Its October, Of Course There Are Pumpkins!

The first of our pumpkins arrived this week and was subsequently rolled, thrown, and within minutes of being in the classroom, split right down the middle upon impact with the floor. It gave us the perfect opportunity to crack it open and go exploring inside. We all gathered around the table, and the more adventurous among us jumped at the chance to dig in to the gooey suprises we found. We used words to describe what we felt and what we saw, we named colors and sorted the seeds out from the muck- we were event presented with a fine motor and manipulative challenge by the effort it took to separate the plump seeds from their fleshy home. What a great chance to explore and observe. Today it was a pumpkin, but many items from nature allow for this kind of exploration- objects whose newness inspire deep engagement on the part of the children. What will be next?