I love fall and I am crazy about everything pumpkin spice! In this post I share some of my favorite pumpkin spice products along with a new pumpkin spice bread recipe. You will learn about two of my little pumpkin’s favorite fall stories…Spookley the Square Pumpkin and Jack-O-Faces!
Pumpkin Spice Everything!- It seems like you can find pumpkin spice everything these days. I love trying new things and I just discovered Pumpkin Spice Whipped Topping at ALDI. It pairs perfectly with Coffee Mate’s Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer and Pumpkin Spice Coffee (I told you I loved everything pumpkin spice!) I can’t wait to try some on Thanksgiving with my homemade pumpkin pie. Other ALDI pumpkin favorites are Pumpkin Spice Pancake Mix, Pumpkin Spice Pretzels and Pumpkin Spice Rolls.
Pumpkin Spice Bread– Since I love everything pumpkin spice I am always on the lookout for new pumpkin recipes. I recently discovered this yummy pumpkin spice bread. It has similar ingredients to my favorite pumpkin pie recipe so it tastes just like a piece of pumpkin pie in a slice of bread! My daughter enjoyed helping me mix up the dough and my mini me loves the bread just as much as I do! CLICK HERE to download the recipe.
Pumpkin Beer– It seems that every brewery, big and small, brews a pumpkin beer in the fall. I have enjoyed sampling many of them but my favorite will always be O’Fallon Brewery’s line of pumpkin beers. Every year O’Fallon Brewery comes out with a pumpkin pack that includes some interesting pumpkin flavors. This year they brewed a spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate Pumpkin beer. It wasn’t my favorite but I loved their new Pumpkin Whip, a tasty pumpkin cream ale with a hint of whipped cream. My favorite O’Fallon Brewery beer is their Salted Caramel Pumpkin! This caramel ale has the perfect blend of sweet and salty with just a hint of pumpkin, making it the perfect beer to enjoy with your favorite sweet or savory pumpkin treat!
Spookley the Pumpkin– Three generations in our family enjoyed reading the Spookley books by Joe Troiano. Wearing our matching Pumpkin Spice, Living My Best Life t-shirts from the clothing boutique, Foxtail Lilies, we enjoyed reading both of the Spookley books and then watched the Spookley movie on Netflix. The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin is the first of the two Spookley books and it introduces the reader to Spookley the Square Pumpkin. Little ones learn that pumpkins come in all different colors, shapes and sizes and that you can’t judge a pumpkin by its cover! The follow-up book is called Spookley and the Pumpkin Jamboree. Both books are written in rhyme and the Netflix animated movie is based on both books.
Jack-O-Faces– My mom discovered this cute pumpkin rhyme when she was in college and my dad and I turned it into a reproducible book for young children. CLICK HERE to download the mini book. My daughter enjoyed coloring with Nana and reading her book to all of us!
I shared some fun pumpkin activities with my readers last year. CLICK HERE to learn more. In a year filled with change, unrest and uncertainty, I hope you enjoy your best life this fall… whether that includes pumpkin spice treats, a pumpkin beer or creating some special memories with your favorite little pumpkin!
Roll a Pumpkin Game- This game is played like Cooties where you roll the die to build a pumpkin person. Everyone starts with a pumpkin body. With the youngest player going first you take turns rolling the die and building your pumpkin. The first player to build a pumpkin with a stem, eyes, nose, mouth, arms and legs is the winner!
Five Little Pumpkins- We enjoyed singing the classic song, “Five Little Pumpkins” and reading several different versions of the book. Using a fence and pumpkin play set found in my book Student Made Thematic Mini Books: With Extension Activities to Increase Language Literacy, my “Little Pumpkin” and I acted out the song and practiced our counting skills.
Pumpkin Bread- Nana helped us make yummy pumpkin bread. We added chocolate chips and enjoyed sharing our bread with others. Paired with Trader Joe’s Harvest Blend hot tea, pumpkin spiced coffee, or even pumpkin beer, it makes the perfect fall treat!
Jack-O-Faces Book- This is another fun rhyme found in my book Student Made Thematic Mini Books: With Extension Activities to Increase Language Literacy. We enjoyed coloring the book together and reading the fun rhyme about a pumpkin who shows us a variety of faces and emotions but ends up in a pumpkin pie! We acted out the story by making the faces along with the pumpkin. Lillian enjoyed looking at herself in the mirror as she made happy, sad, mad and sleepy faces.
Pumpkin Carving- Daddy helped Lillian carve a Jack-o-Lantern this year. Prior to creating her pumpkin, Lillian planned out her design on a large pumpkin shape. Daddy cut and we all helped clean out the “pumpkin guts,” making sure to save the seeds to roast later. We talked about how the pumpkin smelled, felt and looked. A great way to build vocabulary and to use the five senses.
Pumpkin Exploration- Lillian’s preschool teacher incorporated some wonderful pumpkin activities into center-time. An activity new to me was hammering golf tees into a pumpkin to work on fine motor skills. Pulling the golf tees out provided even more motor strength. They also did a pumpkin experiment where they tested a pumpkin to see if it floats or sinks. (It Floats!) Students worked on exploring the inside of a pumpkin, using tweezers to remove the seeds (another great fine motor activity), measured pumpkins, compared pumpkins and recorded their findings in their science journals.
Noteworthy Mommy 