What's Happening To Our Pumpkins?

Just because it's December, 

we haven't forgotten about our pumpkins.

Look what we discovered when we checked in on our Decomposition Centre

located just outside, under our windows.

We read the story Pumpkin Jack and discovered what was happening to our very own pumpkins.
Pumpkin growing happens in a cycle. Just like a pattern.
Repeating over and over and over again.
Does all food with seeds have growing cycles?



We also read what was going to continue to happen.

Will our pumpkins grow again like Pumpkin Jack?

Some of the pumpkins hadn't been cut open and

scooped of their seeds.

They were decomposing differently than the pumpkins

that had been cut open.

The skin of the pumpkins had become soft and the

cut open pumpkins were

squashed and mushy.

Black mold had begun to grow on the skins and insides of the cut open pumpkins.

Pumpkin juice oozed out and filled the tray.

One squishy worm was found and one fly escaped!

How did they get there?

Why did they want to be in a rotting pumpkin?

Why did the uncut pumpkins stay round and

the cut pumpkins get flat and moldy?

Why were they so smelly?!

What are the pumpkins going to look like when we explore them in a week?

In a month?

The pumpkins became a part of the science centre. The fruit flies followed them!

What do we wonder about pumpkins?

What can we explore?

What did we discover about decomposing pumpkins?

Danica explored the pumpkin goop with a magnifying glass.

She wonders how they change colour.

What do you know about pumpkins and their growing cycle?

What do you wonder about our pumpkins?

Pumpkin Math

While our light table was being prepared by many friends who took turns writing numbers 1 to 100.

They made a 100 Grid chart right on the light table!

Danica's printing was so neat and she knew all the numbers without any help. She was very satisfied with her efforts!

Children were busy cutting, scooping and

s e p a r a t i n g   the seeds from pumpkins.



Each child filled their own bowl with the seeds from the pumpkin they had cut open and scooped out.

This was gooey, slimy, slippery work!



Some pumpkins were small, some were flat and red, some had funny bumps and some were huge!

Once the children had scooped all the seeds they could into their bowls, they made a prediction.

How many seeds were in their pumpkin?

They came one by one to fill in a chart.

The chart had a title, 'Seed Predictions'.

The chart had 3 columns, 'Description', 'Prediction' and 'Actual'.

Miya's pumpkin was 'Big Orange Pumpkin'. She predicted 100 seeds.

Addison's pumpkin was 'FLAt PAKiN'. She also predicted 100 seeds. 

 Sienna was especially excited to count her pumpkin seeds. She had carved the 'ROF TOP PMPKn' and predicted 16 seeds!

Sienna counted her seeds by putting one seed in each square. She filled all 100 squares and still had 8 more. What was Sienna's actual amount?

Before he predicted and counted his own 'RAD FLaT POMPGIN'

(which he predicted to be 31 seeds),

 Isaac helped Ryan and Jun count the seeds they had scooped.

Their pumpkin was a giant one! They described it as 'JANT PKIN'

and predicted 600 seeds.

  They looked at Miya's number in the 'Actual' column first.

They were sure it had more than Miya's!

Miya had put 10 seeds in each square. She filled 5 lines of 10 squares in the 100 Grid with seeds and still had 7 leftover.

Well, the boys also put 10 seeds in each square.

They really had to practice to count by 10's.

They also filled 5 full lines but had 10 leftover.

Can you determine which pumpkin had more seeds?

Abigail decided her pumpkin looked nutty because it had light tan coloured bumps all over it. She called it 'NUTE PMPKN' and predicted 20 seeds.

She put one seed in each square and also filled all 100 squares.

She counted 19 left over.

How many seeds in all?





 

The actual amount of seeds were:

Big Orange Pumpkin, Miya - 507

FLAt PAKiN, Addison - 325

NUTE PMPKN, Abigail - 119

JANT PKIN, Jun & Ryan - 510

RAD FLaT POMPGIN, Isaac - 156

ROF TOP PKN, Sienna - 108

 

You can imagine the fun discussions we had as we gathered together and the children talked about their pumpkins and how many seeds they had predicted and counted!

We can imagine the fun discussions you will have talking about our pumpkin math!

 

Now the pumpkins are in the 'Decomposition Centre' under the windows in the front of the school near our side door. Check them out when you come by.

What's happening to them?

 

We are waiting for Riverside Library to call and tell us when

Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell

is ready for us to pick up!





That's One Tacky Pumpkin!

 

We decided to set out some materials and see what the children would do.

 

Pumpkins provided the perfect place to poke some push pins.

 

Not your average Jack O' Lanterns!

Designs and faces and patterns and explosions of colour poured over the pumpkin skin.

Fingers push and pull and children collaborate and create.

Then the children discovered the elastics we added.

Days and days of fun and creating with the pumpkins, tacks and elastics.

 Can you spot the math?

Push tack punctures penetrating a perfectly plump pumpkin!

The Great Pumpkin Roll

The wind was blowing just right for our Pumpkin Day activity.

We headed to the top of Suzuki hill with a wagon in tow.

Pumpkins of every shape and size filled the wagon.

Bumpy, big, small, tiny, orange, green, white.

Pumpkins at the ready...

1...2...3...GO!

 

Truth be told, we may have learned a thing or two about how momentum and speed

is affected by size and weight.

But really, it was just plain fun!

Inspirational Life Lessons from Nature

Oh the colours!

Oh the shapes and lumps and bumps 
and twisty twirls!

Oh the inspired stories and art!

Mrs. Brent brought in a wagon full of pumpkins and gourds.
They were every shape, size and colour.
They had names like 'swan necked gourd' and 'warty pumpkin'.
We loved to guess what the name might be and what the shape and look of the pumpkins and gourds reminded us of.
The story 'The Bumpy Little Pumpkin' fit the mood just right.
Click on the link for a video reading.
The Bumpy Little Pumpkin


We decided to do was bring the pumpkins and gourds to the art studio.
Colours like yellow, red, green and brown were available. 
But there was no orange!
How do you make orange?

Some of the gourds were set in a grouping at the art easels.

Mrs. Brent talked about what she was seeing as she began to paint. She talked to the artists about colours, shapes and details. 

She used the words realistic and still life. 

It's one of the ways to think when an artist is creating.

The story and gourds inspired many pictures and much creativity.

Mrs. Brent thought it would be fun to add twigs to the paint pots along with the paint brushes. Twigs sat in a basket nearby.

Simply inspiring!

Perfect really is in the eye of the beholder and 

unique is a perfect way to be!

A Bountiful Harvest

What a delight it was to visit the rooftop garden and harvest the many vegetables.

We couldn't wait to fill the basket!

The harvest offered so many shades of colour, shapes, textures and smells.

And...there are enough pumpkins to sing our 'Five Little Pumpkins' song!