Category Archives: Pumpkins

More pumpkin activities in preschool

Posted on by
4

PicMonkey Collage

 

As we continue to enjoy the Fall season, we have explored pumpkins in our classrooms in many ways!

We’ve opened them up, scooped them out, counted the seeds and made delicious pumpkin treats!

I talked about some ideas in the “Learning about apples and pumpkins” post … but here are a few other ideas for ways to play and learn with pumpkins in preschool!

Pumpkin Playdough – We took a simple, no-cook playdough recipe, added red and yellow food coloring … and then added some cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice to the mixture! The children loved the smell! I asked them what they thought it smelled like … I got some really cute answers like “donuts” and “apple sauce”! Then we added some pumpkin seeds to the dough, for an extra sensory experience.

pumpkinplaydough

Pumpkin butter – Using heavy whipping cream, salt, canned pumpkin, powdered sugar and cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice), the children can measure, mix and then SHAKE the ingredients to make a delicious pumpkin butter to spread on crackers or bread. Great science experiment to see how the liquid transforms to the creamy butter as they shake!

Pumpkin Pudding pies – Another yummy recipe featuring vanilla pudding and pumpkin pie filling!

Using Our Senses Pumpkin Exploration – Allow children the opportunity for some individual exploration with a small pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice (in a container) and pumpkin seeds (in a container).  Children can explore what they see, feel, smell and hear!

pumpkinkid

Pumpkin Playdough faces – We had fun with this great idea by Deborah at Teach Preschool where we made faces on real pumpkins simply using playdough!

pumpkinface

Count a seed pumpkin game – This is a fun, cooperative game that will help children practice counting (one-to-one correspondence).

pumpkingame2

 

Do you have any other fun pumpkin ideas to share?

Leave a comment or link below!

Pumpkin faces from recycled bottles

Posted on by
1

During the Fall in New England, there is much to-do about PUMPKINS!  This adorable pumpkin-inspired craft is also a great fine-motor muscle workout for preschoolers who like to cut, rip and stuff things into small spaces!  And to top it off, it’s a great way to use recycled materials!

pumpkinbottle

Pumpkin faces

Collect a bunch of clean, plastic water or soda bottles (one per child), and gather a variety of orange colored paper (construction paper, tissue paper .. or even felt or fabric).

DSC08846

Allow children to problem-solve HOW they can make the paper/fabric fit into plastic bottle opening.  They can cut, tear, crinkle and stuff the orange paper/fabric into the bottle to fill it up. This is a good opportunity for children to practice cutting skills.

DSC08848

After the bottle is filled, invite children to make the shapes for a pumpkin face out of black paper.  You can pre-cut some shapes for younger preschoolers – or allow older preschoolers to draw these shapes themselves with a white pencil and then cut them out.  Use scotch tape or glue to stick them onto the bottle.

DSC08851Top it off with a green pipe cleaner stem!

Learning about apples and pumpkins in preschool

Posted on by
2

apples and pumpkinsFall in New England is a wonderful time to teach preschoolers many things about the season. The change in the weather (and the leaves), along with the harvest of apples and pumpkins are fun to learn about.

If you are fortunate enough to have local farms in your area, a field trip is a great way for young children to experience some of the agriculture of your area first-hand.

By taking preschoolers to visit a local farm, they can learn so much. It is a great opportunity to teach them about living things (animals), life cycles (egg to chick / seed to fruit), where food comes from and local geography.

You can also extend preschoolers learning of farms, apples and pumpkins with some of these activities!

Science

DSC03405.JPG.thMake your own apple cider – Bring in a juicer and take some fresh apples from your field trip and turn them into cider.  Children can observe and experiment with how things turn from one form to another (ie. solid to a liquid).

Seasonal sink or float – Experimenting with Fall objects (such as leaves, acorns,  pumpkins and apples) to see which will sink and which will float.

Apple science– Observe changes to apples when they are cut and exposed to the air.

pumpkin.jpg.th

Open it up! – The best hands-on fun and learning happens when you dig in and open it up!  Cut into an apple, dig into a pumpkin and let children touch, see and smell.

Art

And you can even use the parts of apples or pumpkins in children’s art … adding another sensory experience to the process of their art!

Apple stamping art – Slice apples in half and place them into paint.  Then stamp it onto the paper.

Paper Plate Pumpkins – Using paper plates, orange paint mixed with some white glue and dried pumpkin seeds children can make their own pumpkin.  Really fun after you have opened up a real pumpkin and explored the inside!

DSC09046

What is your favorite apple or pumpkin activity?  Please share with us in the  comments!