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Make a 5 Little Pumpkins Felt Play Mat

 
My eldest daughter was in junior kindergarten when she first learned a festive Halloween song "5 Little Pumpkins". She loved the hand actions that went along with the song and it quickly became a family favourite. So, when I was thinking about making a new Halloween craft for the kids I took my inspiration from this song. 5 little pumpkins felt play mat

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Even after all these years we still are in the habit of singing the song. If you have a preschooler or a child in kindergarten then you might be familiar with this song by Raffi. We love the recorded a version on his 1996 album Singable Songs Collection.
 
We decided to take the song to the next level and create our very own 5 little pumpkins felt play board. My daughters have a couple of different felt story boards. These boards allow them to use their imaginations and play independently...which I love!

5 Little Pumpkins Felt Play Mat

For the Background

felt pieces for 5 little pumpkins Use a full 8 ½'' x 11" piece of black felt

Cut the grey felt sheet into "rolling hills"

felt fence cut out Cut the brown felt into the shape of a tree, for on top of the hill. Draw the fence, or "gate" on brown felt, cut out and place in front of the hill. Then, cut the cloud and moon out of white felt.
 
5 little pumpkins background The background is done. Remember do not glue the background in place, everything should be moveable.

For the 5 little pumpkins

 
felt pumpkins ready to be cut out First, trace the pumpkin shapes on orange felt and cut them out.
 
 
kid cutting out felt pumpkins Next, cut small triangles in black felt for the eyes and noses for the jack o'lanterns. Cut the smiles out of black felt...my daughter designed all the smiles.
 
 
felt pumpkin faces Glue the eyes, noses and smiles onto pumpkins OR use thread to sew pieces together (I used thread)

For the Witch, Clock and Running Shoe

To make the witch start by cutting a circle out of green felt (for her face) and a small wedge of green felt (for her nose). Cut 2 small circles out of the white felt for eyes. Cut the hat out of purple felt and the hair out of the black felt. Finally, cut a mouth out of the red felt.
 
witch felt face Assemble witch with either fabric glue or with thread
 
For the clock, cut a circle (about 2 inches diameter) out of purple felt and slightly smaller of white felt. Cut the clock hands out of black felt. Assemble clock using either fabric glue or thread.
 
Finally, draw a running shoe and cut out of the brown felt (my daughter made the running shoe, she's very proud of the running shoe).
 

5 little pumpkins felt story board This felt board is going to be played with and loved. We already have plans to modify the board for a winter version of the song. Think snowmen, reindeer and Christmas lights.

Now, I have thought about mounting the background on a piece of cardboard, but I like having the ability to simply roll everything up inside the background, wrap a ribbon around and easily store the felt board.

This simple scene took me a couple hours to make (if you use glue it will be faster than sewing), but I can see that it has opened my daughter to a little world of imaginary play...well worth the effort.

Related Posts

 

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About Jen

Jen Farr is a mother living in Toronto, Canada. She has been sharing her DIY crafts, recipes, activities and parenting advice for over 15 years on her blog Kitchen Counter Chronicle. Jen is the mom of 2 lovely daughters. She believes in the power of taking small steps that can make big impacts on the world.

Comments

  1. Aleacia says

    I love this! The video is so cute! My oldest daughter loves to sing, she really enjoyed watching the video 🙂

    Aleacia

  2. KitchenCounterChronicles says

    Thanks Aleacia!

  3. Angelique Felix says

    So incredible cute! And you will not believe it, but i did a similar activity for my toddlers tomorrow at let's play...hahaha 🙂 Like minded souls we are.
    Lovely greetings, Angelique

  4. rainydaymum says

    Ohhhh this brings back memories of fuzzy felt from a child - I've been looking at making some of these for my toddler and this is a great idea for this weekend. Thank you

  5. Mama Pea Pod says

    Oh, this is soooo cute! I love that song (the Raffi version?). This would be so fun to do at school with my ELLs too!

  6. Mie says

    that was super cute, thanks for sharing.

  7. maggy, red ted art says

    Oh my how cute and I LOOOOOVE the video!

    Thank you for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!

    Maggy

  8. KitchenCounterChronicles says

    Thanks ladies. This was my first attempt at making my own felt board..won't be my last! Ya, the video is pretty cute. Thanks for stopping by. Jen

  9. Peggy-Sue says

    Oh my gosh - what a GREAT idea! I remember loving felt boards when I was little (I can perfectly picture the playroom and what the felt board looked like - and that was a loooong time ago!) Thanks for the inspiration!

  10. crittersandcrayons says

    My kids are only now starting to use felt boards I BOUGHT years ago. It never occurred to me to actually make them!!! This is so cute! Thanks for the idea and for the link-up at the Blog-O-Ween Blog-Hop!

  11. The Iowa Farmer's Wife says

    This is SO cute!!! I love felt and this is such a cute project! I just wish I'd seen it sooner!

  12. crittersandcrayons says

    Oh! And please feel free to steal a badge from the left margin of my blog for linking up today! Thanks, again! 🙂

  13. Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas says

    wonderful! Both my girls love this song - we just performed it today at my daughters preshcool halloween party! 🙂

  14. Kerry from @ScienceSparks says

    The video is gorgeous and what a fabulous home made toy! I can see that being brought out every year! Thanks for linking up!

  15. Brooke @ Let Kids Create says

    This is so cute, I loved seeing her sing and play with it. I've got to find the time to make one of these, and it would be so mch fun with all the upcoming holidays.

    Thanks for sharing on Monday Madness!

  16. Tonia @ TheGunnySack.com says

    I love felt boards! I used to have a couple of them for my kids when they were young with tons of felt pieces. Thanks for sharing.

  17. KitchenCounterChronicles says

    Thanks for the great comments everyone..glad you enjoyed the felt board. Funny how it reminds us of when we were kids! Thanks for stopping by.Jen

  18. Laura @Art For Little Hands says

    I would like to do more with felt boards. My mother had one growing up and I remember the stories she told with it fondly. I need to go now and listen to that song. I am unfamiliar with it. Thanks for sharing on Monday Madness.

  19. Toddler Approved says

    Love love love this!! I desperately need to make a felt board. This turned out so great! I love this story too. Thanks for sharing this over at our Best of October link up!

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