From the Ground Up:
OCTOBER—Pumpkins
October is National Pumpkin Month! Did you know pumpkins are a fruit? Pumpkins are native to North America and have been grown here for thousands of years. You can eat almost the whole pumpkin plant, including the flesh, seeds, flowers and even young leaves.
Pumpkins are a fall icon—but they’re actually squash. Did you know giant pumpkins can weigh more than 2,000 pounds or as much as a small car? Learn all about pumpkins this October and explore the Louisiana produce industry.
Lesson Plans & Resources
GRADES Pre-K-2:
AITC Produce Coloring Page
Color your way through Louisiana agriculture with our fun-fact, elementary coloring sheets.
Fit-to-page printing option recommended. See more coloring pages.
GRADES K-2:
Pumpkins... Not Just For Halloween
Estimate the size and weight of pumpkins, sprout pumpkin seeds, and make pumpkin pie in a bag.
Louisiana Standards
ELA: SL2 & Science: 2-LS2-1
GRADES K-2:
The Case of the Missing Pumpkin
Investigate the phenomenon of decomposing pumpkins as a part of the plant's life cycle. Two hours instruction time plus 1-2 months for observation.
Louisiana Standards
ELA: R1, R2, SL1, W2
Science: K-LS1-1, 2-LS2-1
GRADES 3-5:
Pumpkins... Not Just For Halloween
Estimate the size and weight of pumpkins, sprout pumpkin seeds, and make pumpkin pie in a bag.
Louisiana Standards
ELA: L1, R1, SL1, SL2
Math: MP5, MP6
Science: 5-LS1-1
Companion Resources
Make & Takes: Pumpkin Patch Pie
Make pumpkin pie in a plastic bag.
Make & Takes: Pumpkin, Pumpkin
Discover how pumpkins grow.
Exploding Pumpkin
Wow your students with this "explosive" pumpkin experiment that introduces concepts of chemical reactions.
Pumpkin Catapult
Students will love this engaging STEM activity where students must figure out how to launch a tiny pumpkin.
Pumpkin Jack
Learn more about the pumpkin life cycle and decomposition with this fun experiment.
The Great Pumpkin
Make a paper-plate model of the life cycle of a pumpkin.
Books
“How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?” by Margaret McNamara
Learn all about pumpkins, science, and math with this seasonal story. This book is available on YouTube (8:18).
“In Search of the Perfect Pumpkin” by Gloria Evangelista
Follow a family as they search for the perfect pumpkin to make pumpkin pie. This book is available on YouTube (13:24).
“Pumpkin Jack” by Will Hubbell
Jack experiences death, decomposition and rebirth as his jack-o-lantern fades, rots and new plants grow from a seed left inside the pumpkin shell. That seed sprouts and the growth leads to a new crop of pumpkins. This book is available on YouTube (5:19).
“Pumpkin Pumpkin” by Jeanne Titherington
Jamie plants a pumpkin seed and observes the plant's growth, blossom formation, and pumpkin growth. A good exposure at an early age to the concept of life cycle. This book is available on YouTube (3:21).
“From Seed to Pumpkin” by Wendy Pfeffer
This Stage 1, Let's-Read-and-Find-Out book shows young students how a pumpkin plant grows. It presents how the plant develops from seed to mature pumpkin as well as how it obtains and distributes water and nutrients. Three children join a farmer as he plants pumpkin seeds, waters them, and observes the plants as they grow. The last two pages give instructions for two activities, "Roasted Pumpkin Seeds" and "How Plants Drink Water." This is an excellent introduction to plant development in general and pumpkins in particular. This book is available on YouTube (5:09).
“The Pumpkin Book” by Gail Gibbons
Big, small, round, tall—pumpkins come in all shapes and sizes. Here one learns the marvels of the growth cycle of these incredible plants—from flat seeds, to thick vines covered in golden flowers, to brilliant orange pumpkins! Gail Gibbons also relates the special role pumpkins played in the first Thanksgiving. Simple and clear directions for drying seeds, planting and tending pumpkin patches, and carving funny or scary faces are included in the book, along with a fascinating section on pumpkin facts and lore. This book is available on YouTube (10:35).
“Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden” by George Levenson
Pumpkin Circle provides a bug's eye view and a bird's high view of seeds sprouting, flowers blooming, bees buzzing, pumpkins growing and, finally, going back to earth. Told in verse and through dramatic photography as an orange gloved-gardener plants, tends, and harvests a backyard pumpkin patch. This book is available on YouTube (6:10).
“Rotten Pumpkin: A Rotten Tale in 15 Voices” by David M. Schwartz
Compost won't mean the same thing after readers have seen the amazing transformation of Jack from grinning pumpkin to mold-mottled wreckage to hopeful green shoot. The story of decomposition is vividly told so that science comes to life (and death). This book is available on YouTube (12:20).
Videos
Epic Pumpkin Collapse Timelapse
Observe the decomposition of a Jack-o-lantern in time-lapse over an 8-week period of time.
Pumpkin: How Does it Grow?
You've been duped: that "pumpkin" puree in the can isn't pumpkin at all—at least not the kind you think! We bust the great American pumpkin myth and discover why we grow 500 million pounds of the stuff each year—without eating any of it.