It's Autumn Time!

Pumpkins & Jack O' Lanterns

Daily Question:  Do pumpkins float? (The class was divided over this one!*)

Toys: FP Village and Foam blocks.

Snack: Pumpkin cookies and milk.

"F" is for feathery friends!  We had fun gluing our "F the flamingos" down to paper and giving them colorful feathers.

Exploring a pumpkin!  How does it smell, feel, taste, sound, look?

Today we had an enrichment lesson on Pumpkins.

Daily Question: Do pumpkins float? 

(Answer: *yes, pumpkins of all sizes float in water because pumpkins are made up of 80% water.)

We enjoyed opening up a sugar pumpkin (smaller and sweeter than a "normal" pumpkin). Students saw inside, smelled, touched, and tasted, if they wanted to, the fresh pumpkin.  

We noticed the differences and tasted the canned pumpkin we used in our recipe.  (I was proud of Zakai, Eva, Anna, Maelo, and Raegan who all tried cooked pumpkin).

Today's number is 3.  We had fun learning a new recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies that only uses three ingredients. Try it! This became our snack with milk. Yum!

  

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 box spice cake mix
15 oz. (1/2 a large can) Pumpkin
1 C. chocolate chips
Mix above ingredients together and drop by spoonful onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-16 minutes.

 

 We took turns adding the ingredients and stirring our cookies!

Pumpkin Books :

The Pumpkin Patch by Elizabeth King (Picture Puffins).
The Tiniest Pumpkin (A First Start Easy Reader) Troll
Pumpkin Time by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld, Ill. by Christopher Santoro
This is the Pumpkin by Abby Levine, Ill. by Paige Billin-Frye
Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell *(Jack-O-Lanterns to plant to pumpkin, sharing, cycles).
The Stubborn Pumpkin (HelloReader! Lvl 3, Gr. 1 &2) by Laura Geringer and Holly Berry

Song Story: 5 Little Pumpkins

Five Little Pumpkins   (Tune: “Five Little Ducks”)
Five little pumpkins sitting on the gate. (Hold up 5 fingers.)
The first one said, “Oh, my it’s getting late.” (Hold up thumb.)
The second one said, “There are witches in the air.” (Hold up index finger.)
The third one said, “But I don’t care.” (Hold up middle finger.)
The fourth one said, “Let’s run and run and run.” (Hold up ring finger.)
The fifth one said, “I’m ready for some fun.” (Hold up pinky.)
Ooooo! Went the wind, and out went the light. (Blow through hands, then clap.)
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight! (Roll hands behind back.)

Autumn Extension Activities:         

Songs: Today we gathered leaves and then sang this action song--
 It's Autumn Time (See Youtube link to song)
“It’s Autumntime,” Children’s Songbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 246
Brightly
1. It’s autumntime. It’s autumntime.
The leaves are falling down.
It’s autumntime. It’s autumntime.
It’s all around the town.
2. It’s autumntime. It’s autumntime.
There’s yellow, red, and brown.
It’s autumntime. It’s autumntime.
Bright colors can be found.
Words: Rita Mae Olsen, b. 1932. © 1966 IRI

Autumn Harvest Books:
I See a Leaf (Scholastic Reader, 1) by Grace Maccarone, Ill. by Laura Freeman
Sam the Scarecrow (A First Start Easy Reader) Troll
October Smiled Back by Lisa Westerberg Peters, Ill. by Ed Young (Months)
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams,Megan Lloyd*
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert
What Happens in the Autumn; Books for Young Explorers, The National Geographic Society.