The Big Pumpkin

 I'm not sure if this pumpkin looks as big in a picture as it actually is in real life, but it is big. I should have taken a picture of it along side a regular pumpkin, but I didn't. I know that the construction paper measures 12 x 18, if that helps.

My friend Janet, who is now a retired teacher, has been wonderful enough to bring in these very large pumpkins for my class to enjoy for the past several years. She actually gets them from a pumpkin patch called, Bates Nut Farm, which is in Valley Center, CA.

My students had worked with smaller pumpkins for the first part of the day. Then I had them estimate how much they thought the large pumpkin weighed. I also had them decide whether they thought it would have more or less seeds than the smaller ones that they worked with.


Students then got to approach the pumpkin one at a time. They lifted the sheet of paper and peeked inside to see the seeds. They had to then decide if they wanted to keep or change their original thought about there being more or less seeds than the smaller pumpkins. It was amazing to see how patient each child was to have their turn at a peek inside the pumpkin.




After they all had a chance to peek inside the pumpkin, I had several students volunteer to once again approach the seedy mush to count the seeds. These seeds were much larger than the seeds in the smaller pumpkins. The smaller pumpkins that we used had 500-550 seeds,

How many seeds do you think this pumpkin had? Do you think it had more or less seeds than the smaller ones? How much do you think it weighed? Well, you are at a bit of a disadvantage since you can't actually see the pumpkin, so just take a guess.

Yes, the actual weight of the pumpkin was 103 pounds. There were 600 seeds, which was more than the smaller pumpkins. This was kind of surprising to me, because it is usually the other way around. In years past our smaller pumpkins have had more seeds than the larger one. 

Well, it was a lot of fun and I'm glad that my class enjoyed our Pumpkin Day along with the big and small pumpkins.

HAPPY PUMPKIN DAY!

Pumpkin Math Activities

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pumpkin-Math-Activities-2045607

Anna Navarre's TpT Store

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Apple Star

This week my class learned about apples. We learned how they grow and the parts of an apple. We read some books, watched the Johnny Apple Seed video on Brainpop Jr., graphed apples, read an apple poem, did some activity pages, and did an apple art project.

Of all of the activities we did, one of the class favorites was the story, The Little Red House with No Doors and No Windows and a Star Inside. Have you ever heard it before? Well, don't feel bad if you haven't. I only heard about it last year. This is the reason I am sharing this post.

The story is a very cute story about a boy who is tired of playing with his toys and is bored. He asks his mom what he should do and she sends him out to look for the house with no doors or windows and with a star inside. At the end of the story, you cut the apple and allow the students to see the star inside.

Here are a couple of links where you can find the story.
http://www.tooter4kids.com/Apples/Apple_Story.htm

https://www.ncagr.gov/agscool/commodities/redhouse.htm

You could of course always show the apple star without the story. My students usually go home and ask their parents to cut an apple so that they can show them the star.

Before you do this activity you, of course, need an apple. Any apple will do, but if I am reading the red apple story I make sure to purchase a red apple.



Don't forget the knife and a cutting board. I actually forgot the knife, because I was using the apple slicer for our apple tasting. Fortunately, my daughter works at my school, so she was able to bring me one.

Cut the apple on its side, which is an important tip to know. You won't see the star if you cut it the other way.



When I cut the apple in class I actually used a large cutting board, which I had placed on my lap. This allowed for everyone to see as I cut the apple.

My students were really excited to see the star. Some of my students were actually surprised by it because they had never seen it before.

After we saw the star, we went back and talked about the parts of an apple and discussed the apple in a more science-based way, but the story was a fun way to get students interested in learning more.

One of the resources that I used in my classroom to help my students learn about apples is my Apples, Apples, Apples packet. Here is the link if you are interested:

Apples, Apples, Apples

You might also be interested in my YouTube video. It is an adapted version of the apple story, "The Little Red House with No Doors and No Windows and a Star Inside." Click the Link to view. 

The Little Red House