October Ideas What s inside my pumpkin?

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1 October Ideas 2014 It s pumpkin time again! It is hard not to include pumpkin ideas this time of the year. We are all surrounded by them. The fall colors of oranges, reds, yellows and browns are amazing. Even here in Phoenix where we don t get the changing of the leaves, the stores are full of pumpkins and fall decorations. It is a good time of year to do some nature exploring outside and look at the changes the cooler weather has made on your school surroundings. Here are some pumpkin facts that maybe you can use in your lesson plans: Pumpkins are a fruit NOT a vegetable It takes 3 4 months for a seed to become a pumpkin Pumpkins are 90% water 80% of the pumpkin supply in the US is available in October Pumpkins range in sizes from less than a pound to over 1,000 pounds Pumpkin flowers are edible Pumpkin seeds can be roasted for a snack Pumpkins can vary in color from white or green to yellow to orange Pumpkins are an ingredient in pies, breads, soups and other foods Pumpkins are used as feed for some farm animals Carved pumpkins last about a week but uncut pumpkins, in a cool place, last months What s inside my pumpkin? For this craft you will need orange construction paper, dried pumpkin seeds, orange colored spaghetti noodles. Before class starts, boil some spaghetti noodles. Rinse them well in cold water to remove as much starch as possible so they do not stick together. Now add a few drops of orange food coloring to them. Work the color through the noodles, after the color is worked through, you still may need to add a little oil so they do not stick together. Have the children cut out two pumpkin shapes the same size. On the shape that goes on top, you can have the children decorate like a jack-o-lantern with construction scraps or other decorative materials. On the bottom pumpkin shape, have the children glue some seeds and some spaghetti noodles to resemble what you find in the center of a cut pumpkin. When the glue has dried, staple the two pumpkins together at the top and add a stem. Before you do this craft, it might be helpful to carve a pumpkin so the children can observe and touch what they see and feel inside. 1

2 Snack Ideas Rice Cake Pumpkins For this snack you will need a rice cake for each child, frosting or cream cheese, fruit leather for shapes, or appropriate edible goodies to use for their Jack-o-lantern. Color the cream cheese/frosting orange and have the children spread a small amount on their rice cake and decorate with the veggies or fruit leather. There are several variations on this. You can use any round shape cracker or bread. Biscuit Pumpkins For this snack each child will need a half of a biscuit (the kind that come in a can), pre-sliced American cheese, and food items to be used to decorate their pumpkin face. Pepperoni, olives, peppers, etc. Cook the biscuit ahead of time. Give each child a half of biscuit and a piece of cheese that you have rounded the corners on. Put a little butter on the biscuit and that will hold the piece of cheese in place. Let them decorate their biscuit pumpkin however they want. You can zap these in the micro wave for a few seconds to melt the cheese a little before you serve them. Most children love cheese and biscuits. Pumpkin Shaped Tortilla Crisps For this snack you will need flour tortillas, butter cinnamon and sugar mixture. Have the children cut a pumpkin shape with a cookie cutter out of the tortillas. Then have them brush the tortilla shape with some melted butter and then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. (This works best if you have a salt shaker with larger holes that you can put the cinnamon and sugar mixture into) Arrange the shapes on a greased baking sheet, and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Clementine Pumpkins There is not a lot for the children to do to make these, but they sure turn out cute and you can choose to do them yourself and serve, or let the children help. If you can find some Clementine or Mandarin oranges in your store or any easy peel orange each child will need one. All that you need to do for this cute little pumpkin, is peel the orange and stick a piece of celery in the top. Instant pumpkin and very cute! Pumpkin Games Here are a few pumpkin games that you can add during this month that just carries on the overall pumpkin theme. 2

