Pumpkins. Carve them. Turn them into stagecoaches. Bake them. Eat their insides. Whatever you choose to do with your pumpkin, there’s just something about them that folks young and old love. From the September to November, pumpkins seem to be everywhere you look. From scented candles to our favorite lattes, everything about fall just screams PUMPKIN!
15 Educational Pumpkin Activities for Kids
National Pumpkin Day is celebrate annually on October 26th. With so many fun activities available, we decided to round up our 15 favorite educational pumpkin activities to do with out kiddos.
Life Cycle of a Pumpkin Video:
Young kids will love this fun song about the pumpkin’s life cycle. The catchy and familiar tune will keep them singing along all day! Turn it on in the background as you finish up your schoolwork or use the tune to kick off a living room dance party. Sung to the tune of “Do You Know the Muffin Man,” the song is quick and easy to learn for all ages.
Pumpkin Seed Trees:
Create gorgeous art using only paint and pumpkin seeds. Have the kids paint the seeds to mimic the fall leaves. Paint a sprawling tree trunk with branches. Carefully glue the dried seeds to the tree. The results are stunning.
Pumpkin Stacking:
If you’re looking to add some STEM activities to your pumpkin fun, try stacking up small pumpkins. You can purchase a bag of 5 or 6 small pumpkins at your local grocery store for a couple of bucks. Let the kids experiment, seeing the best way to stack pumpkins with longer stems still attached.
Exploding Pumpkin Experiment:
We love Steve Spagler Science and he hasn’t disappointed with this fun exploding pumpkin experiment. With just a few ingredients, your kids can carve their pumpkins then blast the pieces out of their way! What a fun way to add some chemistry to your holiday traditions!
Yarn Pumpkins-
With only a balloon, yarn and some glue you can create an adorable fall decoration with the kids. This simple tutorial walks you step by step through the process. Make several and hang them from the ceiling. The kids will love the floating pumpkins that they’ve created!
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds-
With hundreds of different recipes on the web, you can sweeten up your seeds or give them some spice. Either way, they are delicious and nutritious. Kids love them and parents love how easy they are. Just toss in oil, sprinkle with your favorite seasoning (we love adding dry ranch seasoning) then bake at 350° for 5-10 minutes or until crispy.
Compare and Contrast:
Which fruit has more seeds. How much more does this fruit weigh? Which is the brightest color? Find out by comparing pumpkins to other fruit of your choice. Did you know that pumpkins are berries? Compare them to other berries: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries. Next compare them to their closer relatives: gourds, squash and zuchinni.
Do the Math:
Let the children guess the weight, height and diameter of the pumpkins. After everyone has written their guess, let them measure to see who was the closest to the correct size. Once you’re done with the outside, cut into the pumpkin and allow the kids to estimate the number of seeds inside. Allow them to get messy as they dig out every last pumpkin seed. Give them plenty of time to count the seeds. Then have them arrange them into groups of 10 for easy counting. Again, see who’s estimate was the closest to the actual number.
Read About Pumpkins:
One of our favorite ways to learn about anything is to pick up a good book! With thousands of books about pumpkins, it will be easy to find a few that spark your interest. Check out some of our very favorite pumpkin-inspired books:
Thankful Pumpkins-
Pick up faux pumpkins at the local dollar store. {We purchased Styrofoam ones from the Dollar Tree.} Using a Sharpie, write the things you are most thankful for all over your pumpkin. It shouldn’t take long before you run out of space to write. We are living a blessed life, ya’ll!
Catapult Pumpkin Candy-
Lay out open ended building supplies and have the kiddos create a gadget to launch candy pumpkins. Some ideas for building materials include plastic spoons, rubber bands, Legos, toothpicks, popsicle sticks, marshmallows, plastic cups, etc. The kids will love the competing to see who can get the candy pumpkins closest to the target!
Handprint Art:
Using orange acrylic paint, create a cute handprint pumpkin. If you’re feeling extra creative, use the kids’ fingerprints to add a stem, leaves and a vine. Make sure to date your artwork so you can see how much your “pumpkin” grows each year!
Label the Parts of a Pumpkin:
This easy and free printable is perfect for helping little ones remember the parts of the pumpkin. Simply click “print” and get to work! For extra learning, grab a pumpkin and label the parts on it, as well.
Pumpkin Slime:
The kids will adore this fun activity that smells like heaven! Using only a few simple ingredients, you can create this fun putty with things you likely already have in your house! Check out the super simple recipe here.
Grab the pumpkin slime ingredients here:
Melted Crayon Pumpkin-
Add some color to your fall décor with this fun idea from Crafty Morning. With just a some broken crayons, you can turn an everyday pumpkin into a colorful and fun decoration! Just be sure to keep your masterpiece out of direct sun! You don’t want a melted crayon porch, as well! 😉
With plenty of fun and educational pumpkin activities, celebrating National Pumpkin Day will be a blast!
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PUMPKIN PIE FUDGE RECIPE!