Pumpkin Wagon Name Craft

Make this cute pumpkin wagon name craft for fall! A free printable name activity for preschool and kindergarten that builds early literacy skills.

Pumpkin Wagon Name Craft

This pumpkin wagon name craft is a fun fall activity that helps preschool and kindergarten kids practice spelling and recognizing their names.

Kids color and assemble their little red wagon before filling it with pumpkins that spell out their name. The finished craft makes an adorable fall keepsake or classroom display!

If you’re looking for an easy fall name craft to add to a pumpkin theme, literacy center or October activity lineup, this is one of my favorites.

Best of all, you can grab our free printable pumpkin wagon template below and get started with just a few basic craft supplies.

Pumpkin Name Craft for Fall

Name crafts are always a hit with young children because there’s something extra exciting about seeing their own name become part of a craft.

For this activity, children create a little red wagon filled with pumpkins. Each pumpkin represents one letter of their name, so when the pumpkins are placed together in the correct order, they spell the child’s name.

It’s a simple way to combine fall crafting with early literacy and fine motor practice.

This pumpkin wagon name craft works especially well for:

• 🍂 Preschool and Pre-K
• 🎃 Kindergarten
• ✏️ Name recognition practice
• 🔤 Fall literacy centers
• 🧡 Pumpkin-themed units
• ✂️ Fine motor practice
• 🏠 Homeschool activities
• 🍁 Fall classroom bulletin boards

Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Wagon Name Craft

It makes name practice fun. Kids get to work with the letters in their own name while creating a colorful fall craft.

It builds fine motor skills. Coloring, cutting, arranging and gluing give little hands lots of valuable practice.

It’s easy to prepare. Print the free template and gather a few basic craft supplies.

Every finished craft is different. Children can choose their own colors and each wagon will contain a different number of pumpkins depending on the length of their name.

It makes a great display. Finished pumpkin wagons look adorable lined up on a classroom bulletin board or displayed at home.

Supplies

You only need a handful of basic supplies to make this pumpkin name craft.

• Free printable pumpkin wagon template – snad the pdf at the bottom of this blog post
• White cardstock
• Crayons, markers or colored pencils
• Child-safe scissors
• Glue
• Pencil or black marker for writing the letters

Tip: I prefer printing crafts like this on good quality cardstock instead of regular printer paper. The heavier paper makes the finished craft sturdier and easier for young children to work with.

How To Make a Pumpkin Wagon Name Craft

Step 1: Print the Template

Start by printing the pumpkin wagon craft template on white cardstock.

You’ll need one wagon for each child along with enough pumpkins to spell their name.

For example, a child named EMMA will need four pumpkins, while a child named BENJAMIN will need eight.

Step 2: Color the Wagon and Pumpkins

Have children color their wagon and pumpkins.

They can use traditional fall colors or get creative and make their wagon completely unique.

Crayons, markers and colored pencils all work well for this activity.

Step 3: Cut Out the Pieces

Carefully cut out the wagon and pumpkins.

Younger preschoolers may need some help with this step, while older preschool and kindergarten children can use it as an opportunity to practice their scissor skills.

Step 4: Add the Letters

Write one letter of the child’s name on each pumpkin.

You can write the letters ahead of time for younger children or let older children write the letters themselves.

This is also a great opportunity to talk about uppercase and lowercase letters.

Step 5: Put the Name in Order

Before gluing anything down, mix up the pumpkins and encourage children to arrange the letters in the correct order.

Have them say each letter as they work.

When they’re finished, read the entire name together from left to right.

Step 6: Assemble the Pumpkin Wagon

Glue the pumpkins together so they look like they’re being carried inside or behind the little wagon.

Once everything is dry, your pumpkin wagon name craft is complete!

Learning Through Name Play

Name crafts are more than just a cute seasonal activity.

A child’s own name is often one of the first words they learn to recognize, which makes name-based activities an easy way to introduce and reinforce early literacy skills.

This pumpkin wagon name craft gives children an opportunity to practice:

• 🍂 Name recognition – Children become familiar with what their name looks like in print.
• 🎃 Letter recognition – Kids identify the individual letters that make up their name.
• 🔤 Letter sequencing – Children learn that the letters in their name need to appear in a specific order.
• ✏️ Pre-writing and handwriting – Older children can practice writing one letter on each pumpkin.
• ✂️ Fine motor skills – Coloring, cutting and gluing help strengthen the small hand muscles children use for writing.
• 🧠 Problem solving – Mixing up the pumpkins before assembly turns the activity into a simple name puzzle.

Make It Easier for Younger Preschoolers

If you’re doing this activity with younger children, prepare some of the pieces ahead of time.

Write one letter on each pumpkin and give children a model of their completed name to look at.

They can match the pumpkins to the letters on the model before gluing them in place.

You can also cut out the pieces ahead of time if scissor skills aren’t the focus of your activity.

Make It More Challenging

For children who are ready for more independent name practice, give them blank pumpkins and encourage them to write the letters themselves.

You can also mix up the completed letter pumpkins and challenge children to put their name back in the correct order without looking at a model.

For an extra literacy challenge, have children identify the first letter of their name, the last letter and any letters that appear more than once.

Ways To Use This Fall Name Craft

There are so many easy ways to work this pumpkin wagon craft into your fall plans.

Morning tubs: Prepare the pieces ahead of time and let children assemble their names as a quiet morning activity.

Literacy centers: Add the pumpkins to a name-recognition or alphabet center during your fall theme.

Pumpkin unit: Pair the craft with pumpkin books, pumpkin science activities or a visit to the pumpkin patch.

Small groups: Work with a few children at a time to practice identifying and sequencing the letters in their names.

