How To Use 5 Little Pumpkins in Speech Therapy

How to use 5 Little Pumpkins In Speech Therapy.

I love finger plays and songs when working with preschoolers.  Being retired, I now use my SLP knowledge and my love of embroidery to create pretty, fun, and useful things for working with your students or your own children/grandchildren.

 

I scoured the internet looking for an embroidery design for this particular nursery rhyme but couldn't find anything.  I checked all my favorite designers, I posted in the large embroidery groups, but no one seemed to know where I could find one.  

I was disappointed but determined.

If you know me you know when I set my mind to something it will happen.

I contacted the designer, who owns Parker on the Porch Designs, and asked if she'd create the digital design for the fence.  I had the pumpkins and witch, but no fence.  She said yes, so I contracted with her to do the design, which as you can see has a fabulous satin stitch edging.  A big thank you and shout out to you, Jen Chesnik, for making this happen!!

Here are a few pictures of all the pieces in this felt play set:

It is currently available from my Etsy shop here.  If they say sold out, no worries I am sewing more daily, so just check back often.

There are many ways to use this in therapy and I encourage you to adapt this to fit the needs of your students.  There are many different versions of fingerplays and songs for these 5 Little Pumpkins so you can keep it fresh and interesting for the month of October and November.

This is my favorite version:

5 little pumpkins sitting on a fence,

when a witch comes flying by,

Ha Ha Ha Ha!  Take one home.

And make some pumpkin pie!

4 little pumpkins sitting on a fence,

when a witch comes flying by,

Ha Ha Ha Ha!  Take one home.

And make some pumpkin pie!

3 little pumpkins sitting on a fence,

when a witch comes flying by,

Ha Ha Ha Ha!  Take one home.

And make some pumpkin pie!

2 little pumpkins sitting on a fence,

when a witch comes flying by,

Ha Ha Ha Ha!  Take one home.

And make some pumpkin pie!

1 little pumpkin sitting on a fence,

when a witch comes flying by,

Ha Ha Ha Ha!  Take one home.

And make some pumpkin pie!

Ugh! I'm full.

While saying or singing this, point to the pumpkins on the fence,

Fly the witch by the pumpkins and stop to pick one up when you "take one home." 

Repeat for all the pumpkins. 

For the last line rub your tummy and act stuffed as you say that line. 

Here are a few speech/language targets that I could address in therapy with this nursery rhyme. This is just to get you thinking about how you could use this with your caseload.

~~Let your student retell it and place the pieces.

~~If you have a small group of 5, have the children stand, then give each child a pumpkin and you be the witch to swoop in and take them home.

~~Count the pumpkins, count how many are gone vs. how many are left.

~~Singular/plural noun: pumpkin-pumpkins

~~Is/Are usage: Here are 4 pumpkins. Here is one pumpkin.  

~~Present/past/future tense: The witch will take a pumpkin. The witch takes a pumpkin. The witch took a pumpkin.  Use the verbs take, make, eat, fly, etc.

~~ Pronouns: she, it.

~~Articulation:

/p/ -pumpkin, pie 

/l/ -little, flying, full

/k/ -pumpkin, comes, take, make, 

/s/ -sitting, fence, some

/f/ -five, four, fence, flying, full

/h/ -home, ha, 

/m/ -some, come, home, make, I'm

/w/ -witch, when, one, 

/ch/ -witch

See what you can target with this one simple song!

Another version is 5 little pumpkins sitting on a gate and goes like this:

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate;

The first one said, "oh my it's getting late."

The second one said, "There are witches in the air."

The third one said, "But I don't care."

The fourth one said, "I'm ready for some fun."

The fifth one said, "Let's run and run."

"Wooooo" went the wind,

And out went the lights

And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

I hope you found this inspiring and that you'll incorporate this in your therapy this fall!