Pumpkins: Day Four

Pumpkin Observations

Gather several pumpkins of different sizes, colors, etc.

Help children place them in order from largest to smallest, smallest to largest, group them by color, and other groupings.


Sing a pumpkin song:
TALL and small. (shout "tall" and reach up high/whisper "small" and reach down low)
We harvest pumpkins in the fall.

TALL and small
round and orange, we like them all!


Line up the pumpkins and start talking about several types of observations/measurements you will be doing with the pumpkins. (This could be done all together or each child could get their own pumpkin.)

Measure the pumpkins with pieces of yarn. Which is biggest around? Smallest?
Use a scale to compare the pumpkins' weights. Which is lightest? Heaviest?
Cut open a pumpkin and explore how the pulp looks, smells, and feels.
Save some seeds for roasting, some for planting, and some for counting.
Boil a few pieces of pumpkin. How does it change when cooked?
Cut chunks of pumpkin into shapes for dipping into paint and making prints.
Donate your carved pumpkins to a local zoo for hippo treats.

Sink or Float?

Find out if pumpkins sink or float. Fill a large tub with water. Have your children guess if the pumpkin will sink or float. Drop the pumpkin into the water and observe if it sinks or floats and if it floats which way. (The pumpkins should float)

Sink or Float Book

Weigh a Pumpkin

Bring in a bathroom scale and pumpkins of different sizes. Have your children estimate the weights of the pumpkins. Weigh the pumpkins and compare their weight to the guesses. You can also weigh ypur children and see if the are heavier or lighter than the pumpkins.


Record the measurements.

Measure and Compare Pumpkin Circumference

Measure the circumference of pumpkins with a yarn. Cut the yarn and tape to paper. If children have several different pumpkins, compare the lengths of the yarn pieces and talk about which pumpkins are smaller/larger. If each child has their own pumpkin, measure the pumpki and then compare that with the circumference of the childrens' waists.

Pumpkin Cutting and Sorting

Cut open a pumpkin and have your children separate the different parts- seeds, skin, inside strings

Pumpkin Seed Collage

Materials:

• Pumpkin Seeds
• Glue
• Construction paper

What to Do

• Encourage your children to use pumpkin seeds to create fall collages.

Pumpkin Stamping

Materials:

• Pumpkin
• Knife
• Toothpicks
• Paint
• Construction paper

Directions:

• Cut your pumpkins and use the pulp to make different stamps ex. Heart, circle, square. Stick a toothpick into the stamp and make a pumpkin picture.

After all these fun observations of pumpkins, let children make their own pumpkins with this:

Pumpkin Pie Playdough

Ingredients:

• 5 1/2 C Flour
• 2 C salt
• 8 t Cream of Tartar
• 3/4 C oil
• 1 1/2 ounces pumpkin pie spice
• orange food coloring
• 4 C water

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients together. Cook and stir over medium heat until lumps disappear. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it is smooth. Store in an airtight container.