Mini pumpkins make great tools for science and math exploration in the Pre-K classroom. We used mini pumpkins for exploring weight, measurement, and estimation.
These activities can be added to your Science Center or Math Center as a learning display. Children love anything mini, and I like to include real pumpkins for children to explore in the Fall. These were also inexpensive. The orange pumpkins came in a bag of 5 for $3.00, so they were less than $1 each. (I got them at Walmart.)
I also like to add a sign to each display which asks a question or gives a direction to include some print in our center. To make each sign, I wrote on a piece of copy paper and slipped it into a clear plastic stand that I bought at an office supply store.
The varying sizes and weights of mini pumpkins make them perfect for a weighing activity. At this activity, children place two pumpkins in the balance scale to see which pumpkin is the heaviest. Once they find the heaviest one, they can compare it with another pumpkin. Our sign says, “Which pumpkin weighs the most?” Children can practice lots of vocabulary: weigh, scale, heavy, heavier, heaviest, light, bigger, large, small, most, least, etc.
With this activity, I placed the pumpkins on the table along with a basket containing a tape measurer. Our sign says, “Measure the pumpkins.” I used the type of tape measurer that people who sew use, not the kind from the hardware store. For the children’s use, I cut this tape measurer off at 20 inches. Children can wrap the tape measurer around the pumpkins to see how big around they are.
This is a measurement estimation activity. I picked out one of my larger mini pumpkins, but you could use any size, even a medium or large pumpkin. I only put one pumpkin in the display. I wrapped ribbon around the pumpkin and cut it off at exactly the right length, and I cut three more ribbons shorter. Our sign says, “Guess! Which ribbon will wrap around the pumpkin?” Children first guess which ribbon they think will fit around the pumpkin and then try each one to see whether it fits.
I have a small display table beside our Science Center shelf for different science displays like this throughout the year. All of these pumpkin activities are not out at the same time — I have one for awhile and then change to the next one.
Find more Pumpkin and Halloween activities here!
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Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful ideas! Your website is one of my best resources!!
Thank you for the adorable ideas for math, ELA and science. I am doing the pumpkin one for science as I have to do weight and measures for our standards
Thank you for sharing. Kids will love~~~~that!
Thank you nice ideas
Thanks for all of your wonderful information!! I look forward to getting your emails to see what you have to share!
This is great, Karen! I’m going to do this for sure!
Aloha,
Mimi
You are amazing! Thanks for sharing so much of what you do .
I also use the small cubes to measure our pumpkins . Thanks again !!
Thanks so much u r # 1 🙂
Thanks a lot for sharing, I’m thinking about to use different cardboard shapes to make faces on the pumkins, I think my students will enjoy it, too. Blessings and have a happy halloween.
Thank you so much for sharing. The ideas are wonderful.
Thank you so much for this awesome activity!
Excellent ideas!!!
Thanks so much for sharing. I will use them this Friday in my class!!!
I’m sure children will enjoy these activities!!!
Regards from Mexico!!!
Woooow smart !!!
Thanks 4 sharing nice ideas .. I am a teacher of kg1. . And u helping me a lot
With love
IT WAS REALLY VERY INNOVATIVE AND HELPUL . THANKS
Waouw, j’adore l’idée!!!! Merci à vous pour tous vos partages, même en Belgique ( Bruxelles) on pense à vous 🙂
I like these ideas! It’s nice to have lots of pumpkin activities that are just wholesome activities and there are no scary, spooky things here! Do you explain to the kids what each sign says since they probably do not read yet? I remember one person who was leading a teacher workshop, that I went to, had us all cut a piece of yarn as an estimate on how big we think it needs to be as a belt for the pumpkin. But I find preschoolers find yarn hard to cut through. But anyways, the leader of the workshop had three columns to attach our yarn to. Too Small, Just Right, Too Big. We used tape to get our yarn to hang down in the right column and then counted up were in each column.
Yes, I tell the class what the sign says. That’s a neat idea with the yarn, also, thanks for sharing.
Thank you very much it’s very good idea
Wow! I love the activities you suggest, thank you!
I like all ideas you send,the help every time
thanks
Thank you for your wonderful ideas
I really appreciate them.
I love your ideas. Thank you for sharing with so many! Keep sending them. You are wonderful!
I love your ideas! So simple to do and inexpensive, too! How can I NOT use them in my classroom! Thank you SO much for sharing!
WHAT A GREAT IDEA!! THE KIDS WILL LOVE THIS….THANKS FOR SHARING!!!!
Very great activity, thanks for sharing, I am heading to Walmart.
Your ideas are always spot-on… easy to implement, developmentally appropriate, and high interest. Genius! Thank you for sharing.
~Jamie
Play to Learn Preschool
SUPER FUN IDEAS! I love it! Getting my scale and supplies out tomorrow for this great activity! Super thanks!
Dear Karen,
Thank you again for sharing your interesting ideas .
Love this idea! Plan on using this with my pumpkin theme next week. Thanks for sharing!
I SO APPRECIATE YOUR WILLINGNESS TO SHARE YOUR IDEAS. YOU’VE GOT A GREAT BRAIN!
Mini pumpkin math. You make it fun to learn with simple ideas, for the teachers and less work in preparing these activities, as well as for the children to enjoy.
It is really interesting and different.
Thanks for sharing. Very refreshing ideas.
Karen, thank you for the great activities. They are always received with much enthusiasm the children are learning and having fun too. GREAT.
thanks for the help…begining to do this in school
Thanks Karen, you have made my class more exciting!!!!!
Thanks for all your Wonderful Ideas and activities!
this website is amazing. Thanks for your effort