Petals Class Pumpkin Patch
October 26th, 2017
Dear Parents,
We had three little pumpkins in our science corner since last week and were so surprised to see two more giant pumpkins today. We feel that this is our very own Petals Class Pumpkin Patch. Our new pumpkins were so big and heavy. We touched it and felt it and observed that it had many lines on it running from top to bottom. Some of our friends tried to carry it but it was too heavy to move. Even when we worked together, we found it difficult. Our teachers wanted to transfer it to another table, so they could carve it and it was hard for them too. We would like to weigh it and compare it with our weight. Some of us think its heavier than us.
Our teachers asked us, ‘what do you think is inside these two pumpkins?’. We weren’t sure and some of our friends guessed – ‘may be Trex’. Then we all made silly guesses like monsters, ghosts, tiger and even witch. Our teachers took a big knife and cut the top off, so we could see inside. There were some big white seeds and pumpkin pulp. We scooped it out and separated the pulp from the seeds. Our teachers questioned if we think that pumpkin seeds are edible, and we gave mixed reactions. Then our friend T explained ‘Yes we can eat pumpkin seeds. I know because there is a seed inside seed’. We wonder what we would do with the seeds we scooped out today.
Then we read a book called ‘Apples and Pumpkins’ by Anne Rockwell and learnt many pumpkin facts. Pumpkins are usually orange, but it could be green or white or red too. They also come in different sizes and grows in vines in big fields called pumpkin patch. During Halloween, adults carve a Jack-o-lantern face on it and then place a candle inside and light it. Our teachers did the same thing and carved one of the pumpkin. Then we placed some led candles inside and lighted it.Some of our friends thought that the pumpkin looks scary while some thought it looks funny.
We also played with a new Halloween themed projector light. It had 5 different lenses – bats, jack o lantern, spider, cat and monster. Our teachers placed big batteries inside it and that helped to turn it on. Then we could use which ever lens we wanted to project on the wall. We switched off the lights and pointed the light to the black board or wall. We observed that the closer we got to the wall with the light, the smaller the projected image was. When we went further away, the image grew bigger and bigger. We were so curious about this discovery and kept on changing the lenses to see if it was the same observation with different lenses. Then we encouraged our friends to try it and see the ‘magic’.
We also did some bowling in the carpet area and some of our friends completed the jack o lantern and monster craft we started at the beginning on this week. It was a bright and sunny day and we felt so lucky to go out and play in the park.
We also did our Music and Movement session today which was postponed from Tuesday because of Diwali celebrations. We learnt that just like we can make sounds with our hands, we can also make sounds with various objects in the environment like wood, stone or pinecone by placing them inside a bottle and shaking it vigorously. We concluded that plastic bags make little or no sound if shaken inside a bottle, but stones make a big sound. Then we sang many Halloween songs to prepare for our big party on Tuesday. We look forward to celebrating and partying together with you on Tuesday.
Love,
Little Pumpkins In Petals Class Pumpkin Patch