Pumpkin exploration is so much fun this time of year, especially when they are from the  Smith Family Farm Pumpkin Patch. Here are three tried and true ways we have loved to play, explore, and have fun with pumpkins galore! 

1. Fluorescent Pumpkin Soup Water Play: This invitation was set with ladles, whisks, pots, bowls, buckets, a variety of clear containers, and a whole bunch of pumpkins/gourds. The water was mixed with Fluorescent BioColor® and set up in our outdoor Mud Kitchen & Water Play Area. The children were invited to create pumpkin soup!

Inviting a child to create any type of pretend soup encourages so many levels of learning while they create. When a child is adding, scooping, pouring, transferring and stirring ingredients it fosters creativity and enables children to experiment with science and math concepts. Children begin to understand and investigate with ideas such as more/less, same/different, many/few, empty/full, before/after, greater than/less than. Children also learn physics principles such as the effects of force (increasing the waterflow through increased force); effects of gravity (water runs downhill) etc.

The social learnings from creating soup together include collaboration, concentration, turn taking, problem solving, perseverance, self-regulation, and more. Children also gain physical learning through precision in pouring and eye-hand coordination. Sensory play through exploring the colored water and foraged loose parts with their senses is engaging and helps encourage exploration of science, language, color theory, and natural materials.

2. Pumpkin STEM: This STEM invitation lets children build and balance materials through open ended exploration with pumpkins! With plastic cups, cds, paper rolls, spools, rollers, and pumpkins the children were invited to stretch their thinking by introducing the engineering and design process.

In the early years a child's work is to constantly problem solve through play. This invitation is a perfect opportunity to challenge a building experience to think and create in new ways with out of the norm materials. Since there is no wrong or right way to do this invitation, the possibilities were endless.

When a child is left to create and explore, it stretches their problem-solving skills by all the ways they have to figure out how to balance the materials. Through all these trials, the children were able to analyze the situation more critically and come up with solutions in their own way. STEM subliminally provides awesome real life lessons that are so valuable and enriching to a child and through these images we get a window into the glimpse of mastering a new skill.

3. Pumpkin Washing: With water, soap, sponges, towels, whacky tools & pumpkins/gourds the children were invited to scrub a dub dub and feel the different sizes/shapes/weights/textures through sensory play & doing a practical life activity. 

By providing opportunities where children can practice practical life skills like washing, it is not only an important activity for young children, it is so much fun. These sorts of invitations are letting the child subliminally without any pressure go through a series of steps at their developmental level and timeline to build skill sets they will need later on in life. Practical life activities help instill care of their environment, great for developing order, concentration, coordination, organization, control, ability to follow directions, and independence in hygiene and cleanliness.

Washing anything really is as enticing and attractive. The child is instantly engaged and focused because they love anything that a) involves water b) something they are noticing in the world around them lately (pumpkin patches) c) it is totally out of the norm d) it empowers them to feel capable, independent, and proud of doing something they see adults do (cleaning) e) and it is sensory filled, which is the best way children learn!