A Cozy Autumn Picture Book: “The Story of Little Pumpkin Pumky” – A Story That Teaches Children About Emotions and Acceptance

 Autumn is the perfect season for heartwarming stories. 

“The Story of Little Pumpkin Pumky” is a gentle and simple picture book designed for children ages 4 to 6.
Through the story of a small pumpkin who felt invisible and sad, but learned that she was special just the way she is, children learn to recognize and name emotions, build self-confidence, and develop empathy.

On a big, sunny field grew many pumpkins.

They were round, orange, and cheerful.
Among them lived the smallest pumpkin — her name was Pumpky.

Every day, Pumpky watched her sisters grow bigger and bigger.
She stayed small and quiet.
She whispered to the wind:
– “I’m the smallest… no one will ever notice me.”

The wind gently stroked her little leaves and softly said:
– “Every pumpkin has its time and its reason. Be patient.”

But Pumpky was still sad.
When children came to the field, they pointed to the big pumpkins:
– “Look at this huge one!”
– “This one’s perfect for a lantern!”
No one looked at Bundolina.
A little sadness began to grow inside her small heart.

One morning, a little girl came to the field.
She didn’t look at the big pumpkins.
She stopped next to Pumpky, crouched down, and smiled:
– “You’re perfect for me. Small things fit perfectly in small hands.”

The little girl gently picked Pumpky and took her home and placed her on the window.
Pumpky glowed!

She realized it didn’t matter if she was the biggest —
What mattered was being loved just the way she was.

And from that day on, Pumpky never felt small again.
She felt special.

Emotional reflection after reading:

• How did Bundolina feel at the beginning of the story?
• Why was she sad?
• How did she feel when Emma chose her?
• Have you ever felt like Bundolina?
• What made you feel better?

Buy your digital illustrations for the story “The Story of Pumpkin Pumpky”!
Make your autumn days special with a warm and gentle story about a little pumpkin who learns that she is valuable just the way she is.

Illustrations are simple and full of opportunities to engage children in conversations about emotions, kindness, and self-confidence.

You will also receive:

• flashcards
• worksheets
• memory game template
• extra story text designed for early English learners (Level 1)

Buy now – 3,00 €

Click here for more children’s stories.

You might also like this: 

Getting ready for Halloween: Halloween Activities to Boost ESL Learning

Check out  the lesson plan you might like: 

ESL ACTIVITY PLAN – "The Story of Pumpkin Pumpky"

Pumpkin Lava Experiment

Goal:

• Observe what happens when baking soda is mixed with vinegar.
• Notice the chemical reaction that creates bubbles and foam (lava effect).
• Connect a science experiment with an autumn theme (pumpkin).

 
Materials:

• Small hollowed-out pumpkin
• Baking soda
• Vinegar (preferably clear, white vinegar)
• Food coloring (optional – orange, red, or yellow)
• Small cup or container
• Spoon

Procedure:

Hollow out the inside of the pumpkin and place it on a tray.
Put a small cup or container inside the pumpkin.
Add 2–3 tablespoons of baking soda to the cup.
Add a few drops of food coloring.
Slowly pour vinegar into the cup.
Observe what happens when the vinegar and baking soda mix.

Observations:

When the two substances combine, foam and bubbles begin to form.

The foam flows out of the pumpkin, looking like lava flowing from a volcano.
Children can observe, describe, and comment on the changes.

 

Explanation:

• Baking soda (a base) and vinegar (an acid) react to create carbon dioxide (CO₂).
• The gas forms bubbles and causes the foam to overflow — just like a lava eruption.

Expected Learning Outcomes:

• Children observe and recognize changes in matter (formation of bubbles and foam).
• Children develop curiosity and interest in science experiments.
• Children can describe what they saw in simple sentences.
• Children connect the experiment with natural phenomena (e.g., volcanic eruption).

Discover more inspiring experiments and activities — click HERE.

🍎Story "The Apple That Didn’t Want to Fall"

High in a tree, a little red apple was growing.
The apple was happy and liked her branch. Every morning, the sun touched her face.
The wind said, “It’s time to fall. Autumn is coming.”But the apple said, “No! I don’t want to fall. I like my tree. I see the orchard. I hear the birds.”
The leaves turned yellow.
Other apples fell down on the soft grass.
The little red apple stayed alone. A girl came to pick apples.
She sang to the apple, “Little apple, come down!”
But the apple said, “No!”
Rain fell. Wind blew.
Still, the apple held the branch.
“I won’t fall!” she said.
Then the sun came out.
“Little apple,” said the sun, “don’t be afraid. Falling is a new adventure.”
“But what if I break?” asked the apple.
“The ground is soft,” said the sun. “You will give a seed. A new tree will grow.”
The apple smiled.
She let go of the branch.
She fell down softly.
“It’s not scary at all!” she said.
Winter came. The apple rested on the earth.
In spring, a small tree grew from the seed.
New red apples grew on it.

