Then we spent some time looking at some real pumpkins! We realized that they can be different sizes. Some are round and some are more like ovals. They can also be different shades of orange or even have some green on them!
We learned that a pumpkin is a type of fruit because it has seeds in it. A pumpkin is also a gourd. We looked at some different types of gourds. Did you know gourds can be used to make bird houses, instruments, and even cups?
We got the chance to open up a pumpkin and explore its insides. The outside of a pumpkin is called the shell. The inside is called the pulp. We tried separating the seeds from the pulp so that Miss McCabe can bake the pumpkin seeds for us to taste during snack one day!
Next we learned about the life cycle of a pumpkin. We read the story Pumpkin, Pumpkin. Miss McCabe tried to sequence the life cycle on the felt board, but got all confused! It is a good thing that the 4K students are good listeners! They knew how to fix Miss McCabe's mistakes and put the pieces into the correct order! :)
Then we went to centers. Mrs. DeKeyser's center worked on writing their names on the bumps of a pumpkin!
Miss McCabe's center made a booklet about the life cycle of a pumpkin. We glued on a real pumpkin seed, made a tissue paper flower, painted a small green pumpkin, and painted a big orange pumpkin!
The third center made shape pumpkins. Miss McCabe did not draw any lines for them to cut on! Instead they had to decide what size and shape to make their pumpkins: big, medium, small, an oval, or a circle. After cutting out the pumpkin, each child glued on a green rectangle stem. Then each child had to decide what shape to cut out for the eyes, nose, and mouth. Each pumpkin turned out unique!
Of course, we also played in the classroom! Making and counting pink and purple playdough pumpkins was popular and we realized that pink, purple, playdough, and pumpkin all start with the letter Pp!
We also introduced the letter Pp today. Pippa Pig is our new alphafriend. We also met pink p and learned a special way to say hello to pink p by making the /p/ sound.
Then we painted pumpkin Pp's for our alphabet books. Paint starts with Pp too!
We also played a game called "Pass the Pumpkin." It was a little like "Hot Potato." When Miss McCabe stopped singing, we pulled out something that began with the letter Pp, such as a pear, pencil, pillow, and pig. This game helped us learn many words that begin with the letter Pp and we were all excited for our turn to take something out of the pumpkin!
There was also time to learn a new song called "Spooky Walk." To make it a little more fun, we turned off the lights. Then we put our legs out in front of us and tried to keep the beat while patting our legs. When we did this, it sounded like our footsteps walking! During the song, we walked through tall grass and made swishing sounds with our hands, swam through a river, and tiptoed into a cave. Along the way, we saw and heard some spooky things, such as a black cat, a bat, and rattling bones! When we got scared, we "ran" really fast back the way we came until we were safe inside! It was a lot of fun and the children asked to do it again right away! I'm sure we will be doing this song again for many days to come! :)
Then it was time to play outside before going home.
Tomorrow there will be a substitute teacher in the classroom while I pull out individual children to administer a pre-literacy assessment. I spoke to the children about using their good manners for the teacher and explained that I would still be dropping into the classroom to see what a good job they are doing for the substitute teacher!
Have a good evening! :)
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