Have You Ever Seen A Pumpkin?

Have you ever seen a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin?

Have you ever seen a pumpkin that grows on a vine?

A round one, a tall one.

A fat one, a small one.

Have you ever seen a pumpkin that grows on a vine?

I've seen this poem in so many places online and in so many pumpkin units and my children love it!  We sing it to the tune of "Have you ever seen a Lassie?" 

This pumpkin unit crossed over from Science to English/Language Arts to Social Studies to Math. There was so much learning taking place! I did my best to catch it all on camera for you to see!

One math center planned and taught by Mrs. Miskelly, our intern from Winthrop, challenged the children to put each pumpkin in order by size.  Then, they had to order the pumpkins based on how much each pumpkin weighed. 

Mrs. Claire, one of our wonderful parent volunteers, got to experiment with the children during center time.  We set her up with a big tub of water and the children predicted and then tested if pumpkins sink or float and if the size of each one mattered. 

Also during center time, the children created and painted pumpkins from brown paper bags!

The children also got to read and illustrate the pumpkin poem at the top of this post.

Mrs. Misenheimer and Austin enjoy the poem together! 

Audrey and Kailyn draw their pumpkins on a vine.



Mrs. Miskelly put out some pumpkin seeds and measurement tools at another math center one day.  The children counted them and compared the amount each measuring cup would hold. 

How's all that for learning about Pumpkins? 

And that's just the beginning--there is MORE to come!

The Letter N

It's time to celebrate the Letter N!

Here is Zachary sorting some uppercase and lowercase N's! 

We always begin by practicing writing both forms of the letter correctly.  The children love this quick sort on the smartboard.  I have uppercase and lowercase letters in lots of different fonts printed and in an envelope so they can sort more during center time if they choose.

Jack, those are some AWESOME N's!

After handwriting practice, we focus on the all important sound!  We do an initial sound sort on the smartboard with each letter and then combine them on Fridays. 

Mario sorts a picture of a Newt!

We combine all our skills by completing a page in our ABC books. 

The children write the letter, find a sticker of that letter,

 find that letter in the newspaper

and draw a picture of something that starts with that letter. 

Here is a Nest!

For snacks this week we enjoyed Nutty Bars---



And, Nila Wafers with Nutella---



I've really tried hard this year to practice the true sounds of each letter with the children.  It's more of a challenge to make the /n/ sound than it is to say "nuh". 

14th letter is complete!

Pumpkin Tasting Day

Now what would a GREAT Pumpkin Unit be like without a yummy Pumpkin Tasting Day? 

I sent a request to the most amazing group of parents and they responded with some YUMMY pumpkin treats!  I was shocked at how much the children tried and actually liked! 

Pumpkin Bread and Pumpkin Butter

Dario was a fan!

Of course, Pumpkin Pie!

Pumpkin Seeds and Pumpkin Marshmallows!!

The children said the marshmallows tasted more like cinnamon that anything else.

One of our sweet parents made us some Pumpkin Cookies to taste!

Mrs. Miskelly, our intern from Winthrop, made Pumpkin Dip and it was a hit!

Chloë approves!



One last favorite was Pumpkin Cake!



 

Even though it may look like all fun and food, this tasting time followed a very important Social Studies lesson based on producers and consumers.  The children learned that Pumpkin Pie doesn't just appear at the grocery store...there are many steps before that!  But more on that for another post! 

Be Cool About Fire Safety!

The second week in October is when we usually learn about and practice Fire Safety! This year the local fire department came out to talk with the children and teach them about the equipment they use and the different types of fire trucks. 

In class, we read many fire safety books and created a great art project to go along with this poem:

Five little firefighters sleeping in a row.

Ring goes the bell and down the pole they go!

They jump on the engine and put out the fire.

Now they're back home and they sure are tired! 

First, paint a hand red and put in down on the paper!

Then, use a dot marker or a circle cut out of construction paper for the heads! Let the children draw faces and a hat on each one!  Draw a black line in between each one for the water hose.

Then, I put some glue down and the children sprinkled blue glitter for the water!

The Letter M

It's time to celebrate the Letter M!

The letter M means that we are exactly half way through the alphabet!  Even though we only learn and review the letters for 2 days a week, I can tell the children appreciate it.  Many of the children recognize the upper and lowercase versions of each letter, but the sound and handwriting practice is a must!

We always begin with a letter and picture sort--

Then, the children practiced writing the letter M.  It's always tough to remember, but start each letter at the TOP!

And, for my favorite part of the letter study, the SNACKS! 

We had Muffins and Moonpies!

Everything was Mmmmm  Mmmmm good!