PUMPKINS - Let's Sing About Them!

Have you heard?  There may be a shortage of pumpkins for Fall 2015!  
OH NO! 

Miss Carole here, of Macaroni Soup –Active Music for Active Learners!  We grow a lot of pumpkins here in Illinois, and I LOVE PUMPKINS! 

Pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin soup, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin custard – if it’s got the yummy squash – I’m all over it!

There’s no shortage of pumpkin songs in my music classes!  I’ll share three of my favorites today.

PUMPKIN, PUMPKIN!   Lyrics by C.Peterson  ©2001

Tune:  “10 Little Indians”

Hear it HERE, or on my “SeasonSings!” cd.

LYRICS:

Pumpkin, pumpkin, orange pumpkin

Pumpkin, pumpkin, orange pumpkin

Pumpkin, pumpkin, orange pumpkin

Hi Ho!  Autumn is here!

V.1  Give him eyes like two triangles

V.2  Give him a nose that’s round, like a circle

V.3  Give him a mouth to make him smile!

V.4  Give him eyebrows – very scary! (optional - see below!)
V.5    Original Pumpkin Pumpkin verse!

My favorite way to do this song is with a flannelboard.  Cut a big orange felt circle with a “stem.”  Cut black or felt shapes for eyes, nose and mouth.  We recently added eyebrows – very scary!  Be sure to change the feature shapes occasionally – it keeps it interesting.  One of my students suggested the features should be yellow, as if the jack o’lantern is lit from within – good thinking!

In concert!

You might make a book, as my Massachusetts teacher buddy Carol Hartery did above and below.  The children can "read" along while they 
sing the song!


When I'm doing this with a concert crowd, I use a large pumpkin board with funfoam pieces that children in the audience can come up and place on the pumpkin.

Children enjoy making their own pumpkin faces afterward - either on paper, with shape blocks or on a smartboard!

PUMPKIN BALL PASS!       Lyrics by C.Stephens  ©2015

Tune:  “Great Big Ball” 

Hear it on my “Season Sings” cd, or HERE.

LYRICS:

Who’s gonna get that pumpkin 
               as it goes around the room?

Who’s gonna get that pumpkin 
               as it goes around the room?

Who’s gonna get that pumpkin 
               as it goes around the room?

Who’s gonna get that pumpkin?

We’re gonna find out now!

This musical game is pretty self-explanatory.  During the chorus, pass the pumpkin from one child to the next as they sit in a circle.  Wherever it lands on “we’re gonna find out NOW – that child gets to demonstrate a motion/movement that everyone else can copy.  Get ready to pass the pumpkin again!  

   I just love using my Bear Paw Creek Pumpkin Balloon Ball – but any ball can be used.  Passing is a skill that must be learned and practiced.  Demonstrate placing the ball carefully in the hands of the person next to you – not pitching it at them.  With repetitions, children will find the process fun and exciting.

PASS THAT PUMPKIN ‘ROUND      Lyrics by C. Stephens   ©2015

Tune:  “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”

Pass the pumpkin ‘round

Pass it very slow-ly.

Pass!  Pass! Pass! Pass!

Now it’s time to STOP!

Another passing game – this time varying the tempo and volume.  Pass (and sing) it slowly, quickly, quietly, or loudly.  Dynamics make a big difference.  When it’s quiet, it can also be slow, when it’s loud, it can also be fast!  Children need practice in cooperative behavior in a group setting, as well as with how to follow musical cues.  Again, for this song I use my Bear Paw Creek Pumpkin Balloon Ball – but a beanbag, a small artificial pumpkin (softer is better) or ball will work, too.

Add one of these songs to an art or cooking project, or explore the taste and texture of a pumpkin – inside and out!  Pumpkins are a delightful subject – they are all different, kind of like the children we teach!

Giant pumpkins? I found them at The Chicago Botanic Garden!  Amazing – and they might be tasty, too!

Yours for a Pumpkin Song!

Carole Stephens

Macaroni Soup! Active Music for Active Learners!