✨ Moral of the story:
Sometimes change is scary.
But change can bring something new and beautiful.

You can also get an ESL set that includes a collection of beautifully designed digital illustrations that follow a warm and meaningful ESL story about a little apple that doesn’t want to fall from the tree + plus flashcards and a template for a memory game. The illustrations are simple, colorful, and perfectly suited for children ages 3 to 7 and beginners. Buying this set, you also receive a link for free downloading of the ESL activity plan and worksheet materials.

🛍️ Buy now – 3,00 €

ESL TEACHING: "Let's learn the body parts"

Let’s learn body parts in a fun and easy way! This activity is perfect for preschoolers and young learners. With simple words, colorful pictures, and songs, children can learn and remember body parts while playing. Learning English can be fun!

There are lots of ideas on the web for teaching children about the human body. I chose some of them that I found appropriate also for ESL students. 

We started learning by introducing the parts of the body: head, shoulders, knees, toes, eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Depending on the age or level of the students you are teaching, start with three or four words per class.

Ideas for flashcard games while teaching the parts of the body:

Simon Says

When you say "Simon says touch your head" students need to touch their head. But when you say "Touch your head", without "Simon", they must not touch their head. If they do they are out of the game. Repeat the game with all the body parts you have introduced. 

What’s Missing?

Place four familiar cards face up in a row. Ask your children to close their eyes. Now, they can open their eyes and guess which one is missing. Turn that card face up again and add one more card to the pile. Ask your students to close their eyes again and turn two cards over.  Gradually add few cards more, depending on how many you have introduced at the time, and turn more cards for students to guess what's missing.

Touch the Ball

You will need one ball per pair of students sitting on the floor and facing each other. The ball is on the floor between them. You give them instruction to touch a certain part of the body e.g. "Touch your head/knees/head...." After some time, you will tell them to touch the ball. The student who picks the ball first is the winner. Now, only the winners play the game. Divide them into pairs again and repeat the game as instructed. Play the game until there is just one pair of students left. The winner is the last student picking the ball first.

Pass The Card

The students and the teacher sit in a circle. The teacher starts by passing a picture card to the student on his right, saying, “This is a cat.” The student takes the card and passes it to the next student, saying, “This is a cat.” The card is passed around the circle. When the card returns to the teacher, the teacher puts that card aside and introduces a new picture card in the same manner. When the students have learned a few picture cards, the teacher has a few options:
 a) wait until a card has reached the halfway mark, then introduce a second card going in the same direction;
b) introduce cards at the same time going in opposite directions,
c) send 3-4 cards around the circle in the same directions with little pause between each. Tip: four cards is probably the maximum number of cards to work with at one time.

For more flashcard games check  Simple ideas for introducing language using flashcards.

For the "Follow up" activity you can ask children to draw their body or their face using this template

Or you can use this  idea for the activity "The Teeth in My Mouth" with styrofoam and color paper 

Instead of using styrofoam, you can also use white beans.

Sing  the "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" song

While the song plays you do all the action and encourage your students to do the same. Repeat the song singing it a little bit faster, then faster, and faster. Until you can not sing it faster. Students will love it and ask you to sing it more.

If you have already sung "Head, Sholders Knees and Toes" you can sing the "Open Close" song

 

Sing  the "Hockey Pockey" song for level 2 (more body parts)

"All about me" chant

This is a great chant for ESL students to learn. It's very easy to learn when you add appropriate TPR (e.g. ten little fingers - wiggle with your fingers; ten little toes - wiggle or touch your toes, etc.).

 All about me

Ten little fingers

Ten little toes,

two little ears

and one little nose.

Two little eyes,

shining so bright.

Two little lips,

to kiss you good night!

We also did some "Skeleton" crafts after introducing words: skull, skeleton, bone, brain, lungs, and exploring human skeleton through different media.

I created the "Human digestion" labyrinth to help my students understand how food travels through the body.

Looking for more creative ESL teaching ideas? Check this out and get inspired! ESL TEACHING IDEAS

Eggy the Easter Egg ESL story (ESL level 1)

This is Eggy. He is very sad. He doesn't know what color to choose.

