Mrs. Withrow, kindergarten teacher and contributor at Garden of Praise, designed this super cute fall nursery rhyme themed bulletin board that's sure to be a hit with your kiddos! Not only do they get to participate in a fun photo shoot, the rhymes are customized to include their names - a fine personal touch! - and the pumpkin craft allows them to take part in creating a festive seasonal display for the classroom!

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater

• Background: Apple green bulletin board paper.
• Title: "Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater!"
• Border: Fall/autumn themed trimmer.
• Decoration: 1) Use your kiddos' crafts! Provide each student with a pumpkin coloring page {printed onto white card stock}. We found several that would work great; one from Great Little Minds and another over at Coloring Pages Sheets. Then, invite your kiddos to decorate the pumpkins. You could use a variety of techniques...
  • Have your students tear strips of yellow and orange art tissue paper, collaging the torn pieces onto the pumpkin.
  • Provide your kiddos with cups of orange craft paint and small pieces of sponge, inviting them to stamp the pumpkin.
  • Dye real pumpkin seeds with orange food coloring, having your students use them to create a 'seed mosaic' on the pumpkin. [NOTE: Keep in mind the the pumpkin will be cut in half. You may want to draw a line across the pumpkin before students start gluing seeds in order to give them a boundary to look out for.]
  • Have your students cover the pumpkin with 'fist print pumpkins' like these from Putti's World!
  Once decorated {and dry!}, have your students add a festive bow to the pumpkin stem and cut the top of the pumpkin off to create two pieces. Add the personalized poems either typed by you or by your students and, finally, have a photo shoot where students pretend to hold up something heavy. When developed, these photos will be cut out and added between the pumpkin pieces! To mount onto the board, create two 'clotheslines' from twine, one on top of the other, threading vines of silk fall leaves around the string and securing it to the board for some extra fall accents. Clip your students' pumpkin crafts to the twine with clothespins and you're finished!