Carving up some pumpkin fun

Nothing says fall like going to a pumpkin patch, carving jack-o’-lanterns, sipping a pumpkin spice latte and eating a slice of pumpkin pie. The pumpkin is quite the versatile fruit (yes, fruit), and we believe it should be fully celebrated this fall. Even so, have you ever considered the many subjects you can teach your kids while exploring fall pumpkin fun?

This month, take our tips for providing a complete pumpkin education with a slice of fun on the side.

Pumpkins of origin

The pumpkin has been around for a long time and is believed to be native to South and Central America and Mexico. Pumpkins were also a prevalent crop for the colonists in the early days of our nation. Get out some maps and show the kids where the pumpkin grew natively and then where the original colonies were in our country. Go on to explain the story of the first Thanksgiving and the original colonists to America.

Although we are all familiar with round, orange pumpkins, a great variety of shapes and colors were prevalent historically. Many of these heirloom varieties are still around today. As you are out and about this month, see how many different varieties and colors of pumpkins you can spot. Take pictures of each different variety you find and make a collage of all your images.

Going to pumpkin farms is a very popular activity during the harvest season, so take this opportunity to teach kids about the agricultural and rural history of our nation and the importance of farms in our society today. We all enjoy going to pumpkin farms, and farms all across the countryside have always played a role in bringing food to our tables.

Ready, set, grow!

Use fall as an opportunity to explain to your kids the science behind growing pumpkins and how something grows from a seed into a plant.

Pumpkins are best planted in April or May, so consider planting some in the spring so you can have them ready for the fall next year. Tammy Palmier, adult education supervisor with the Missouri Botanical Garden, says she likes planting hers around May 10 each year.

“Pumpkins need warm soil to grow in,” Palmier says.

She also says many people like planting pumpkins on hilly terrain and that it’s also essential to plant them about 5 to 6 feet away from each other as they need significant space to grow.

Reading, writing and pumpkin arithmetic

Pumpkins are great hands-on tools to teach math.

For young children learning to count, cut open a pumpkin and use the seeds as counters. See how high the kids can count and notice how many seeds are typically found in a pumpkin. Spreading the seeds out on the table will help a child visualize what a given number of pumpkin seeds actually looks like, which will help numbers become a more concrete concept for them.

For kids who are beginning to learn multiplication and division, divide the seeds into large groups and then have the child practice arranging them into smaller groups and solving math problems with the seeds.

For teaching fractions, cut a pumpkin into fourths or thirds and have the kids put it back together again like a puzzle.

All sorts of other math word problems could follow. For example, if an average pumpkin vine produces three pumpkins, how many vines are needed to produce 30 pumpkins? If a pumpkin takes about 100 days to grow, how many weeks is that?

Creating with pumpkins

The bright orange color of pumpkins can be found everywhere this time of year, and it’s a great opportunity to get creative with art.

For the little ones just learning about art and colors, use this as a chance to teach color identification. Using paint and paper, show them how red and yellow mix to make orange, and then have them practice mixing the colors. Have slightly older kids paint a pumpkin instead of carving it for decoration. You might also tell them to try their hand at drawing all kinds of creations on pumpkins, from faces to spiders or even their favorite TV character. Encourage young artists to develop unique ways to transform their pumpkins into something else entirely.

Of course, carving jack-o’-lanterns is always on the agenda in October. Try having your kids design their own face or patterns to carve instead of using a kit.  

Get creative and come up with other ways to use the pumpkin. What about using a pumpkin as a head on the scarecrow that you use as an outdoor Halloween decoration? Or what about making a centerpiece or living arrangement using a pumpkin?

The delicious pumpkin

Pumpkins can be used to make so many foods. They are nutritious as well, and Palmier says they are rich in vitamin A. Create your own pumpkin-themed meal and have your kids help you prepare it. On the menu could be pumpkin soup with pumpkin bread, all topped off with pumpkin pie for dessert and a pumpkin spice latte to drink.

Fall offers all kinds of possibilities of learning and fun with pumpkins, so enjoy taking advantage of all this staple of the season has to offer.

Pumpkin fast facts

• Pumpkins are members of the genus Cucurbita, which includes squash or gourds.
• A pumpkin is specifically a winter squash, and other winter squash include the acorn, Hubbard and banana squash.
• It takes about 100 days for a pumpkin to grow to maturity.
• Pumpkins are a fruit. One way to help kids remember the difference between a fruit and vegetable is that if a plant carries its seeds like a suitcase, then it is considered a fruit and not a vegetable.

Allison Gibeson is a Lee’s Summit writer and mom who once requested a pumpkin pie for her birthday instead of a cake. Her birthday is in April.

Source: MissouriBotanicalGarden.org