Michele Decoteau
micheledecoteau@verizon.net
Sharing Nature with your Preschooler
Pumpkin Explorations
Fall is a glorious time for outdoor explorations with kids. The weather is cooler, the bugs aren’t bothersome and there is very little mud. Fall in New England brings bountiful colors – vibrant oranges, deep reds, and bright yellows – not just in leaves, but also in wild flowers, fruits and vegetables.
One of the most fun fall fruit is the pumpkin. It is well loved by kids of all ages as jack-o-lanterns and turned in to yummy pumpkin treats. The freshest pumpkins are picked at the farmer’s fields. Always choose fruit with the stem still attached and thump them. A ripe pumpkin sounds hollow.
Small pumpkins are usually a different variety of pumpkin than the big jack-o-lantern pumpkins. Sugar pumpkins are smaller, often darker and are used for making pies, cookies and other yummy treats. Larger pumpkins used for carving have watery flesh making them less desirable for eating.
Here are some fun ways to explore pumpkins together:
Pumpkins have ribs – grooves running from the “north pole” to the “south pole”. Are they all the same? Do big pumpkins have deeper ribs than small ones?
Do big pumpkins have big seeds? Cut open different sized pumpkins, scoop out the seeds and find out. Do some pumpkins have more seeds than others?
After scooping the seeds out, you can clean and roast them in a hot oven for a few minutes. Try them with salt or lime and chili powder.
Pumpkins are great fun to count, roll, paint, and eat; no matter what size they are!
