpkins turn the traditional geoboard concept into a three-dimensional math experience kids love getting their hands on!
I love that the children can explore so many early learning skills with a pumpkin!
Make a Pumpkin Geoboard for Fall Math Fun
This simple, but super fun, pumpkin math activity was originally inspired by our homemade geoboard and hammering golf tees.
We’ve made geoboard pumpkins many times, both at home and at school, and the kids always enjoy it.
Related: Math Activities for Preschoolers
Materials We Used
The geoboard pumpkins really don’t require that many materials.
In fact, you likely have most of them on-hand already. Except the pumpkins, unless you often have those hanging around!
- Pie pumpkins
- Rubber bands
- Pushpins
- Golf tees
- Wooden mallets
For younger children, I recommend only using the golf tees.
No matter what materials you choose, kids need to be fully supervised as they play and learn (as with all of the activities here on Fun-A-Day).
Related: Colorful Pumpkin Seed Art in Preschool
Pumpkin Geoboard Setup
Place the materials out on a classroom table, or even a large plastic bin on the floor or a table.
Show the children how to add the push pins if they’re interested.
Sit back and listen to the conversations as the children add the push pins.
It’s fun to just play with the kids, listening to their conversations and laughing with them!
Related: Easy Halloween Activities Using Mini Erasers
At first, my students had fun adding more and more pushpins to the pumpkin.
Then they began using the rubber bands to make patterns and shapes, with no prompting from me.
From there, they discovered the wooden mallets and golf tees!
Most of the kiddos LOVED using the mallets to hammer the tees into the pumpkins.
Some tried to make designs with the golf tees, while others just enjoyed the process of hammering them into the pumpkins!
As mentioned above, pushpins aren’t appropriate for everyone. Some centers don’t permit the use of pushpins by children. And some teachers work with younger preschoolers. If that’s the case, simply use only golf tees instead.
As always, I really enjoyed watching the children and listening to their comments.
A few kids spent only ten minutes with the geoboard pumpkins, while other spent over an hour!
Since this activity was such a success, I had it up in the classroom for multiple days without the students tiring of it!
In fact, I really only had to put a stop to it when the pumpkins started showing signs of being too goopy for further play.
That’s okay . . . they were then put to work in a pumpkin decomposition experiment!
Learning with a Geoboard Pumpkin
If you’re a regular Fun-A-Day reader, you know I’m a firm believer in learning through play.
Hands-on, multi-sensory activities are imperative for young children as they learn and explore.
So it probably won’t surprise you that this pumpkin STEM activity allows for SO MUCH learning! Here’s a peek at some of it:
- Fine motor skills = pushing the pins into the pumpkins and maneuvering the rubber bands
- Gross motor skills = hammering the golf tees into the pumpkins
- Creative expression = using the rubber bands and golf tees to create original designs
- Math = geometric shapes and 3D exploration of the shapes, along with patterning
- Science = observing how the pumpkins changed with the insertion/removal of the pins and golf tees
- Literacy = so much language and conversation
Have you ever made a pumpkin geoboard with the kids?
Be sure to check out Still Playing School’s jack-o-lantern geoboard for even more pumpkin math!
Pumpkin Preschool Lesson Plans
Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provided different versions for classroom teachers and home preschool families so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.
Get your pumpkin preschool lesson plans
Preschool Pumpkin Lesson Plans for Classroom Teachers
Pumpkin Lesson Plans for Homeschool Families
Originally published October 23, 2013
Love the idea, particularly hammering in the golf tees. I’m not sure what state you are in, but in California, push pins are not allowed anywhere in the center. Last year a 4 year old boy died after swallowing a push pin.
How long did your pumpkins last? Did you let them take the pins and golf tees out and then use the pumpkins again?
Hey Amie! We’ve done this multiple years, and each time we use the pumpkins for about a week. Sometimes the kids took out the pins and golf tees at the end of the day, sometimes they didn’t. I did have them remove the rubber bands each day so they could start fresh the next day. After a week, we often used the holey pumpkins to experiment with pumpkin decomposition, or to experiment with growing pumpkin plants.