Pumpkin theme for preschool, with a public-domain song
A pumpkin week for preschool: seed to vine to pumpkin, four books, a seed counting card, Ring Around the Rosie with its words, a no-bake snack and the letter P.
A pumpkin week for preschool follows a pumpkin from a seed to a vine to a big orange pumpkin, with counting, sorting and a real pumpkin to touch. Peabody's free pumpkin theme plans it for you: four books, a seed counting card, the traditional rhyme "Ring Around the Rosie" with its words to print, a no-bake snack, the letter P and a pumpkin patch walk outside. Peabody is free through the end of 2026, with no sign-in and no ads.
Rooms usually run pumpkins in October or November. This is not a holiday theme. It's about a plant: how it starts, how it grows, and what is inside.
Why the song is public domain
Many pumpkin songs passed around online are newer songs, and it isn't always clear which ones you may print and send home. Every song in a Peabody theme is a traditional rhyme from Peabody's own lists, so the words can go on the wall and in a family's backpack.
The pumpkin week uses "Ring Around the Rosie". It's a traditional circle game, listed in both the nursery rhymes with lyrics and the clapping and hand-game rhymes. Everyone holds hands, walks in a circle, and on the last line falls down. Toddlers ask for it again and again.
It has nothing to do with pumpkins, and that's fine. A pumpkin patch is a circle of round things on the ground, and so is your room holding hands. Sing it walking around a real pumpkin set in the middle of the circle.
The words print on the planner's wall sheet, on the family note, and in the newsletter maker when you leave the song block on.
The week at a glance
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circle | Ask the question | Calendar and weather | What did we learn so far? | Calendar and weather | What was your favorite part? |
| Book | Meg and the Seed | At the Farm | Meg and the Seed again | The Big Truck | The Enormous Turnip |
| Craft | Show the materials | Steps 1–2 | Finish it | Show and tell | Take it home |
| Song | Learn it | Sing it again | With actions | Sing it again | Sing it for the families |
| Snack | No-Bake Pumpkin Pie Cups | ||||
| Letter | Trace P p | Find P in the room | Color: P is for pumpkin | ||
| Outside | Pumpkin patch walk | Free play | Pumpkin patch walk | Free play | Pumpkin patch walk |
Circle time
The theme question is "How does a pumpkin start?" For threes and fours, the five lines are: a good morning song and each name, the calendar and weather, the question, "Ring Around the Rosie", and the first book, Meg and the Seed (level 3). Ten to fifteen minutes.
For twos, keep it to about five minutes and stand up for the song. For infants and toddlers, two or three minutes on laps, and hold up something real: a small pumpkin is perfect. Let them pat it.
The four words for the word wall are pumpkin, vine, seed and orange.
The books
All four are free Peabody stories:
- Meg and the Seed (level 3): a seed that will not hurry, like a pumpkin all summer long.
- At the Farm (level 3): where pumpkins grow, and who lives there.
- The Big Truck (level 2): a truck in the mud, like the one that carries the pumpkins in.
- The Enormous Turnip (level 5, a read-aloud): a vegetable so big it takes everyone to pull it up.
Fridays are good for The Enormous Turnip. Have the children line up and pull together when the story does.
The craft: a pumpkin seed counting card
Three materials: orange card, round seed stickers and crayons. No paint, no glue, no scissors.
- Draw a big pumpkin shape on the card (a grown-up can draw it).
- Stick on seeds: two for twos, five for threes, ten for fours.
- Count them out loud and write the number.
The counts fit the room. In a mixed-age room, each child counts to their own number and the fours help the twos. For infants and toddlers, let them hold the card and the crayons while you make it, and keep stickers out of mouths.
The snack and outside
The snack is No-Bake Pumpkin Pie Cups from the Peabody Kitchen, on Thursday. The recipe page has the allergens, the swaps and the lines for children under 4. Check it against your room's allergy plans before you shop. More snacks without an oven are on the no-bake recipes page.
Outside is the pumpkin patch walk. Set balls or cones around the yard as pumpkins. Walk to each one, then tiptoe, then hop.
The letter pack
P is for pumpkin. The letter pack has a trace page and a color page. Threes and fours trace P and p once, then hunt for P in the room and in the books. Twos color the picture page and say the word.
Try this with a real pumpkin
Bring in one pumpkin on Monday and leave it on the science table all week.
- Monday: guess. Is it heavy or light? Will it float?
- Tuesday: measure it with yarn around the middle and keep the yarn.
- Wednesday: a grown-up cuts off the top. Children reach in and feel the strings and the seeds.
- Thursday: count a handful of seeds into an egg carton, by twos or by fives.
- Friday: float it in the water table and check Monday's guess.
Wash hands after Wednesday, and check for anyone with a squash or pumpkin allergy before the reach-in.
To print the whole week, open the planner, pick the week, "Pumpkins" and your room's ages, then print the wall sheet and the family note. The note asks families to talk about what is inside a pumpkin and how many seeds their child stuck on.
Three things providers ask
Is Ring Around the Rosie really out of copyright?
Peabody's lists mark it as traditional and include it among the public-domain rhymes printed with their words. Those lists are the only place the themes' songs come from.
Can I swap the song?
Yes. Write your own in the day's notes in the planner. If you want to print the words for families, pick one from Peabody's song lists so you know you can.
What comes after pumpkins?
Leaves, scarecrows and harvest, or the farm all fit late fall. The November themes post lays them out.
Checked against how Peabody works on 30 October 2026. Written with help from AI. Peabody is a reading app, not a reading assessment: if you're worried about your child's reading, talk to their teacher. Questions, or something wrong? Write to hello@peabody.kids.