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Kindergarten Lesson Plans for Pumpkins

Every autumn when big, round orange pumpkins ripen in farmers' fields and make their way to stores, kindergartners know Halloween is just around the corner. While pumpkins come out in full force in October, most kindergartners don't realize those pumpkins started their journey as tiny seeds in the spring and summer months. Let your kindergartners explore and learn more about pumpkins with these fun lesson plans.

  1. Science Center

    • Read books about the life cycle of pumpkins. Invite students to color pumpkin life cycle mini-books or draw their own pumpkin life cycle charts on paper. Print pictures of pumpkin seeds, vines, flowers, unripe green pumpkins and ripe orange pumpkins. Have students order the pictures at a science center. Invite students to examine pumpkin seeds, including those soaked in water overnight and spilt open. Place pumpkin seeds in plastic sandwich bags with a wet paper towel, and observe the seeds as they germinate. Cut open a pumpkin and save a piece of the rind. Observe the rind over the next few weeks.

    Math Center

    • Bring small, medium and large pumpkins into the classroom. Include some that have smooth skin and some that have bumpy skin. Have students fill out observation sheets about the pumpkins, including weight, height, how big around they are (circumference), color and bumpy or smooth skin. Let kindergartners compare their weight to a large pumpkin's weight. Have students estimate the number of seeds they think are inside a small, medium and large pumpkin. Have students work in groups to find out the actual seed counts.

    Literary Activities

    • Read stories about pumpkins such as "Big Pumpkin" by Erica Silverman, "The Vanishing Pumpkin" by Tony Johnson or "The Biggest Pumpkin Ever" by Steven Kroll. Invite kindergartners to write and illustrate their own fun pumpkin stories. Read pumpkin poems such as "Five Little Pumpkins," "Jack-o-Lantern" or "Pumpkin Time." Write poems on sentence strips and have kindergartners put the poems in order. Write pumpkin-themed words such as seed, flower, plant, round, orange, big and jack-o'-lantern on index cards. Practice reading pumpkin words, using the words in sentences and searching for pumpkin-themed words in stories and poems.

    Crafts

    • Invite students to paint pumpkins on pieces of paper, and display artwork on a pumpkin patch bulletin board. Use twisted green butcher paper to add vines, and construction paper leaves to finish off the pumpkin patch. Make paper plate jack-o'-lanterns, paper lunch bag pumpkins or papier mache pumpkins. Take pictures of kindergartners at the pumpkin patch and make pumpkin picture frames for the photos.

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