Homeschool: Pair the craft with a pumpkin picture book for an easy screen-free fall lesson.

Early finishers: Keep printed templates available for children who finish another fall activity early.

Bulletin boards: Have every child create a pumpkin wagon and display them together for a personalized fall classroom display.

Pumpkin Books To Read With This Craft

I love pairing crafts with picture books whenever I can.

Reading a pumpkin-themed story before making this craft is an easy way to turn it into a more complete fall learning activity.

Here are a few of my favorite pumpkin books to pair with this activity:

📚 Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White – This is probably my favorite pairing for this craft. It’s a wonderful fall story and a great addition to any pumpkin-themed week.

📚 The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll – A fun fall story about two little mice who discover they’ve both been caring for the same pumpkin.

📚 How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara – A great choice for adding a little early math and counting to your pumpkin theme.

📚 Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell – I especially like this one for talking about the pumpkin life cycle and what happens to a pumpkin as the seasons change.

You can browse my collection of favorite fall and Halloween books for kids if you’re looking for more seasonal books to add to your classroom or home bookshelf.

Turn It Into a Pumpkin Literacy Center

Want to reuse the activity instead of gluing everything together right away?

Print the wagon and pumpkins on cardstock and laminate the pieces.

Write the letters of each child’s name on the pumpkins and place them in a small bag or envelope.

Children can arrange their pumpkin letters in the correct order beside the wagon, mix them up and try again.

This turns the craft into a reusable fall name recognition activity that can be added to morning tubs or literacy centers throughout the season.

Create a Pumpkin Name Bulletin Board

These little pumpkin wagons make an especially cute fall bulletin board because every finished craft is personalized.

Have each child make their own wagon and arrange the finished crafts across your board.

You could add a simple heading such as:

“We’ve Got a Wagon Full of Great Names!”

or

“Our Pumpkin Patch!”

Because every child’s name is different, you’ll end up with wagons carrying different numbers of pumpkins. It makes the finished display colorful, personal and unique.

More Pumpkin Activities for Kids

If you’re planning a pumpkin theme, here are a few more of our pumpkin crafts and activities to try:

🎃 Paper Plate Pumpkin Craft – An easy pumpkin craft made with a small paper plate and simple craft supplies.

🎃 Pumpkin Name Craft – Another fun way for preschool and kindergarten children to practice spelling their names.

🎃 Pumpkin Pie Name Craft – A cute fall name activity that’s perfect for a Thanksgiving or harvest theme.

🎃 Jack-O’-Lantern Craft – A fun Halloween pumpkin craft for young children.

More Fall Crafts for Kids

Looking for more easy fall activities? Here are some of our favorite fall crafts for preschool and kindergarten kids to make at home or in the classroom.

🍂 Torn Paper Fall Tree Craft – Kids tear colorful construction paper into small pieces to create a beautiful autumn tree while strengthening fine motor skills.

🌰 Torn Paper Acorn Craft – This easy acorn craft combines tearing and gluing for a simple fall fine motor activity that’s perfect for little hands.

🌰 Paper Bag Acorn Craft – Turn an ordinary brown paper lunch bag into an adorable acorn puppet using our free printable template.

🎃 Paper Bag Pumpkin Craft – Kids can transform a simple paper bag into a cute pumpkin character that’s perfect for pumpkin themes throughout September and October.

🧑‍🌾 Paper Bag Scarecrow Craft – Color, cut and glue your way to an adorable scarecrow puppet that’s perfect for fall, farm and harvest themes.

🍎 Torn Paper Apple Craft – This simple apple craft lets kids tear and glue colorful pieces of paper while getting valuable fine motor practice.

🍁 Fall Leaf Puppet Craft – Use our printable template to create a colorful fall leaf puppet that’s perfect for combining autumn crafting with imaginative play.

🦊 Fingerprint Fox Craft – Kids use their fingerprints to create an adorable woodland fox in this fun process-art activity for fall.

🎃 Pumpkin Name Craft – Another fun pumpkin-themed name activity that helps preschoolers practice letter recognition and spelling their names.

🍁 100+ Fall Crafts for Kids – Browse our complete collection of fall crafts, printables and activities featuring pumpkins, apples, leaves, acorns, woodland animals and more.

You can also browse our complete collection of Fall Name Crafts for Preschool and Kindergarten for even more ideas.

And, if your kids love name crafts as much as we do, don’t miss our huge collection of Seasonal and Holiday Name Crafts. We have name activities for just about every season and holiday throughout the year.

Download the Free Pumpkin Wagon Name Craft

Getting your free pumpkin wagon name craft template is easy. Fill out the form at the bottom of this post and click the “Send Me the Printable” button.

After signing up, check your email to confirm your subscription. You will then be redirected to the printable PDF containing the pumpkin craft template.

Already subscribed? No problem! Enter your information in the form again and you’ll be taken directly to the download.

Be sure to print the template at actual size on standard 8.5 × 11-inch paper. We recommend good quality cardstock for a sturdy finished product.

Tip: Be sure to check your spam or promotions folder if you don’t see the email containing the pumpkin wagon name craft template right away.

Still having trouble downloading our letter c worksheets? Check out this step-by-step download guide with images!

Before You Go

I hope your kids have as much fun making this pumpkin wagon name craft as we did!

If you’re planning more screen-free fun for fall, be sure to browse our collection of fall crafts and activities for preschoolers. You’ll find lots of easy crafts, printables, name activities and learning games you can use throughout September, October and November.

You can also follow This Tiny Blue House on Facebook and Pinterest where I share our newest crafts, free printables and screen-free activities for kids.