Eggy starts to paint himself.

He takes some green

and some yellow too.

He takes some red, orange, and blue.

Eggy is happy now.

You might wanna read this too:

Jumping colors flashcard game

Ideas for teaching The Rainbow Colors Song

Ideas for teaching Spring Song: How is a rainbow formed

ESL Teaching ideas

Eggy the Easter Egg ESL story (LEVEL 2)

Eggy the Easter Egg (ESL story)

 

Easter is coming. And, what do we do just before Easter?

Yes! We dye Easter eggs.

Do you know the story of the Easter egg called Eggy?

Well, once there was an egg called Eggy. He was very sad. He didn’t know what color to choose.

“I like green,” he said.

“And yellow too.”

“I like red, orange, and blue. What shall I do?” wondered Eggy.

So, he took a paintbrush and made some green dots … and some red dots too. Then he took some yellow, orange, and blue.

Finally, Eggy was finished.

“I am so beautiful”, Eggy said happily.

Indeed, he was the most beautiful Easter egg of all.

You might wanna read this too:

Jumping Colors Flashcard Game
Ideas for teaching The Rainbow Colors Song
Ideas for teaching Spring Song: The Rainbow Song
ESL Teaching Ideas

Activity ideas for ESL teaching: Spring song "The Rainbow Colors"

Spring song: How is a rainbow formed

This is a good song for teaching ESL students. It's easy, catchy, and educational. You can use it for the "How Is A Rainbow Formed" project. You can teach it before or after teaching "The Rainbow Colors".

Before teaching a new song, it is always required to pre-teach the targeted vocabulary. For this song, that would be sun, rain, rainbow, and flowers. Prepare the flashcards and introduce them to your students. You can use some of these FLASHCARDS GAMES IDEAS. 

Depending on the English level your students are at,  you can also add warmth, sound, sight, or whatever you like. It is always a great idea to use TPR as well.

After introducing the targeted vocabulary, ask students what will appear in the sky when the sun is shining and it is raining at the same time. They will probably know the answer: the rainbow. 

After the conversation, sing the song using TPR. The second time, ask the students to do the TPR as well. 

To boost learning, you can make for example several cards of each word you have introduced and give them to your students. Ask them to stand up each time when they hear their word. Or, you can make prompts sun, rain, rainbow, flowers, like we did, and "dramatize" the song as if it were a story. Well, it kind of is.

For the follow-up activity, ask your children to draw "How Is A Rainbow formed?".

This might interest you:

THE RAINBOW COLORS SONG 

ESL TEACHING IDEAS
COLORS FLASHCARD GAME IDEA: JUMPING COLORS

Ideas for teaching The Rainbow Colors Song ESL

The Rainbow Colors Song

Music is a great tool to use for teaching children the English language. When teaching children a new song, all activities should be carefully planned and managed for children to be motivated for learning.

Before introducing to children a new song, you may want to “pre-teach” some of the words. For example, if you are going to sing "The rainbow song", you should first teach children colors or revise them through playing a game for example. As always, playing is one of the best ways for learning. In that way, you will warm up children and create good group dynamics.

You may want to read Simple ideas for introducing language using flashcards.

The Rainbow Colors Song

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, "clap" (clap with your hands).

(clap with your hands and/or say "yes").

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, (clap with your hands).

It's a rainbow, it’s a rainbow.  (clap with your hands)

A beautiful rainbow in the sky. (draw an arch with your hands pointing to the sky)

After revising colors, give children rainbow colors (flashcards/blocks) for each child one color. Use color flashcards lined up as they go in the song: red. orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. Start singing the song first slowly. When children hear the color they have, they need to stand up. After warming-up, start singing the song faster, and faster - this part is the most interesting to the children.
After singing, reinforce overall development in other parts of your lesson such as in art activity, a worksheet or other games e.g. "bingo game". 

The Rainbow Colors
Watercolor and crayons combination

This might interest you:

COLORS FLASHCARD GAME IDEA: JUMPING COLORS

SPRING SONG: HOW IS A RAINBOW FORMED

Simple ideas for introducing and reviewing language using flashcards ESL

Magic/Mystery Box

One of the simplest ways to engage students’ interest is to introduce new items with a Mystery Box. You can give hints about what’s inside and have students guess. You can make one out of a shoebox. Just decorate it as you wish, and your magic box is ready to use.

