Eight Classroom Activities With Pumpkins

Autumn is approaching, and there's no better way to celebrate the change of the seasons than to learn about fall in the classroom. Pumpkins are just one of the symbols of autumn, and using them in the classroom can excite students and help them learn things that can usually be daunting. 

Here are eight ways to teach in the classroom using pumpkins:

1. Pumpkin Life Cycle Sequencing Activity: Read students the book Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington. Then, using this printable, cut out the life cycle stages, and create a jack-o-lantern for the last stage of the life cycle. Then, have students use the book to match up the life cycle of a pumpkin with the corresponding piece, color them in, and attach them together with a string.  (From A to Z Teacher Stuff)
2. Pumpkin Clocks: For those who are just learning how to tell time, using this printable can make it fun for students. Students can draw the hands corresponding with the time provided, or can match the other set of clocks with the time. This page also offers recommendations for Common Core lessons, such as telling and writing time in hours or half-hours, as well as telling time to the nearest five minutes.  (From A to Z Teacher Stuff)
3. Printable Pumpkin Writing Activity: With this printable, teachers can assign their students to write a short story about fall, Halloween, outdoor scenery, books about fall, and more on a fun page. (From A to Z Teacher Stuff)
4. Pumpkin Crafts: Provided by Perfectly Preschool, teachers can have access to pumpkin crafts for every day of the week, including pumpkin stamping. With pumpkin stamping, help students cut their pumpkins and use the pulp to make different stamps and create their own pictures. Another is the pumpkin seed collage, where students can gut a pumpkin and use the seeds to create their own fall collage. 
5. Pumpkins: A Story for a Field by Mary Lyn Ray: This is a story about a field and a man who does everything he can to save his pumpkin patch. Have students listen to this story and learn about the importance of the environment and agriculture. 
6. Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden by George Levenson: Read students this interesting picture book depicting a backyard pumpkin patch going through its life cycle. 
7. Chunkin' Pumpkin Painting: This can be a fun outdoors activity for the classroom. Collect little pumpkins and paint, and instruct students to dip their pumpkins in paint and roll it across a large sheet of paper. Make sure to use fall colors! (From Childhood Beckons)
8. Pumpkin Measurement: Incorporate mathematics with pumpkins for a fun activity. Organize students in to 3 to 4 groups, each having their own pumpkin. Then, have students organize their pumpkins from lightest to heaviest, holding each pumpkin and estimating. Then, have the students weigh their pumpkins. Then, place a larger pumpkin in front of the students and ask them to guess the weight. (From Mathwire)

Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor