Pine Cones and Pumpkins

 

I came up with the basic idea for this super simple activity using pine cones and pumpkins on a whim, and I was surprised how much fun E had with it and how she put her own spin on it.

 

Fall gross motor play with pine cones and pumpkins!

(E was 3 years old.)

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For our gross motor activity with pine cones and pumpkins, we used

 

 

 

I simply put a bunch of pine cones I’d picked up in our backyard in a small box. There happened to be a large storage box on the other side of the backyard, and I suggested running over to place the pine cones in the large box. E LOVED the idea – and she didn’t just grab the small box to dump them all either 😉

 

Fall gross motor play with pine cones and pumpkins!

 

Fall gross motor play with pine cones and pumpkins!

 

Fall gross motor play with pine cones and pumpkins!

 

After running back and forth a few times, the small box was empty but there were still more {way more!} pine cones lying around the backyard, and E extended the fun by getting more to throw in the large storage box.

 

Fall gross motor play with pine cones and pumpkins!

 

When she thought she’d put enough pine cones in

 

Fall gross motor play with pine cones and pumpkins!

 

she started running to where we had a bunch of pumpkins sitting on a low wall, and went back and forth several times to carry them over one at a time.

 

Fall gross motor play with pine cones and pumpkins!

 

Fall gross motor play with pine cones and pumpkins!

 

She carefully arranged the pine cones and pumpkins in the box

 

Fall gross motor play with pine cones and pumpkins!

 

but when she added more pumpkins, she noticed that there wasn’t room to put them all in one layer. She rearranged

 

Fall gross motor play with pine cones and pumpkins!

 

until she was able to fit the last pumpkin with all the pine cones and other pumpkins – it was almost like a puzzle 😉

 

Fall gross motor play with pine cones and pumpkins!

 

I really love how E turned my simple prompt into her own kind of game, hardly noticing all the exercise she got while exploring the natural items we had in our backyard. Of course, activities requiring no preparation and making no mess are always great in their own right 🙂

 

 

 

 How have you played with pine cones and/or pumpkins? Do you have any fun gross motor ideas using natural materials to keep kids moving this fall? Tell me about it in the comments!

 

 

 

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4 Comments

  1. I’m in love with this pine cone and pumpkin gross motor activity. Thank you for adding it to the “It’s Friday We’re in Love Link Party!” You are being featured in this weeks pine cone round-up. Thank you for joining the party!