7 Ways to Learn with Pumpkins this Fall

Halloween is days away and what better way to spend it than with some fun and educational pumpkin activities.

Whether you’re still in need to pick the perfect pumpkin, or if it’s already starting to decompose on your porch (oops!) there is so much to learn from these bumpy, round, and bright vegetables.

Here are seven ways you can get you can celebrate pumpkin season with your early learner this fall:

1 – Measure your pumpkin

Have your child make a dot on the pumpkin with a marker. Using a flexible measuring tape or piece of string, start at the dot and wrap it all the way around the pumpkin. If using string, have your child hold their finger at the marker, then line up the string with a ruler.

Record your measurements and see which pumpkin is the roundest. You can even measure the height, too!

2 – Line up pumpkins by size

Get a whole variety of pumpkins and have your child line them up from big to little. Make it tricker by adding in pumpkins of all different shapes and weight.

3 – Counting seeds

After you’ve separated the seeds from the gooey inside, let them dry out (or roast them!) and use them for all kinds of learning activities.

From counting charts:

To color sorting:

There are endless ways to use these perfect-sized learning tools.

4 – How do pumpkins grow?

A pumpkin patch is the perfect place to explore how plants grow. Walk your child through each stage a pumpkin goes through before it is ready to be picked. Maybe even save some seeds for your own garden.

Here is a helpful book to get you started:

5 – Bake a pumpkin pie

Learn how to make a pumpkin pie from scratch! Baking is a great way to introduce measurements and other math skills. Plus, the satisfaction of seeing a pumpkin transform into an edible form is so exciting to behold. Your child will get to taste something of their own creation.

Here is a kid-friendly recipe:

6 – Weigh your pumpkin 

Have your child stand on a scale and write down their weight on a piece of paper. Then, have them hold the pumpkin and weigh themselves again. Subtract their own weight from the weight with the pumpkin to get the pumpkin’s weight.

You can weigh the pumpkin by itself to see if their math is right.

7 – Why do pumpkins rot?

Pumpkins don’t keep their beautiful shape forever – especially after we carve them. Make an outdoor science project on your front porch by studying what happens to a pumpkin when it decomposes. Take pictures each day, make notes and have your child use other senses like touch and smell to make observations.