Pumpkins (and seeds)

Pumpkins and Seeds

This week a pumpkin patch grew in the Discovery Room!!

For the older kids, I started out with the book, From Seed to Pumpkin

And for the younger children, I read the book, Pumpkin, Pumpkin

We discussed the life cycle of a pumpkin

It goes from seed to sprout to vine to flower (with help from bees pollinating...) to (green) pumpkin to large, orange pumpkin - which the farmer cuts from the vine.  We reminded ourselves what a seed needs to grow:  rich soil, space, warmth, water or rain, bees or butterflies to pollinate, and sunshine.

We also talked about the parts of a pumpkin

We identified the stem, vine, tendrils, skin, ribs, seeds and pulp.

We opened a real pumpkin together and everyone had the opportunity to smell, touch, and explore the real pumpkin on their own. We used (positive) describing words to explain what we felt and smelled.  The words varied from slimy, soft, wet, cold, slippery, hard, to sticky. We realized that one pumpkin can have tens or even hundreds of seeds inside from which many pumpkins could potentially grow!

We even got to try a real, roasted pumpkin seed from Miss Marion's own kitchen. 
Most children loved it!

 

Our young scientists also loved exploring a pumpkin!  They dove right in!
In addition, they explored pretend pulp and seeds in their very own (pretend) pumpkins, decorated pumpkins with stickers, and made their own pumpkins (with stem, tendrils and vine) from play doh and pipe cleaners!

Fun, suggested reading...