Thanksgiving Music Activities to Teach Rhythm [Pumpkin Pie Puzzles]

Thanksgiving music activities are a great way to introduce rhythm. I love using fractions to teach meter, time signatures, rhythm, and note and rest values!

In this blog post, I’m sharing how I use Pumpkin Pie Rhythm Puzzles in November with my piano students to reinforce rhythm reading and meter.

Of course, you can create your own pumpkin pie puzzles and use these suggestions for free in your studio! If you want a pre-made print-and-go version, here’s the exact version I use in my studio…

Set Up

1. Start with a circle to recreate a tasty Thanksgiving pumpkin pie on a sheet of heavy cardstock paper. Laminate it if you would like.
2. Print or create pumpkin pie puzzles divided into different fractions. For example, one pie could be divided into fourths, each fourth with a quarter note on it.
3. Print or create several combinations that feature a variety of note and rest values your student will recognize.
4. Optional: print an accompanying worksheet for your student to complete along with the puzzles.
5. Now you’re ready for a day of Thanksgiving music activities with your students!

Thanksgiving Music Activities Instructions

Check out the product page on my TeachersPayTeachers store to see a video demonstration.

In this blog post, I’ll write out instructions for use with all levels of students.

Beginning Piano Students: Learning Note Values

For beginning students, just envisioning the ratio between whole notes and half notes, or quarter rests and half rests if quite a challenge!

If you have a student who is glazing over the half notes in their beginning piano songs, completing a few versions of this pumpkin pie activity could help them understand the relationship of different note values.

For a very young student…

1. Simply print (or create) 2-3 version of the puzzle using only half notes and quarter notes at first.
2. Let them figure out how the pieces fit together on their own (which should come very easily).
3. Point to each pumpkin pie piece going clockwise around the pie while tapping, clapping, or speaking the rhythm.

Primary Piano Students: Introducing Eighth Notes

Once students have a mastery of whole notes, half notes, and quarter notes, they are ready to tackle more complex combinations of notes and rests.

This is also a great time to introduce eighth note pairs even if they haven’t been formally introduced to eighth notes in their method books yet. These Thanksgiving music activities help students “see” the rhythms in an easy-to-understand way before they are asked to incorporate them into their piano music.

For Primer-level students…

1. Print (or create) a variety of note and rest value combinations including some pairs of eighth notes.
2. Let students form a full “pie” of rhythms.
3. Explain that this is one measure in 4/4 time (optional: use a worksheet to write and visualize this further–see below).
4. Set a metronome and tap or clap while speaking the rhythm going around the pie clockwise.
5. Move on to another puzzle combination and repeat steps 2-4.

Late Primary Piano Students: Translating Fractions to Measures

For more advanced students, introducing single eighth notes and rests makes for some complicated rhythms in their music!

Visuals, like these Thanksgiving music activities, can really help those “half of a beat” concepts come to life and make more sense.

Follow these steps for a student who is ready for a challenge…

1. Print (or create) a variety of note and rest value combinations including some single eighth notes and rests.
2. Let students form a full “pie” of rhythms.
3. Explain that this is one measure in 4/4 time.
4. Set a metronome and tap or clap while speaking the rhythm going around the pie clockwise.
5. Use a worksheet (or a blank piece of paper) to rewrite the circular rhythm on the pie as a measure of rhythm.
6. Optional: write in the counting below the measure.
7. Move on to another puzzle combination and repeat steps 2-6.
8. Once the worksheet is filled with one-measure rhythms, set a metronome and tap or clap and speak all of the rhythms as if they are conjoined to form one song!

To Make or Buy a Pie?

I hope you’ll have fun with your piano students introducing some Thanksgiving music activities to reinforce rhythms this November!

If you would like to purchase my ready-to-go Thanksgiving Rhythm Puzzles, the set is available in my TeachersPayTeachers store here.

The set includes:

• An empty pie plate to print and laminate
• Lots of pie puzzle pages for all levels, and
• A worksheet with instructions.

Happy Tapping (and Pie Eating)!