Short vowel "u" Pumpkin Hunt and Glitter Bottles

To "spice" up the word work station for short vowel u week, I had two activities for the kids to choose from: go on a short u pumpkin hunt, or look for short u words in glitter bottles. I was inspired to do the glitter bottles by one of the best teachers out there--Jessica Meacham! {Love her!}

I got the "Baby Soda Bottles" from a local Parent-Teacher Store. They are made by Steve Spangler Science--another one of my favorites! I stored the bottles and workpages in this plastic suitcase:
The kids would pick a bottle, look carefully at the letters found on the beads inside it, then try to figure out which short u word it spelled. When they figured out the word, they placed the bottle on top of the coordinating square on this work mat:
When they had all the bottles, the kids used this workpage to extend the learning a little bit more:

Now, let's go on a short u "pumpkin hunt"! I hung short u words on pumpkin cut outs all around the room. The kids read the pumpkins, then chose the correct box to write the word in using the workpage below: