Preschool Pumpkin Lacing Activity With Printable

Counting and recognizing the teen numbers can be a bit tricky for a preschooler. I’ve been working with my preschooler on mastering those numbers lately and decided to put together this preschool pumpkin lacing activity as a fun way for her to practice them. It’s perfect for fall and Halloween and not only does the activity help preschoolers practice counting and recognizing numbers 1 to 20, but it’s fantastic for fine motor skills. I’ve included both a numbered and blank version of the printable so you can customize it however you choose. We’ve also made a heart lacing printable in the past you might enjoy.

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PRESCHOOL PUMPKIN LACING ACTIVITY

Supplies you will need:

Directions:

1. Start by printing off the pumpkin lacing printable. Have your preschooler cut out the pumpkin. Use your hole punch to punch out all 20 white holes around the pumpkin.

2. Cut a piece of orange yarn about 13 feet long. Wrap a piece of masking tape around the end of the yarn to prevent it from fraying when lacing.

3. Have your preschooler start lacing their pumpkin by bringing the yarn up through number 1 from the back of the pumpkin. Once they’ve pulled the yarn through the hole and reached the end, place a piece of masking tape at the end of the yarn on the back of the pumpkin. Now your preschooler can start to lace their pumpkin from number 1-20.

4. Since the length of yarn is quite long make sure to stay with your preschooler in case they need assistance. The yarn might tangle a little or they might need a reminder to go down through a number and then back up through a number and then continue the pattern of down and up, down and up.

5. When your preschooler reaches number 20, tape the end of the yarn on the back of the pumpkin and then cut off any excess yarn.

If you choose to use the blank version of the pumpkin lacing printable, there are several different ways you can use it. Here are a few ideas:

If using the printable with a toddler, have them lace around the pumpkin starting at one side of the pumpkin stem and then finishing at the other end.
To make the process more simple for a preschooler, number the white dots from 1 to 20 around the pumpkin and have your preschooler recite the numbers as they lace around the pumpkin.
After lacing around your pumpkin, continue the fun by having your preschooler draw a jack-o-lantern face on the pumpkin with a black marker. They could also cut out shapes from a sheet of black cardstock paper and glue them onto the pumpkin to make a jack-o-lantern face.

Another fun way to supplement this preschool lacing activity is by combining it with reading a fun Halloween children’s book. One of our favorites is Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman.