Kids Love Getting Pumpkins Early

Pumpkins Smell Like Earth

“Pumpkins smell like earth. They taste like a thousand orange rainbows. They look like a giant golden nugget.”

  When young children get a little help from adults these words have a poetic ring.  Without exception, young children have a poet hiding inside.

  Children start to vibrate with energy and creativity around Halloween so we probably should just get into it early and enjoy the possibilities, too. Waiting until a day before Halloween to buy and carve, misses great opportunities to teach in the family.

Many Pumpkins to Choose

  If possible, visit a place with many pumpkins on display and allow enough time for children to explore, touch, and compare.  Talk about sizes, texture, a wide variety of shapes and misshapes. Which ones are smiling already? Which ones look upset?

Where Can You Find Pumpkins?

  At home, place pumpkins on a table and cover the entire space with paper for writing and drawing. Whole pumpkins work well for sight and sound. Look at all angles and rap on them. Pumpkin pieces and insides are great for smell and touch.  Pumpkin baked goods like pumpkin bread and cookies are mighty fine for taste after the work is finished.

  Help children write words or draw images that represent their feelings. To spark new carving ideas search google images for free pumpkin stencils and templates. Children can combine a few ideas and draw them on the paper.  You are teaching them that planning ahead for any project helps avoid tears and frustration.

Choosing Pumpkins is Exciting!

  As they draw and talk about their pumpkins’ facial expressions and feelings carefully print their words on the table paper. Remind them to look, smell, and touch inside and out.  Encourage them to thump the pumpkin. If you asked a pumpkin a question, what would it say? You can search google for pumpkin jokes and riddles. Then children can change them slightly and make up their own. You can also practice similes, a comparison using like or as. For example, pumpkins are like puffed orange apples.

Write Pumpkin Poetry Together!

Pumpkins for Poetry

  Now read the words and phrases they have said. Arrange them so they sound more fun, poetic, and musical. They can be used as texts or cards with pictures for grandparents and cousins. 

As young authors, children discover the wonder of words through poetry, but this takes a little time. Poetic words paint pictures and stimulate the senses that children use to learn about their world. It is too late Halloween night when the focus is on candy and costumes.

   Writing poetry works well with nearly any ordinary object that can be explored with the senses. Eggs, socks, rocks, toast, a favorite toy, blanket, leaves, and snow are examples to explore.

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos
Sketch: Mark Nowicki

For more science and math STEM adventures go to -  grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons live Tuesdays at 4:30pm and Saturdays at 8:30 am and pod casts archived on the site.