This pumpkin pie beginning sounds activity is perfect as part of your Thanksgiving activities for preschoolers and kindergartners. You can incorporate the cards into a pumpkin unit, a baking theme, or even your Christmas plans.
The pumpkin pie sounds game can be used a few different ways, and it’s easy to differentiate based on the needs of your students. The sound matching game is a wonderful way to practice phonemic awareness and phonics skills with young kids.
Don’t forget to grab the free printable initial sounds game at the bottom of this post. Add it to your beginning sounds activities this fall or winter.
Related: Free Preschool Printables
I don’t care for preschool worksheets that only have one “right way” to use them. But I’m rather fond of making printables for preschool and kindergarten students. They can add some engagement, encourage and supplement hands-on learning, and can usually be used in a multitude of ways. Plus, you can make adjustments based on what your students need.
Pumpkin Pie Beginning Sounds
Below you’ll find some tips for prepping the Thanksgiving initial sound cards, as well as some ideas for using them with your students. Keep in mind that you can change things up as needed!
How to Prep the Thanksgiving Beginning Sounds Game
Start off by grabbing all of the materials you’ll need. Here are some suggestions (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):
And that’s really about it! You don’t need much. Once you have everything you need, it’s time to get the pumpkin pie beginning sounds cards ready to go. Here’s what to do:
- Get the free sounds printable at the bottom of this post.
- Save the file to your computer.
- Open the file in the most up-to-date version of Adobe Reader.
- Print as many copies as you’d like.
- Cut the initial sounds picture cards apart.
- Laminate all of the cards.
And now you’re ready to go!
Using the Pumpkin Pie Beginning Sounds with Kids
Start by calling a small group of children over to you. Explain that you’re playing a game matching all of the whipped cream cards to the pumpkin pie cards based on the pictures’ initial sounds (in most cases, anyway). Ask if they’re up for the challenge!
Then take a few minutes to model and explain how to find the beginning sound in a spoken word. Say a short word out loud. Then say it slowly and emphasize the first sound. Finally, isolate just the beginning phoneme. Walk through a few words with the kids, maybe using their names as examples.
After that, place some of the pumpkin pie beginning sounds cards on the table or floor. You want to start with just some of the cards since all of them would be a bit overwhelming at first. Help the children match the whipped cream picture cards with their corresponding pumpkin pie picture cards. Review how to isolate beginning sounds as needed. Let the children take over more and more as they understand the process.
Some of the children might want to match every single card, while others will only want to do a few at a time. Either is just fine! You know your students best, so you can make adjustments to this beginning sound activity based on their needs.
Other Ideas for the Pumpkin Pie Sound Cards
I mentioned earlier that you can use the phonemic awareness printable in a few different ways. The game I explained above is the most straight-forward way, of course. But here are a few more ideas to try with your students:
- Place some of the pumpkin pie beginning sounds in a simple sensory bin. Have the kids search through the materials to find the cards and match them up that way.
- Turn it into a Memory-like grid game by placing the cards upside down. Students take turns seeing if they can find matching cards based on beginning sounds.
- Pair the cards with white boards and dry erase markers, or with a sensory writing tray. Once the cards are matched up based on phonemes, the kids write the letters that correspond with the sounds.
- Set out some magnetic letters, or other alphabet manipulatives. Have the children place the appropriate letters next to each pumpkin pie beginning sounds pair. Keep in mind that some letters can correspond to the same sound (c and k, for example).
- Set up a pie hunt for the children. Place the pumpkin pie picture cards around your classroom, with the whipped cream picture cards out on a table. Challenge the children to find the pies and bring them to the table for matches.
How do you plan to use the pumpkin pie beginning sounds printable in your classroom? Don’t forget to get your own copy at the bottom of this post.
What Comes in the Pumpkin Pie Beginning Sounds Printable?
Even though this Thanksgiving initial sounds game is focused on oral language skills, I made cards that correlate with every letter of the alphabet. That way you have the flexibility of using it with phonics activities, too.
All of the images relate to the beginning sound except for one of the x choices. Since we tend to hear the /ks/ sound at the end of words, I did make one pair with the focus sound at the end. Again, to give you more flexibility with how you use the free printable.
The directions page that comes with the pumpkin pie beginning sounds cards has all of the images listed out, but I’ll share them below too. The first word is the image on the pie, with the second word describing what’s found on the whipped cream:
- Apple, astronaut
- Button, ball
- Cup, cat
- Duck, dinosaur
- Egg, elbow
- Fish, flower
- Ghost, gumballs
- Heart, hammer
- Igloo, ill
- Jack-o-lantern, jellybeans
- King, ketchup
- Leaf, ladybug
- Moon, monkey
- Necklace, nuts
- Olive, ostrich
- Pig, pear
- Quilt, queen
- Rabbit, rake
- Saw, seahorse
- Turtle, tomato
- Umbrella, umpire
- Van, vest
- Wagon, whale
- Xylophone, xylophone
- X-ray, x-ray
- Axe, fox
- Yak, yogurt
- Zigzag, zoo
So you have a range of images to use as you explore early literacy with your students!
More Beginning Sounds Printables
If you really want to stock up on printables for teaching beginning sounds, I’ve got you covered! Here are some ideas:
- Pumpkin Beginning Sounds
- Dinosaur Beginning Sound Scavenger Hunt
- St. Patrick’s Day Beginning Sounds
- Beginning Sounds Alphabet Mats
- Easter Beginning Sounds
- Beginning Sounds Mail Sort
Pumpkin Pie Fine Motor Literacy Mats
Let Preschool Teacher 101 save you a ton of planning time! We have hundreds of early childhood resources from lesson plans to STEM challenges to circle time songs (and so much more). Members of The Pack from Preschool Teacher 101, a membership site for teachers, get access to our materials (and members-only exclusives) at an even steeper discount.
If the pumpkin pie beginning sounds game was a hit with your students, I bet they’ll enjoy our pumpkin pie-themed alphabet mats. Click on the image below to get your own:
You can also find us on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Get the Printable Pumpkin Pie Beginning Sounds
This printable is available to members of Fun-A-Day’s free email community. If that’s you, enter your email in the form below to have the download link sent to your email. If you’re not a member yet, you can join us by adding your information to the same form. Then you’ll receive the Thanksgiving initial sounds printable as a welcome gift.
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