Spookley the Square Pumpkin
"Spookley the Square Pumpkin" by Joe Troiano is a great Halloween/Fall Story not only about pumpkins but about embracing and admiring the difference in us. You will love this tale and will enjoy creating your very own Spookley the Square pumpkin.
After you finish reading you can talk to your child about the story. This story is a great one to talk about problem and solution. Ask your child, "what was the problem in this story?" "What went wrong?" You can have them verbally answer you and then encourage them to write or draw the answer on the paper.
Next, ask your child about the solution. "What did the characters do to fix the problem?" "Did it work?" "What else did they try?" Again have them answer verbally and write or draw on the paper.
Finally, how fun would it be to paint Spookley. Sponge painting is a a fun way to paint this pumpkin.
Directions:
- First, print out Spookley the Square pumpkin on paper. I recommend cardstock for durability, but you can also use regular printer paper.
- Gather supplies. You will need a sponge. I purchased a pack of two from the Dollar Tree. I then cut a small piece of the sponge off. I used a clothespin to hold each sponge piece. This is a great trick to make this painting activity less messy. You will need orange paint.
- I used a small cup for the paint. Simply squeeze a small amount, not much is needed. Use the sponge to paint on the pumpkin. When painting don't worry about the outer lines since you will be cutting out the pumpkin when the paint dries.
- Cut out the pumpkin and the eyes provided. Glue the eyes onto the dried pumpkin. Use a marker to add a smile as well. Then use a scrap piece of green paper to add a stem to the top.
I love how Spookley turned out. Create even more pumpkins. You can allow your child to make any color or shape pumpkin they choose, just like in the story!
