Painted Pumpkins

These are actually from last year, but I plan to do them again! The kids painted a white layer over their whole pumpkin (we used tempera because it was available, but an acrylic paint would be even better to prevent chipping later). The next day the children chose from several fall colors to add decorative handprints. We took some really cute fall photos with our pumpkins that were adorable on our Thanksgiving place mats.

Pumpkin Parts

I just love these adorable pumpkins we made to celebrate the coming of fall! After learning about the life cycle of a pumpkin and discussing the pumpkin parts (stem, shell, seeds and pulp), students created these cross-section pumpkins! First, we painted two sheets of paper - one orange, one yellow. The next day, the students cut out a large orange pumpkin shape for the shell and a smaller yellow pumpkin shape for the inside. They used bits of orange string for the pulp and real pumpkin seeds. Brown construction paper stems completed the project!

Meeting the TEKS:

112.11 Science 

• K.10.B identify parts of plants such as roots, stem, and leaves...
• K.10.D observe changes that are part of a simple life cycle of a plant: seed, seedling, plant, flower, and fruit.