3 Ring Toss Pumpkins This game will be much easier if you can find some pumpkins with a lot of the stem still attached. Have the children use the pumpkins as a ring toss. You can either use metal wide mouth canning jar lids, or for the smaller children, they might need something bigger like embroidery hoops. Bean Bag Toss At the dollar store this time of year, you can usually find plastic pumpkins that are big enough to use as a bean bag toss. You can also decorate a clay pot by painting it orange and putting a face on it to use for the pumpkin to toss the bean bags in. The Pumpkin Says Instead of Simon Says, play the game using the jack-o-lantern says. Put the Stem on the Pumpkin Instead of Pin the tail on the Donkey, play put the stem on the pumpkin. Mr. Pumpkin Head Do you have Mr. Potato Head game pieces? The kids can have some fun using them with a small pumpkin. First you will need to poke a few small holes in the pumpkin where the corresponding pieces would be put. At the Science Table Which rolls better, a ball or a round pumpkin? Although you might not think there is much science in this little exercise with the children, there is a lot. This is a focus on physics concepts. How does the object move? What will make it move faster and slower? Why do some objects move faster and straighter than others? Does weight make a difference? Motion is one of the fundamental principles of the physical world. Only through an understanding of what motion is, what causes motion, and what alters motion can we begin to understand why objects in nature behave the way they do. Have the children roll a ball on the floor and talk about how fast, straight and easy it rolls. Now try the same thing with a pumpkin that is as round as you can find. Which one rolls better, faster and will travel the farthest. You can try ways to slow how fast the two objects move, or what will make them travel faster. Does carpet, tile, bubble wrap or any number of materials make a difference in the movement? Talk about what the children observed. Make a chart of different rolling objects and have the children use a tape measure to measure and chart how far each object travels. Ask the children if they have different ideas on an object that would roll better than a ball. 3

4 At the science table, place a lot of Fall objects from nature for the children to look at with a magnifying glass. If you have a scale, get it out for the children to weigh different objects that are similar. If you can find some acorns, pine cones or other objects that might reflect the area where you live and have something to do with the fall, set them out for the children to handle, look at and explore. Vocabulary Words Motion Nature Different Season Prayers Most of you will say a prayer to begin your day, snack time or before you excuse the children for the day. Here are a few prayers you might consider. Thank God for the earth and sky. Thank God for the birds that fly. Thank God for the food we grow. Thank God for the streams that flow. Thank you, thank you, this we say, thanks for all we have today. Amen (to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle) Good morning dear Jesus, this day is for You. So we ask You to bless all we think (point to head), say (point to lips) and do (palms up). We thank you Lord for happy hearts, for rain and sunny weather. We thank you Lord for this our food, and that we are together. Amen (You can sing to Yankee Doodle) Dear Jesus, go with us today, as we work and as we play. Help us be kind and good, and do the things we know we should. Amen My feet are very still. (put feet together) My hands I fold this way. (fold hands) I close my eyes real tight (shut eyes tightly Then quietly (shhh) we pray. Thank you God for the food we eat. Thank you for the friends we meet. Thank you for another day, to pass your love along the way. 4

5 Songs and Finger Plays Pumpkin, Pumpkin Pumpkin, pumpkin, sitting on a wall (have children sit down) Pumpkin, pumpkin tip and fall (have children tip over) Pumpkin, pumpkin rolling down the street (child rolls on floor) Pumpkin, pumpkin Trick or Treat! Apple Seed (tune: Enseey Weensy Spider) The tiny little apple seed Was planted in the ground, Down came the rain, Falling all around, Out came the sun, as bright as bright can be, And the tiny little apple seed Became an apple tree. Pumpkin Poem When all the cows were sleeping and the sun had gone to bed, Up jumped the pumpkin, and this is what he said: I m a dingle dangle pumpkin With a flippy floppy hat, I can shake my stem like this, And shake my vine like that Apple Tree This is the tree with leaves so green (Make leaves- fingers outstretched) Here are the apples that hang in between. (make fist) When the wind blows (blow) The apples will fall. (falling motion with hand) Here is the basket to gather them all. (use arms to form basket) 5