Pumpkin Exploration & FREE pumpkin investigation worksheet

A few days ago I bought mini pumpkins for our class so that each pair of students can share a pumpkin to investigate throughout our pumpkin unit.  It was under a dollar for each mini pumpkin.  While investigating our pumpkins throughout the week, we displayed them on our desks so that it made us feel like we were in a pumpkin patch.  We have gone over the pumpkin life cycle and used our senses to describe our pumpkin.  See my previous post  about that here.  Next week we will work on our pumpkin exploration worksheet.  Carving mini pumpkins are a bit tough so you may want to get a pumpkin carving kit with the saw like knife for easier cutting, especially if you will be carving a pumpkin for each pair of students.  

The worksheet explores the following:
What does it look like?
How tall?
How big?
How many seeds?
Sink or float?

click here to download the worksheet.

Pumpkin Activities & Free pumpkin lifecycle worksheet

Here are some of my pumpkin activities:

We use our 5 senses to observe a pumpkin:

What does it look like:  Color, Shape, Size

How does it feel:  smooth, soft, rough, bumpy

How does it smell?  (you can have them smell pumpkin puree or pumpkin scented candle)  Sweet, Sour

How does it taste:  (have them taste pumpkin flavored pudding)  Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter.

I usually have students get into groups of 2 or 3 and each group has a small pumpkin.  You can do this whole group as well.  

We then read the book:  From Seed to Pumpkin by 

Wendy Pfeffer, 

James Graham Hale (Illustrator)

We discuss the pumpkin life cycle:

Seeds:  Plant the seeds

Seedling:  Seed sprouts into a seedling

Vine:  The vine begins to grow.  Green leaves form the vine.

Flower:  Pumpkin flowers grow on the vine.

Green Pumpkin:  A little green pumpkin starts to grow.

Yellow pumpkin:  The green pumpkin starts to turn yellow.

Orange Pumpkin:  When the pumpkin turns orange it's ready for harvesting.  

Have students re-create the pumpkin life cycle with their bodies through movement and music.

Click here for my pumpkin life cycle worksheet

Other pumpkin activities:

Sink or float the pumpkin

Carve pumpkin open and estimate the number of seeds.

Roast pumpkin seeds for tasting.

Make Pumpkin pudding with graham crackers

Create water color pumpkin still life paintings

Pumpkin Seed Recipe:

2 cups pumpkin seeds

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon butter

Pumpkin Pudding recipe:

1/3 can pumpkin pie filling with spices

8oz. whipped topping

2 packages instant vanilla pudding

Milk

Crushed graham crackers

Let the students mix the ingredients together.  Mix pudding and milk according the the recipe on the pudding box.  Then fold in the pumpkin pie filling into the vanilla pudding.  Put crushed graham crackers at the bottom of a cup (I use the mini dixie bathroom cups).  Scoop some pudding mixture on top of the graham crackers.  Then frost their pudding cups with the whipped topping.  

Halloween activities coming soon...

Freebie Pumpkin Book: Who Took the Pumpkin From the Pumpkin Patch

It's finally fall season!  There are so many activities to do!  I wanted to share a book that I do with my class about pumpkins.  It's called:  Who took the pumpkin from the pumpkin patch?  Similar to the book: Who took the cookie from the cookie jar?

Includes:
Front Cover
page for each student
final page (I usually put myself on the last page, and the kids love it!)

click here for Who Took the Pumpkin from the Pumpkin Patch class book.


More fall activities to come...