"Pumpkin School"

Jon had Thursday off from work and we had a great time doing "pumpkin school" as a family.

First, we washed off our pumpkins and we listed some adjectives describing the outside of the pumpkins.

Next, I gave the boys "pumpkin data sheets." They drew pictures of their pumpkins.

Using our pumpkins, we learned about estimating, circumference, weight, and bouyancy! We estimated the circumference of the pumpkins and then measured them with yarn and then measured the yarn to get the actual circumference. We estimated the number of lines around our pumpkins and then counted them. We estimated their weights and then weighed them. The boys both predicted that their pumpkins would float....

SURPRISE! Even though the pumpkins were really heavy, they floated! Ray immediately reasoned that they float because they are essentially hollow inside.

Next came the gooey part! We cut the pumpkins open and returned to our adjective chart. This time we listed words to descibe the inside of the pumpkins.

We dug out the goo and the seeds, washed the seeds, and then proceeded to sort them into groups of ten for counting. We were surprised that Adam's pumpkin, which was much bigger than Ray's, actually had far fewer seeds.

I roasted the seeds while Jon and the boys got busy drawing faces on the pumpkins and carving them. Ray was excited to actually be able to do a lot of the carving himself this year.

Here are their completed data sheets---

And here are their Jack-O-Lanterns ---





Adam informed me that his is actually a "Mario-Lantern."
Note the mustache and the "M" written on the "hat."

Earlier in the week I decorated my own pumpkins.... SPARKLY! :) (Gotta love all those Pinterest ideas!)

  

We've also been enjoying reading lots and lots of Halloween stories. "The Vanishing Pumpkin" by Tony Johnston and Tomie DePaola and "Too Many Pumpkins!" by Linda White are two of our favorite pumpkin stories.

Happy Halloween!