Pumpkin Time STEM Quick Pick

This week, my kindergartners are learning about pumpkins. A quick and easy STEM activity is just what my little pumpkins need to learn how to be creative! You can either grab a book such as the Itsy Bitsy Pumpkin which I love... or even the 5 Little Pumpkins that have a springboard that you could use to have them build a wall, gate, or step that the pumpkin can sit on!

I love to use the little pumpkins we grow in our school garden, but any little pumpkin can do! Here are the other materials that you can use...

Materials:  tongue depressors, cubes,  ten number blocks, blocks, and book such as the Itsy Bitsy Pumpkin
                                                          

I use a tray to place all of the different choices on and then I set out the blocks at their table tops.

 Quick Pick Ideas: A quick pick for me is an activity that can take less than 30 minutes including a book a STEM challenge. We were able to learn the life cycle of a pumpkin, as well as read a story then pose the challenge. I then have the trays set out at the tables for the students to go to when I am done with the book and science lesson. I also set out one little pumpkin per table for them to test their designs with. We learn about modifications real fast when a pumpkin doesn't balance.

Links You Might Like:
Fall STEM Ideas
Fall Flip Book
Pumpkin Themed Activities
Digital Pumpkin Activities with STEM and Math Connections

Time to make Science Child's Play with this quick pick! Your little pumpkins will love it! This is an easy activity to "patch" together as well.

In this post, for your convenience, you may find Amazon Affiliate links to resources. This means that with your purchase of items Amazon will pass on small percentages to me. This will not create extra costs for you at all! It will help me keep this blog running!

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Learning With Pumpkins

I just love this time of year, when the outdoors can come indoors! I know not everyone might have a school garden, but our pumpkins are ready to pick and we are ready in science to do some pumpkin integration!

Pumpkins are a great way to tie everything together! Grab one of the many amazing pumpkin themed books, I love to start with non-fiction to tie in the pumpkin life cycle, then we start with our many stations!

Here are ways to use pumpkins in each one of your disciplines!

Science:

1. Does a pumpkin sink or float?
2. Life Cycles and Pumpkins
3. Labeling parts of a pumpkin
4. How pumpkins are grown and harvested

Math:

1. What is the circumference of a pumpkin?
2. How much does a pumpkin weigh?
3. Pumpkin graphing such as your favorite pumpkin food, or try a food and vote

4. Counting pumpkin seeds and ribs of a pumpkin
5. Pumpkin shapes


Writing:



1. Pumpkin song connections:  listen to Spookley The Square Pumpkin song and write about point of view or compassion
2. Write the steps to planting and harvesting a pumpkin
3. Write about the life cycle of a pumpkin
4. Write about what the five senses and the pumpkin inside and outside






Reading:



1. Pick a great book to read to your class that can connect any of the above ideas such as From Seed to Pumpkin
2. Let students share the stories that they wrote in the writing center with each other or in an app on an iPad.








Here are a few of my favorite read alouds:

Math: Weight, Height, and Circumference

Time to Count Pumpkin Seeds

Time to Learn about Life Cycles From Seed To Pumpkin

Another great book on the Life Cycle of a Pumpkin

I have used this one, too! Pumpkin, Pumpkin!

Let's not forget to add some STEM!

1. Build a fence for 10 Little Pumpkins

2. Pumpkin Catapults

3. Pumpkin picker upper with pumpkin candy

4. Pumpkin Bowling 

5. Pumpkin Elevator
If you want to save some time, I have also created a few new Pumpkin Themed Packs that I will be using this month for my own Science integrated lessons!

Want some pumpkin ideas for this week? Check out these pumpkin themed packs for your pumpkin themed lessons this week HERE!

Time for your little pumpkins to have some science fun!

Renee

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Pumpkin Day Fun

How much did we have today! My after school class celebrated pumpkin day for our harvest of the month festival. We used some great resources from Mrs. Ricci's Kindergarten! We also read The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons.



after doing a sequence activity and singing a song. Love this video!

Now, after reading the book and singing a song and even doing our sequence activity, we watched this great time lapsed video to watch the sequence in action.

We used this sheet for a cute book.

 Here is my little cousin in our after school class. You go Alli. Pumpkin Day rocks!

 Do pumpkins float or sink? Our little kiddos predicted, all said sink. We started with a small pumpkin...it floated. We put a medium pumpkin in the sink, it floated. Then, we put the big pumpkin in the sink, it overflowed and floated! The kids were amazed. We discussed why they float. We then cup open one of our pumpkins and it was HOLLOW! They got it!

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