Snap game

Choose cards you like and place them on the floor. Invite two children to sit in front of the cards facing each other. When the teacher says a word (name of the card), children must as fast as they can slap the matching card. The winner is a child who first slaps the card. You can use flycatchers for slapping the cards.

Eraser Races

 Go through the picture cards that you are planning to introduce in your class. Identify the cards you think students are most likely to be familiar with. Place two of these cards on the floor at the front of the classroom. Divide the class into two teams and have them line up. Give the two students at the front of the line one eraser each. When the teacher calls out one of the cards, the two students race to put their erasers on the correct card. The first student to do so wins a point for his team. Repeat several times, and then add a third card. Play with three cards for several turns, and then add a fourth card, a fifth card, and then a sixth card, and so on. When you begin with cards that the students are a little familiar with, it allows you to slowly introduce some of the more challenging vocabulary. If you are introducing vocabulary that no students in the class know, give hints with your voice. For example, if you have a ghost card and a ballerina card, say “ghost” in a spooky voice, so the students will have an idea of which card it is.

Pass The Card 

The students and the teacher sit in a circle. The teacher starts by passing a picture card to the student on his right, saying, “This is a cat.” The student takes the card and passes it to the next student, saying, “This is a cat.” The card is passed around the circle. When the card returns to the teacher, the teacher puts that card aside and introduces a new picture card in the same manner. When the students have learned a few picture cards, the teacher has a few options:

a) wait until a card has reached the halfway mark, then introduce a second card going in the same direction;
b) introduce cards at the same time going in opposite directions,
c) send 3-4 cards around the circle in the same direction with a little pause between each. Tip: four cards are probably the maximum number of cards to work with at one time.


Musical cards 

The students and the teacher sit in a circle. While the music is playing, the teacher starts passing a picture card to the student on his right who passes the card to another student sitting in his right, and so on. The teacher is passing as many cards as he/she wants while students pass the picture cards in a circle. When the teacher stops the music, children holding the cards at that moment need to say the name of their card.

Roll The Dice

Choose six picture cards you would like to introduce and place them on the whiteboard with magnets. Give each card a number from 1 to 6, writing the numbers above the cards with your whiteboard marker. Divide the class into two teams. Give one student, any student, a big dice to roll. The whole class watches to see what number comes up. The first student to say the name of the vocabulary card with the same number as the dice wins a point for her team. If nobody knows the vocabulary card, introduce it and have the students repeat it. They’ll try hard to remember so they can answer it correctly the next time. Play until one team reaches a set amount of points. If it becomes easy, begin replacing the cards on the board with new cards.

Guess The Picture 

Take two sheets of paper the same size as the picture cards. Cut several small holes randomly spaced in one sheet. In the second sheet, cut larger holes in the same spots, so that the holes from both sheets of paper line up. Cover a flashcard with the large-holed sheet, and then place the small-holed sheet on top of that. When you look at the picture, you will only be able to see small parts where the holes are. Ask the children if they can guess what's in the picture, then slowly remove the large-holed sheet, revealing the picture bit by bit.

What’s Missing

Teacher? Place three familiar cards face up in a row. Turn around and ask the students to turn one card over. You return and try to name the missing card. Turn the card face up again, and let the students add a card to the pile. Turn around again, and the students turn one card over. Return and name the card. Gradually add more cards to the mix. Tip: Have the students turn over only one card at a time.

Kim's game?

Place four or more familiar cards face up in a row. Ask your children to close their eyes. Now, they can open their eyes and guess which one is missing. Turn that card face up again and add one more card to the pile. Ask your students to close their eyes again and turn two cards over. Gradually add a few more cards, depending on how many you have introduced at the time, and turn over more cards for students to guess what's missing.

Jumping Cards 

Choose 8-10 picture cards and hang them in a row on the board. Have students stand. Everyone stamps their feet left, right, left, right, left, right in a comfortable beat. Start chanting the names of the cards. After two or three rounds, turn one card over. Repeat the chant, but when you reach the card that has been turned over, everybody jumps. Turn over another card and start the chant again. You will jump twice now. Continue turning over cards until all but one of the cards have been turned over. Increase the pace or the number of cards if the students want a bigger challenge!

Intro Lesson: Get to Know Each Other!

Starting a new ESL class can be exciting and a little bit challenging. A good intro lesson helps students feel welcome and comfortable. 

It is always a good idea to start the first lesson by introducing the children to the key stages and routines you can use every day/class.

