Today was a science day! We were able to cut into pumpkins and explore the various features and parts of a pumpkin.
First, we cut into a “normal”, orange, round pumpkin. We noted its color and parts.
We talked about how a pumpkin has “ribs” on the outside…so the children felt their own ribs.
Next we removed the pulp and seeds to see the cavity.
We were curious if a red, yellow, and green pumpkin would be orange in the middle. We also wanted to see what shape the cavity would be…
It IS orange!!!
The cavity was long and “squished.” The children said it looked like the shape of a bow tie, sunglasses, hair bow, etc.
The children enjoyed seeing pictures of the world’s biggest pumpkin pie and biggest pumpkin.
We broke down the parts of the pumpkin and drew a diagram of the inside of a pumpkin. (tendril, leaves, stem, skin, pulp, cavity, and seeds)
During our small groups, we did various activities to extend our pumpkin lesson.
{group #1}
::fine motor::
Counting pumpkin seeds and putting them on a grid
{group #2}
::literacy extension::
We read “From Seed to Pumpkin”, which teaches the children more about how a pumpkin is formed, the steps it takes to become a ripe pumpkin, how the plant makes its own food, and what the pumpkin needs to grow (air, water, sun, etc.).
{group #3}
::art extension::
We took the diagram drawn during our group time and made our own diagram. With each step, we talked about the various parts and how a pumpkin looks when we cut it in half.
