Dollar Tree Orange Loofah Activities

Ideas taken from kathygriffinteach@blogspot.com

Orange Loofahs make perfect learning activities for students.  Keep several different colors on hand to teach letters, sounds, phonics, and math skills. You can cover the orange loop at the top with green masking tape to make it look like the stem on a pumpkin. Or you can color regular masking tape green with a marker.

PASS THE PUMPKIN - LEARNING GAMES

These games can be played whole group, small group, or individually.  If playing individually, the child can toss, catch, and say instead of passing around the circle.  If playing with your partner, the child can pass it back and forth between you.

For whole group and small group, begin with passing the pumpkin.  When they have learned this procedure, you can teach the children how to gently toss the pumpkin to the next person to help work on gross motor skills while playing the games too.  The bath loofah is easy to catch because the children can grip it more easily.

1.  Pass the Pumpkin Letter Sounds - Pass around during circle time. Children say a word that begins with the letter p.

2.  Pass the Pumpkin Rhyming - Pass around during circle time.  Say a word.  First child says a word that rhymes with it and then passes the pumpkin to the next child.  Game continues until you run out of rhymes or you can choose a new word and keep going.  Words given can be nonsense or pretend words too as long as they rhyme.

3.  Pass the Pumpkin Phonemic Awareness Segmenting - Pass around during circle time.  Say a word.  Children segment the word that was said.  For example, the teacher or adult says cat.  The child would toss and catch the sounds "c" "a" "t".

4.  Pass the Pumpkin Phonemic Awareness Segmenting - Pass around during circle time.  Say a word.  Children will segment the word using the pumpkin as a prop.  Pumpkin on head for first sound, pumpkin on shoulder for middle sound, pumpkin on knee for last sound.  For example, the teacher or adult says cat:  Child puts pumpkin on head and makes the sound of "c." Child puts pumpkin on shoulder and says "a." Child puts pumpkin on knee and says "t."  Child puts the pumpkin in both hands and says the word - cat,  then passes the pumpkin to the next child. Each child can segment the same word all around the circle (practice, practice, repeat) or you can give each child a different word.  I usually give the same word as we are learning to segment.  This helps reinforce the skill.  Children can retain the word in their head if they see the picture of the word.  Use CVC words with picture clues to help children that are struggling with this activity.  CVC words are consonant-vowel-consonant words such as hat, cat, bat, pig, dog, top, mop, etc.

First This: CVC words - cat, bat, sat, hop, top, mop, pig, wig, dig, lip, dip, bug, rug, sun

Then This:  CCVC words (working on letter blends) - stop, clap, frog, flag, crab

And Then This:  CVCC words (HARDER to hear the CVCC) - bump, jump, tent, band, hand, camp, lamp

5.  Pass the Pumpkin Vocabulary - Pass around during circle time. Children say a word that is associated with fall.

6.  Pass the Pumpkin Nonfiction Learning - Children name a fact or something they've learned about pumpkins.

7.  Toss the Pumpkin Counting - Have one pumpkin for every two players.  Have the children toss the pumpkin back and forth and count how many times they can keep it going (toss and catch).  You can set a predetermined amount of times they can start over again, give them a sand timer, or play music.

8.  Toss the Pumpkin Counting On - Students toss back and forth counting as above.  When they drop the pumpkin, they start off where they left off (counting on).  For example, they toss and catch to 9.  The next time they start with 10 and count up.

9. Toss the Pumpkin Skip Counting - Students toss back and forth counting as above except they count by 5's, 10's, or 2's.

10.  Toss the Pumpkin Greater Than, Less Than, Equal  - Students toss back and forth counting as above. Children can record each count on a piece of paper.  When the game is over, have them circle the largest number and underline the smallest number. If they write the numbers in a horizontal line, they can go back and put greater than, less than, and equal signs between the numbers.