Fall Unit: Turkeys, Mayflower, Thanksgiving and More Pumpkins!

I'm working on fall-themed math and literacy units. There are just not enough hours in the day! Most days, I leave school thinking, "Wow! I got so much done! How productive!" But then on my way home, I think of five million other things that I want/need to take care of... And of course, I don't just get home and go right to work. Darn that dinner that needs to be made and the clothes that need to be washed!

But I did manage to get one fun activity ready to share. This is Pumpkin Bump.



The game is for two players. (Today, though, a group of three students played together. They never made it to a point where someone "won," but they had a great time and practiced adding in the meantime!)

A pair of students shares one game board, but each needs 10 Unifix cubes (or other game markers.) Color is BIG for the six-year-old set, so I always let them choose their own colors. Object of the game? The first player to place all their cubes on the board is the winner.

Roll two dice and add those numbers. Cover a matching number space with your marker. If your partner is already on that number, you can bump your partner’s color and take their space! If you bump your partner, they take back their marker and have a chance to use it again. If you roll a number that you have already covered, you can stack another marker on top of it! Any space with two markers stacked on top of each other, is locked and that space can’t be bumped.

The player to use all of their markers first is the winner!

My kids love this game. The bumping part is a ton of fun for them! I also have a version with three dice.