How to Use Pumpkins in the Classroom

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This is the PERFECT time to bring the outdoors into the classroom! Many teachers take their students on outdoor scavenger hunts, integrate the changing colors of the leaves into art activities, and read fall-themed stories, but have you ever thought of bringing pumpkins into the classroom?

Photo of pumpkins and text, "Pumpkins in the Classroom."

I'll be the first to admit that I was a little leery the first year I tried this with primary students. Part of me thought that I was setting myself up for disaster, but when I saw the incredible learning opportunities attached to bringing pumpkins into the classroom I was sold!

There are countless books available for reading about pumpkins! From a funny story about a runaway pumpkin to a procedural recipe for making pumpkin pie, books are the perfect place to begin a pumpkin unit. You can read fiction or non-fiction, depending on your purpose, and the mentor texts you choose can be the perfect inspiration for encouraging your students' own writing! Here are a few of my personal favorites. Click each image for more information!

This is the PERFECT time to bring the outdoors into the classroom! Read and write about pumpkins and investigate them inside and out! This post is full of book suggestions and ideas for pumpkin math activities that you can easily do with the students in your classroom.
The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons

This is the PERFECT time to bring the outdoors into the classroom! Read and write about pumpkins and investigate them inside and out! This post is full of book suggestions and ideas for pumpkin math activities that you can easily do with the students in your classroom.

This is the PERFECT time to bring the outdoors into the classroom! Read and write about pumpkins and investigate them inside and out! This post is full of book suggestions and ideas for pumpkin math activities that you can easily do with the students in your classroom.
Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White

This is the PERFECT time to bring the outdoors into the classroom! Read and write about pumpkins and investigate them inside and out! This post is full of book suggestions and ideas for pumpkin math activities that you can easily do with the students in your classroom.
How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow? by Wendell Minor

This is the PERFECT time to bring the outdoors into the classroom! Read and write about pumpkins and investigate them inside and out! This post is full of book suggestions and ideas for pumpkin math activities that you can easily do with the students in your classroom.
The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis

During math class, the possibilities are as large as your imagination! In fact, the best focus for pumpkins in the math classroom IS measurement! For the past two years, I've brought pumpkins into my classroom and had my students engaged in a wide variety of measurement activities.

We begin with some simple observations:

This is the PERFECT time to bring the outdoors into the classroom! Read and write about pumpkins and investigate them inside and out! This post is full of book suggestions and ideas for pumpkin math activities that you can easily do with the students in your classroom.

Then progress through a variety of estimation and measurement activities throughout the day:

This is the PERFECT time to bring the outdoors into the classroom! Read and write about pumpkins and investigate them inside and out! This post is full of book suggestions and ideas for pumpkin math activities that you can easily do with the students in your classroom.
Circumference, height, and weight activities.

And then, we DIG IN!!

This is the PERFECT time to bring the outdoors into the classroom! Read and write about pumpkins and investigate them inside and out! This post is full of book suggestions and ideas for pumpkin math activities that you can easily do with the students in your classroom.
Seed estimation and counting activities. 

I always emphasize the importance of estimating what our measurements could be as we complete each activity, and once the seeds are separated from the rest of the pumpkin guts, we group them into tens for easier skip counting. You may never see your students as engaged as you will when they're elbow deep in pumpkin slime!

Welcoming your students first thing in the morning with a SMARTBoard attendance is a great way to kick off your exciting day! Just watch your students' faces light up when they walk into the room!

Pumpkin Attendance for the SMARTBoard

If you have any energy left beyond all the math and language fun there are always pumpkin treats to be consumed! Pumpkin pies and tarts, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin treat bags (and of course there's always the hope that a parent will present you with a pumpkin beverage of sorts)...

This is the PERFECT time to bring the outdoors into the classroom! Read and write about pumpkins and investigate them inside and out! This post is full of book suggestions and ideas for pumpkin math activities that you can easily do with the students in your classroom.

Wondering where to start (aside from purchasing some pumpkins, of course!)? Check out my Pumpkin Investigations resource:

This is the PERFECT time to bring the outdoors into the classroom! Read and write about pumpkins and investigate them inside and out! This post is full of book suggestions and ideas for pumpkin math activities that you can easily do with the students in your classroom.

You can find more Pumpkin Fun on this Pinterest board:


If you have enjoyed this post, please share it with friends and colleagues on Facebook or pin it on Pinterest:

Photo of pumpkins with text, "Learning With Pumpkins in the Classroom."

Pumpkin images in headings from Whimsy Workshop Teaching.
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4 comments

  1. Shelley HOctober 10, 2015 at 6:28 PM

    I love using pumpkins in the classroom!! I loved the pictures in this post. What fun! Can I be in your classroom?

    Shelley

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    Replies
    1. Mrs. Beattie's ClassroomOctober 10, 2015 at 9:26 PM

      Thanks, Shelley! We had such a blast doing this! I can't wait until later in the month when we'll do it again! :)

      ~Erin

      Delete
  2. UnknownOctober 11, 2015 at 8:13 PM

    I love bringing pumpkins into my classroom. In fact, I will be doing this on Tuesday! Trying something new this year - cooking pumpkins in a crock pot! We will enjoy the wonderful smell on Tuesday as they cook, and use the cooked pumpkin to make pumpkin pancakes later in the week. Can't wait!
    lblaeser@d124.org

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    Replies
    1. Mrs. Beattie's ClassroomOctober 12, 2015 at 11:44 AM

      Oooh.... I'd love to hear how the cooking goes, Linda! That sounds like great fun! :)

      ~Erin

      Delete

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