For that, you will need:

• name tags for all children (if you don't know children's names)
• "Hello song“, download the version you like. I like this one:

• A microphone or a softball
• „Magic box “for keeping the puppet, flashcards and other materials you are going to use. You can easily make it out of a shoebox just wrapping it with decorative paper
•  „What's your name“ song

• flashcards „The circle time rules“, try this one Good Sitting Cards by Twinkl
• Colored crayons or pencils

Circle time activities (children are sitting on chairs or cushions) 

Warm-up activities

Greet the children and invite them to make a circle (to sit down). Play the song „Hello, Hello“and make the gestures. Encourage the children to repeat them too.

Introduce yourself: „My name is teacher ……What's your name?“. Use a microphone or a softball. Say your name and pass it to your nearest student. Have each student say their name as they pass the ball/microphone to each other.

While activities

Introduce the glove puppet that you have put in a magic box before the class. Bring out the magic box, open it enough to see in and say "Hello!“ The puppet jumps out of the magic box saying „Hello“! Finally, get all the students together to shout "Hello! Then model the role play with the puppet:

Teacher: "Hello, what's your name?" Puppet: "My name is...“

Now go to the nearest student and say "What's your name? “. Encourage the students to say their names.

After all the children have said their names, play the song „What's you name“making the gestures using your glove puppet as your pair. Play it again but before, divide the children into pairs and encourage them to sing and do the gestures as well. You will be surprised how fast the children will learn the song.

Finally, go around saying "Goodbye" and "See you" before putting the puppet back into the magic box.

Wrap up activities

Open the magic box again to see if there’s something else. „Maybe the „name of the puppet“has left something for us….“. Bring out the „Circle time“flashcards and introduce them one by one to the children. Ask the children what do they see and encourage them to explain what it means. After you have introduced all the flashcards (all the circle rules you want the children to follow) practice them for repeating today's lesson. For example, ask the children „What's your name“and encourage them to raise their hands in order to answer and wait for you to call them and etc.

Finally, get each student to draw her/himself and, if the children are old enough, write their names on their drawings.

Getting ready for Halloween: Halloween Activities to Boost ESL Learning

Halloween, also known as All Hallows’ Eve, is the night before All Saints’ Day, and it is celebrated in the evening on October 31st.
This night is marked in a unique and festive way — with events and parties involving almost the entire community where it is celebrated. It is primarily observed in countries such as Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia, and New Zealand.

One of the explanations for why Halloween is celebrated comes from the ancient Celts, who believed that on the night of October 31st to November 1st, the dead would rise from their graves and return to the places where they once lived. The living, frightened of meeting the spirits, would make loud noises to scare them away.

The Romans later adopted and adapted these traditions. They saw this night as the transition into winter, the dark season of the year. They believed that the dead returned to this world, so they would place hollowed-out vegetables in front of their doors to ward off spirits. Over time, this tradition evolved, and pumpkins became the most common symbol of Halloween — a custom that much of the world adopted from Americans.

In recent years, pumpkin lanterns and decorations have become more common on balconies and in windows in our region as well. Although many people here are still hesitant about Halloween, quite a few enjoy the fun customs and traditions associated with it.

Since one of the goals of English language programs is to introduce children to Anglo-Saxon customs, our group also celebrates this day. However, our activities leading up to Halloween are focused on helping children overcome feelings of fear.

A child’s fear can be triggered by things like separation from parents, thunder, or the dark. By spending quality time together—through play or simple conversations—we help build the child’s self-confidence so they can understand that even the strongest fear is just a feeling that will eventually pass.

Here are some activity ideas you can do with kids in preparation for Halloween:                         

• pre-teach new English vocabulary related to emotions and feelings: happy, sad, sleepy, grumpy, scared, crying, smiling, and pounding using flashcards
• discuss things that scare us and why, and explore ways to help ourselves when we feel afraid.

Preteach vocabulary and sing songs like “Go away…”, which can be a great tool to use with children at bedtime to chase away their fears:

♫ Go away, scary monster, go away. [Push your hands away from your body. Monster gesture. Push your hands away from your body.]
GO AWAY!
Go away, scary monster, go away.
GO AWAY!
Go away, scary monster.
Go away, scary monster.
Go away, scary monster, go away.

Or  „One Little Pumpkin" and  „If You're Happy “.

You can also do some art and craft activity ideas, such as:

• Painting and drawing pumpkins 
• Making pumpkins out of paper
• Creating pumpkin faces from paper plates using collage techniques.

And of course, on Halloween, carve a pumpkin, make a pumpkin lantern, dress up in costumes, have fun, and enjoy some sweet treats.
And most importantly — don't be afraid of anything!

Trick or treat!