Oct. 26, 2015
Make The Holidays A Fun Learning Experience
(Provided by CalPac, Monday, October 26, 2015)
Fall is finally in the air and with that comes the fun of celebrating the holidays! I really enjoy taking the opportunity to make each holiday into a fun learning experience for my kids. Using a holiday to incorporate learning can build up kids’ excitement to learn. Halloween is right around the corner and there are lots of ways to make homeschool learning part of the spooky holiday!
Who doesn’t love Halloween?! Linking Halloween into the daily lessons can add a little spunk in your daily routine and engage your kids in a new activity. A fun way to get ready for Halloween is by doing a little Pumpkin Math. Kids of all ages love pumpkins and they can use them to explore Math, Reading, Science, and Social Studies. A bonus of homeschool is allowing your kids to take their learning outside and have a hands on experience.
One of my favorite pumpkin math activities involves kids making predictions and finding the results. The kids begin by guessing the circumference of the pumpkin, will it float, number of lines, and number of seeds. After making all of their predictions, the kids begin their investigation.
The circumference was estimated by cutting a string to wrap around the pumpkin. Older students could actually guess a number and then measure it with a tape measure. Sometimes it is fun to do this with pumpkins of different sizes because the kids will soon learn that the biggest pumpkins don’t always have the most seeds.
After all the fun of picking out the seeds and seeing how close they were to their predictions, you can make pumpkin seeds. The kids can turn this into a lesson on measurement and understanding how to use different measuring tools. You can also turn it into a lesson on time. How long will it take to roast the seeds? What time will it be when the seeds are done? Elapsed time can be practiced while they are waiting for the yummy seeds to finish roasting.
There are many great books to use with this activity. One of my favorites is How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? (Mr. Tiffin’s Classroom Series) by Margaret McNamara. It leads the kids through ideas of how to count the seeds and the strategy of estimation. Kids love the book. It is a wonderful read aloud or a good opportunity for your kids to practice their decoding skills.
Some more fun things to do with pumpkins for the month of October and November include:
● pumpkin art: Use the seeds to make a picture or use small pumpkin as a stamp.
● pumpkin vase: Cut the top off the pumpkin and use it as a vase for fall flowers or leaves.
● Compost it: use it to create rich soil that can be used in your garden.
● Pumpkin bowling: Create bowling pins using your pumpkins and try to knock them over.
● Bird Feeder: Cut it in half and fill with bird seed. Use some string to tie it to your favorite tree.
Pumpkins are just one way to get into the fall frame of mind. Take the time to enjoy the holidays with your kids and make homeschooling a little more fun with some pumpkin play time!
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