Posted by Trina: October 25, 2011

* This article was written by Sandy HAPPYFAMILY's Sales Manager

One of my favorite childhood memories is sitting on the front porch with my parents and sisters and helping my dad carve a pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern.  I use the word “help” loosely here, as when I was very young, I obviously was more of a spectator; but as I grew up, I took on more responsibility with the annual pumpkin carving activity, from poking out the pre-cut eye holes to carefully bringing my dad the knife to eventually carving myself.

Carving a Jack-O-Lantern can be a magical experience for a child.  (Bonus points if you actually can pick the pumpkin off of the vine!)  To see a pumpkin transform from vegetable to character sparks a child’s imagination.  It is also a fun tool to use to teach children about the different parts of a pumpkin, maybe even getting them to explore the properties of other vegetables.

But this is just the carving of the pumpkin, and that’s a pretty standard activity that’s associated with Halloween and the month of October.  This month’s activity is going to bring that Jack-O-Lantern to a whole new level for young children.  In addition to all of the scientific exploration of a pumpkin that comes along with carving a pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern, we’re going to throw in some reading, writing, and counting fun by creating a Pumpkin Book.

Pumpkin Book

Materials

-A pumpkin to carve (and whatever carving tools are necessary.) Don’t forget to save the seeds!
-Orange and brown construction paper (at least 2 sheets of orange per child to serve as the front and back covers of your pumpkin book.  You can choose whatever type of paper you want for the inside pages.) 
-Glue
-Crayons and/or markers
-Yarn or string
-Hole punch

Directions

1.  Take the time to carve the pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern with your child.  Make sure he/she is there to see you open up the top and take the seeds out.  Allow your child to touch the seeds, helping you to pull them out of the pumpkin.  Talk about what they’re smelling, seeing, and feeling.  Save the seeds for your book!  You can carve the pumpkin one day and create the book another—these activities don’t have to be done all at once.

2.  Trace (1) the basic shape of a pumpkin on the pieces of orange construction paper, and (2) the shape of stalks (basic rectangles work) on the brown construction paper.

3.  Depending on your child’s age, you can choose to either cut the shapes out, or have your child cut it him/herself.  (Cutting with dull scissors at the age of 4+ is a great way to improve fine motor skills!)  The construction paper serves as the front and back covers of the book you’ll be creating.  If you want to have multiple pages in your book (especially for an older child), trace extra pumpkins on whatever paper you choose.

4.  Have your child glue the brown paper stalks to the top of the pumpkin cut out.  You will probably want to model where the stalk is on the real pumpkin to help them get the stalk in the correct place.  Hint: glue sticks are significantly less messy than liquid glue!

5.  Punch 2 holes in the sides of the pumpkins to create a spine for your book.

6.  Tie the pumpkins together on the left side by stringing yarn through the holes and tying bows or knots.

7.  Open up the “book” you’ve created to show your child how it is similar to a favorite book you may have in the house.

8.  Ask your child what they think the title should be (“My Pumpkin Book” or “What I learned about Pumpkins” or whatever they think.)  If he/she is old enough to write the title him/herself, have him/her write the title on the front of the first pumpkin.  If you’re doing the writing, make sure they’re watching as you write the words that they tell you.  Make sure you add the author (By: your child’s name.)

9.  Open the book to the first (or possibly only) page inside.  This is a page where you can work together to glue some of the pumpkin seeds onto the paper to show that pumpkins have seeds inside of them.  Ask your child to count the seeds you glue in.  Write a sentence with that number at the bottom of the page (i.e. “My pumpkin has 8 seeds inside of it.”)  Again, if your child is old enough to write him/herself, they should be writing.  If not, have them watch you write.  (For older children with multiple pages, you can have them write the whole story of carving the Jack-O-Lantern, one step per page: (Page 1) “First, we cut the top off of the pumpkin.”  (Page 2) “Then, we took all of the seeds out of the pumpkin.” (Page 3) Finally, we cut a face into the pumpkin.”)

Read the book together until Halloween.  Have your child read the book to you!

GUEST BLOGGER

Sandy holds a B.A. in Political Science from Tulane University in New Orleans, LA and an M.S.T. in Early Childhood Education from Pace University in New York, NY.  After graduating with honors from Tulane, she joined Teach For America in New York City, where she taught Pre-K in the South Bronx.  As a former Pre-K teacher, Sandy understands how crucial the earliest years of Baby’s life are to her physical, social/emotional, and cognitive development. She uses her knowledge base to contribute to all aspects of HAPPYBABY's rapid growth as well.